Behavioral Ecology

Chris Smith presents research on individual differences in fruit flies, colour-linked pupil responses in synaesthesia, and how mating patterns broaden cognitive variation in chickadees. The episode also examines which species succeed in cities and how DNA organisation changes in cancer. The publisher provides a full episode player and individual interview transcripts.

Nature staff discuss a large survey of insect diversity in the Amazon and unusual orca behavior captured on video involving a sunfish.

Nature reporters discuss the chemical signal used by naked mole-rat queens to maintain reproductive hierarchy and how people reason when learning unfamiliar games.

Julie Sørlie Paus-Knudsen discusses learning and intelligence in bees and bumblebees alongside their ecological roles. Conversation in Norwegian.

Postdoctoral scholarship in the Stagkourakis Lab studying neural control of survival behaviors using in vivo large-scale electrophysiology, advanced imaging, and causal perturbations in freely moving mice at Biomedicum and SciLifeLab.

This postdoctoral project studies climate-change effects on migratory birds and wetlands in the U.S. Great Plains. Working with Craig Davis, Scott Loss and collaborators, the researcher will turn existing precipitation, wetland and waterbird analyses into a decision-support tool for wetland management, and analyse bird habitat use, movement and migration timing. Funding supports up to two years through appointments of one year or less. Salary is USD 60,000 annually plus benefits excluding retirement, with research travel support. The position is classified as 11-month temporary faculty. Application review begins 30 October 2026 and continues until a suitable applicant is found; this is a review date, not a final deadline. The anticipated start is November 2026 to January 2027. Submit a cover letter, CV and three referee contacts through the employer portal.

Nicolas Mathevon examines the evolution of vocal communication through an analysis of songs from more than 3,000 passerine species. The study organizes their acoustic diversity into eight basic motifs and relates motif use to social organization, morphology, mating systems and sound transmission. Tropical forest conditions favor simpler signals such as flat whistles that travel effectively through dense habitat. In temperate regions, dense populations, short breeding seasons and stronger sexual selection favor complex signals such as rapid trills, despite their greater degradation during transmission. The resulting global pattern reflects a changing balance between environmental constraints and selection for complex communication. Online on 30 September 2026, 17:00–18:00 CEST (Europe/Paris; UTC+2), with an optional 15-minute discussion afterward. Open worldwide through Zoom. Use the join information on the organizer's page; its optional registration form subscribes attendees to seminar updates. Organized by LINGUAE's Animal Linguistics Seminar, with Emmanuel Chemla, Lucie Ravaux and Philippe Schlenker. Online via Zoom; public joining instructions on the organizer’s seminar page.

Chris Smith presents research on individual differences in fruit flies, colour-linked pupil responses in synaesthesia, and how mating patterns broaden cognitive variation in chickadees. The episode also examines which species succeed in cities and how DNA organisation changes in cancer. The publisher provides a full episode player and individual interview transcripts.