Ethology conferences

Under the theme Aspiration, Action, Anticipation: AI for Science Looking to 2030, this summit asks how AI is already changing scientific practice and how research may develop over the next few years. Researchers will examine scientific reasoning and discovery alongside applications in cancer biology, climate and weather prediction, animal behaviour and cosmology. Talks, discussion and a poster session connect methodological advances with practical scientific problems. Confirmed contributors include Max Welling, Hana Aliee, Boris Bolliet, Cait Newport, Richard Turner, Neil Lawrence, Stephen Roberts and Sadiq Jaffer. The summit takes place on 24 November, 10:00–18:00, at Churchill College, Cambridge; times are Europe/London, GMT (UTC+00:00). The organizer’s event-specific registration form confirms that online participation is available for remote attendees. In-person places are limited and offered first come, first served, with a waiting list once full. Register using the linked Microsoft Form.

The SICB annual meeting examines how organisms function and evolve by integrating morphology, development, physiology, behaviour and ecology. Symposia connect neural sensing to movement; test developmental and evolutionary responses to climate; investigate regeneration of bodies, brains and behaviour; and combine extinct and living organisms to reconstruct biological change. Further sessions examine dormancy, compliant structures, host–microbiome feedback, mutualisms, shark development, polyploidy, crustacean life cycles and animal aesthetics. Neuromechanics sessions compare how muscle–tendon properties, passive body mechanics, active sensing and neural circuits support stable, adaptable movement. Regeneration sessions combine single-cell and spatial omics, gene editing, live imaging, lineage tracing and comparative genomics to test whether recovery reuses developmental mechanisms. Dormancy sessions compare molecular and physiological pathways across diapause, torpor and hibernation. Contributed talks and posters extend these comparative approaches across biological scales. The Science and Society plenary examines the evolutionary biomechanics of terrestrial locomotion; the President’s plenary asks whether humans are unusually extravagant in their energy use. The programme begins on 3 January at 19:30 with the Science and Society plenary, followed by a 20:30 reception. Scientific sessions continue on 4–7 January; the final scheduled lecture ends at 16:30 on 7 January. All programme times are Eastern Standard Time (America/New_York, UTC−05:00). Presenters must register by 2 November 2026 to remain on the programme. Early registration prices apply through 2 December 2026. Full-meeting fees before/after that date are: professional members $572/$672; nonmember professionals $842/$942; postdoc members $367/$467; nonmember postdocs $486/$586; student members $227/$327; nonmember students $346/$446; and emeritus members $405/$505. Developing-country professional members pay $200/$300, nonmember professionals $275/$375, and student members $127/$227. Eligible AMS, MISS, SVP or TCS affiliates pay $572/$672. K–12/community-college educator members pay $243/$343 and nonmembers $335/$435. One-day rates before/after the same date are: professional/postdoc/emeritus members $230/$330; nonmember professionals/emeritus/educators $351/$451; educator members $150/$250; student members and developing-country members $135/$235; and nonmember students and developing-country nonmembers $200/$300. Fees are in US dollars. Registration requires an attendee profile; affiliate eligibility is checked. Refund requests must arrive by 2 December 2026 and incur a 20% administrative fee; partial-refund adjustments incur 3.5%.

The conference brings together empirical and theoretical research applying evolutionary explanations to behaviour. It spans behavioural ecology, comparative and developmental psychology, ethology, anthropology, cultural evolution and archaeology, with contributions from other relevant social and biological sciences. The programme encourages interdisciplinary work on the relationships among biology, social environments, culture and human behaviour.

Investigate how the human capacity to understand and create complex sequences in language, memory, music, dance and narrative relates to behavioural sequencing in other animals. The meeting uses ecological demands on animal behaviour to explore the evolution of these abilities and fundamental questions in comparative cognitive science. This Theo Murphy meeting is intended for researchers in relevant fields and takes place in person. Attendance is free but requires an invitation: applicants state their expertise and reasons for attending, and organisers review requests on a rolling basis. Catering and accommodation are separate. Registered participants are invited to submit posters; submissions within one month of the event may miss the programme booklet.

The meeting studies animal movement from individual cognition and decision-making through social coordination, populations and evolutionary change. It examines responses to extreme conditions, the effects of movement on species interactions and disease, and connections with conservation, land use and infrastructure. New tracking technologies, multiple sensor streams, onboard processing, near-real-time observations and AI-based analyses will be discussed as ways to connect mechanisms with environmental change. Animals are considered both study subjects and indicators of changing habitats. Attendance applications are reviewed and capacity may fill before the application deadline.

The meeting examines the neural mechanisms that produce behaviour in natural settings and how those mechanisms evolved. It connects comparative neuroscience with behavioural ecology through molecular specialization, electrophysiology, synaptic and modulatory mechanisms, neural population dynamics and causal circuit experiments. Participants will assess how new methods for tracking behaviour and recording freely moving animals can strengthen mechanistic explanations across species and guide future collaborative research. Attendance requires a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering, or an accepted equivalent. Applications are subject to selection and available capacity.