fxdm

fxdm, 2 months ago to science

New mechanism of vocalization in a fish species. Danionella is able to produce 140 dB sounds using a nice structure made of cartilages drumming on the swim bladder. This is very different from the typical direct vibration induced by sonic muscles observed in most vocal fish species. Don't miss the nice illustrative videos.

📄 Cook et al (2024) PNAS http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2314017121

#Science #Biology #AnimalBehaviour #Physiology #Fish #AnimalCommunication

fxdm, 2 months ago to Trains

A swan hits a catenary as a train approaches... and survive. The bird was then captured by members of a naturalist association to check its condition: it is safe and sound.

#RailroadEcology #Train #Swan #Lyon #Webcam

Webcam footage. A swan hits a catenary as a train approaches and survive. The bird was then captured by members of a naturalist association to check its condition: it is safe and sound.

fxdm, 3 months ago to science

The dilemma between keeping the eggs warm and surviving starvation when you are an incubating bird in the Arctic. Far from being measurement artefacts, extended recess is a sensible strategy under harsh environmental and poor body conditions. Congratulation to Léa Etchart for this new paper from her PhD project.

📄 Etchart et al (2024) Proc R Soc B http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2264

#Science #Biology #Ecology #AnimalBevahiour #ParentalCare #Bird #Shorebird #CNRS #Lehna #LEHNA_lab #UnivLyon1 #ANR

fxdm, 3 months ago to science

Permanent research position in fish behaviour ecology in an excellent fish lab in the south-west of France. Both fieldwork and theoretical approaches are welcome.

#Science #Biology #Ecology #AnimalBehaviour #Fish #Career #Position #Academics

🔗 https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competitions-research-scientists-job-profiles-crcn/cr-2024-ecodiv-4

fxdm, 5 months ago to science

Scientists and the general public have long dismissed the cognitive abilities of cows, pigs, and other livestock. But farm animals are capable of much more than we think.

#Science #Biology #AnimalBehaviour #Behaviour #Cognition #intelligence #Cattle #Cow #Pig #Livestock #Chicken

📄 Grimm D (2023) What are farm animals thinking? Science 382:1103–1107 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adn3270

fxdm, 5 months ago to science

From black hole physics to theoretical behavioural ecology. John M McNamara giving an inaugural lecture in Budapest, Hungary: "The art of the state, modelling the endpoints of evolution by natural selection". (Don't miss the famous photos of Alasdair Houston and John from the 70s)

#Science #Biology #Ecology #Evolution #EvolutionaryTheory #EvolutionaryBiology #AnimalBehaviour #Behaviour #BehaviouralEcology #bird #ParentalCare #GameTheory #Lecture #Bristol

https://youtu.be/GSTK9x1Z0LA?si=0QpEuj_rXiY3QK4b

fxdm, 5 months ago to science

For French and German speakers, Chloé Laubu and I are interviewed in a clever and funny TV documentary about fish cognition by ARTE.

#PopularScience #Science #Biology #Cognition #AnimalBehaviour #Fish #Emotion

📺 French version: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/105577-000-A/des-poissons-pas-si-cons/
📺 German version: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/105577-000-A/fische-schlauer-als-gedacht/

fxdm, 6 months ago to chess

A study of cultural evolution based on a massive dataset of 3.5 million #chess games from 1971 to 2019. As expected, some moves evolved under negative frequency dependence (anticonformity, advantage of rare traits). But some others evolved on pure prestige bias when players mimicked elite players.

#Science #evolution #culture #conformity #prestige #strategy #bias #CognitiveBias

📄 Lappo et al (2023) Cultural transmission of move choice in chess. Proc R Soc B 290:20231634 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1634

fxdm, 6 months ago to science

On the importance of ecologically relevant protocols when studying animal cognition. The chicken passed a cleverly modified version of the mirror test for self-recognition.

#Science #Biology #AnimalBehaviour #Cognition #MirrorTest #Bird #Chicken #Rooster

📄 Hillemacher et al (2023) Roosters do not warn the bird in the mirror: The cognitive ecology of mirror self-recognition. PLoS ONE 18:e0291416 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291416