Reposted by Alexis BreenMPI for Biological Intelligence @mpiforbi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Your PhD journey starts here and now! 🚀 🎓 We are recruiting PhD students in the life sciences for our international and fully funded graduate program IMPRS-BI in the Munich area, Germany. 📆 Apply from: 01 October 2026 ⏰ Deadline: 10 November 2026 ❗ Apply now: imprs-bi.mpg.de/51861/How-to... 0813
Reposted by Alexis BreenJolyon Troscianko @jtroscianko.bsky.social · 30/09/2026🦋 Butterfly wing patterns create motion illusions that protect them from predators! Our new study (8 years in the making) is out in Nature today doi.org/10.1038/s415... @grahancock.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social @scienceanna.bsky.social @lauraakelley.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social 12261129
Reposted by Alexis BreenTaylor Mitchell Brown @tmitchellbrown.bsky.social · 29/09/2026New research finds the Suriname toad’s strange star-shaped fingertips are a kind of tactile eyeball that allow them to ‘see’ their prey. The toes detect subtle vibrations in the water and translate them into details about size and speed. #ToadToesTuesday 🧪🧪 New at @science.orgscience.orgThese frogs ‘see’ prey with their star-shaped toesFingertips of Suriname toads are hypersensitive motion detectors, new study reveals 03112
Reposted by Alexis BreenSholto David @sholtodavid.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Today I'm posting a new video about a team of ophthalmology researchers in Germany who scribbled on their figures! t.co/X2U6zCw9pn 12710
Reposted by Alexis BreenFélicie Dhellemmes @felicie-dhellemmes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Proud to present our latest work "Tracking human foragers and their prey reveals adaptive predator-prey dynamics", now hosted on BioRxiv! 🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202... @ralfkurvers.bsky.social @scioi.bsky.social @arc-mpib.bsky.social @alexschakowski.bsky.social @dominikdeffner.bsky.social 26527
Reposted by Alexis BreenRichard McElreath 🐈⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I can't see any identification strategy in this paper. Do they assume that any learning after peering is social? I hope that isn't right. If so, that's variation in peering and exploration, not in learning strategies. Section 16.2 of my book has a computational example of what's wrong with this. 2171
Reposted by Alexis BreenDominik Deffner @dominikdeffner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Now published in @natcomms.nature.com! Using a 3D immersive-reality group experiment, we show how people integrate dynamically changing personal and social cues in realistic environments, resulting in either collective intelligence or maladaptive behavior! Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 03415
Reposted by Alexis BreenTomer Ullman @tomerullman.bsky.social · 06/11/2025It’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice. Caveats: -*-*-*-* > These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees > They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases 411761
Reposted by Alexis BreenPierre-Simon Laplace @learnbayesstats.bsky.social · 31/08/2026In this special episode of Learning Bayesian Statistics, @alex-andorra.bsky.social is joined by Andrew Gelman, Aki Vehtari, and Richard McElreath to discuss Bayesian Workflow. From simulation and hierarchical pooling to causal inference, there’s a lot to unpack 🎧 lnkd.in/geX2QkxV #Bayesianlearnbayesstats.comBayesian Workflow - Gelman, Vehtari & McElreathAndrew Gelman, Aki Vehtari, and Richard McElreath discuss their new book on Bayesian workflow, reverse Bayes and hierarchical pooling. 13710
Reposted by Alexis BreenAlfredo Sánchez-Tójar @asanchez-tojar.bsky.social · 29/07/2026🐦 Thrilled to share our latest research, a milestone: the first first-author paper from @shreyadimri.bsky.social, published in @royalsocietypublishing.org Why do birds add fresh green nest material to their nests? 🧵 🔗 doi.org/10.1098/rspb... 12911
Reposted by Alexis BreenAlejandro Sandoval-Lentisco @asandovall.bsky.social · 21/07/2026How often are multiverse analyses implemented, not just cited/discussed? How are they implemented? 🧵 New preprint on the uptake and implementation of multiverse-style analyses 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgUptake and Implementation of Multiverse-style Analyses Across 613 StudiesEmpirical conclusions can depend on the many individual choices researchers make when analyzing data. Multiverse-style analyses address this by computing results across a set of specifications rather ... 21917
Reposted by Alexis BreenRalf Kurvers @ralfkurvers.bsky.social · 15/06/2026New preprint led by @lucasmolleman.bsky.social investigates social information use across the human lifespan. Testing >40,000 participants aged 6-80 in museums in Berlin and Japan. psyarxiv.com/hec96 13921
Reposted by Alexis BreenPierre-Simon Laplace @learnbayesstats.bsky.social · 27/05/2026🚨 @rmcelreath.bsky.social @statmodeling.bsky.social & @avehtari.bsky.social are coming on the show mid-June to discuss their new book, Bayesian Workflow! ONE listener gets to bring a real Bayesian problem onto the recording and have the three of them work through it live. Here's how to enter 🧵 45114
Reposted by Alexis BreenLibby Chapman @libbychaps.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Super happy to share some work from my masters project with @cogwild.bsky.social 🪺 Using six years of data from blue tits, we show that wild birds make decisions about their nest design based on their reproductive success in the previous year. 📄 doi.org/10.1093/behe... 32711
Reposted by Alexis BreenKartik Chandra @kartikchandra.bsky.social · 19/05/2026I wrote a tiny LaTeX package that creates a wordcount environment. You can use it to auto-print word counts, when paring down text to meet limits. For example: \begin{wordcount}{\abstractcount} This is my abstract. \end{wordcount} \textbf{Word count:} \abstractcount % prints 4 Source code below… 1279
Reposted by Alexis BreenEcology of Animal Societies @livingingroups.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Is bigger always better? For social animals, group size is a dilemma: big groups face more internal competition, yet hold an edge over smaller neighbors. 33 years of data on 12 wild capuchin groups reveals how these forces shape behavior. Out today in *Nat Eco & Evo*: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 14931
Reposted by Alexis BreenMPI for Biological Intelligence @mpiforbi.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Constructing a nest underwater is no easy task! But shell-dwelling cichlids are expert architects, instinctively transforming empty snail shells into protective nests. Take a deep dive into the new cichlid research from our Institute! 🔗 Press release: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2026-04... 184
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 30/01/2026Re-amplifying great work I somehow missed—nicely showing what many of us suspected (and then some). #TeamRL 🔥 052
Reposted by Alexis BreenMichael Wagner @michiwagner4.bsky.social · 19/12/2025🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨 The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists Interested? Get in touch via direct message careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e... #MicroSky 🧪 #PostDoc @univie.ac.at 098116
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 17/12/2025Ending 2025 strong—new paper out today in #ProcB! Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalizability 🐦🌿🧠👩💻 Preprint thread below 👇 Paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...royalsocietypublishing.orgDynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalizabilityAbstract. Animals often balance asocial and social information strategically, adjusting when and from whom they copy based on context. Yet the cognition dr 0125
Reposted by Alexis BreenChris Krupenye @chriskrupenye.bsky.social · 02/12/2025🚨Job Alert plz RT! Johns Hopkins Psych & Brain Sciences is looking for a new colleague using behavioral or computational approaches to study cognition! We are excited about many areas of (esp higher) cognition in human adults, children, or nonhuman animals Open-rank apply.interfolio.com/178146 05474
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 27/11/2025There's still time left to apply to join us for the 2026 field season! Deadline: Dec 1 👇🏝️🏕️📊👥 056
Reposted by Alexis BreenJolyon Troscianko @jtroscianko.bsky.social · 06/11/2025BehaveAI is live! Our biologically inspired video analysis tool sees motion as colour. Track animals or objects, classify their behaviour, and handle complex natural scenes with ease. Semi-supervised annotation, no GPUs required, user-friendly, free & open source. Pre-print tinyurl.com/BehaveAI 27026
Reposted by Alexis BreenMax Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics @mpicybernetics.bsky.social · 21/10/2025📣 Apply now for the 🌵CaCTüS 3-month fully funded internship in Germany in 2026! Work on ML, theor. neuroscience, computational psychiatry, behavioral experiments or data analysis at a top institution in Tübingen. For students facing barriers in higher education. 👉 cactus-internship.tuebingen.mpg.de 01111
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 27/10/2025#CrowCoG is hiring🚨MULTIPLE PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS 🚨for our 2026 field season (May - Sep)! Field and aviary-based positions - come help us study the remarkable tool-making New Caledonian crows. Apply here: bit.ly/3WlxxHE 04850
Reposted by Alexis BreenCharley Wu @thecharleywu.bsky.social · 20/10/2025Fully-funded 4-year #PhD in Cultural Evolution! Join my @erc.europa.eu project exploring how compression & compositionality drive cultural innovation: hmc-lab.com/ERCPhDCultur... Apply by Nov 12! Maybe of interest to folks from #COSMOS2025 or @eslr.bsky.social? Please feel free to share! 🙏hmc-lab.comERC funded PhD position on Cultural EvolutionERC funded PhD position on Cultural Evolution posted on October 16, 2025 We are currently seeking a highly motivated individual for a ful... 16562
Reposted by Alexis BreenSonja Wild @sonjawild.bsky.social · 09/10/2025Out today in @plosbiology.org (1/5) Siblings and non-parental adults provide alternative pathways to cultural inheritance in juvenile great tits 🐦🧩 Link to study: 10.0.5.91/journal.pbio... Co-authors: @lucymaplin.bsky.social @galarconnieto.bsky.social 26825
Reposted by Alexis BreenThomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 07/10/2025#bowerbirds are the only birds that build structures used specifically for courtship. But why and how did this remarkable ability evolve? We discuss some possibilities in our new review in Emu - Austral Ornithology! @fusanilab.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0158... 1197
Reposted by Alexis BreenMax-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · 01/09/2025The #MaxPlanckPostdocProgram offers a guaranteed contract of at least 3 years, targeted mentoring, and career workshops. The call for applications is open now! 🚀 Take advantage of this opportunity and browse the job vacancies. www.mpg.de/en/max-planc... 211098
Reposted by Alexis BreenFelix W. Moll @mollfw.bsky.social · 11/09/2025New paper on precise tool use learning in carrion crows @currentbiology.bsky.social. We show that—like New Caledonian crows—expert carrion crows pay close attention to the working end of their tool, suggesting tool integration into their peripersonal space. 🧵 & vids! 👇 www.cell.com/current-biol... 220976
Reposted by Alexis BreenBrendan Barrett @bjjbarrett.bsky.social · 20/08/2025New paper from my group led by Odd Jacobson, former PhD student & current postdoc @livingingroups.bsky.social : How do animal groups simultaneously balance between- and within-group competition in dynamic environments and does this impact movement and space use? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...biorxiv.orgBetween-group competitive advantage offsets foraging costs for bigger groups in harsher seasonsLarger animal groups are widely understood to require more space and travel farther to mitigate the foraging costs of within-group competition. Yet, between-group interactions and shifting resource di... 1198
Reposted by Alexis BreenMartha W. Alibali @marthaalibali.bsky.social · 18/07/2025As an inveterate em-dash user, I loved this. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...mcsweeneys.netThe Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations“In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is... 0194
Reposted by Alexis BreenMichael Haslam @twigtechnology.bsky.social · 29/06/2025“the widespread appeal of animal tool use is partly due to anthropocentrism” 👍 for this new comparison of how animal tools and nests are talked about, from Sally Street et al. The need to slap a human-like ‘intelligence’ label on animals is a symptom of this bias (writing a book on that now) 🧪🪹🔨sciencedirect.comAnthropocentric bias may explain research disparities between animal tool use and nest buildingScientists are not immune from bias. Studying nonhuman species objectively is inherently challenging, especially for ‘charismatic’ and ostensibly huma… 24610
Reposted by Alexis BreenCharley Wu @thecharleywu.bsky.social · 11/06/2025🚀Join our team @tuda.bsky.social ! 🚀 I'm looking for 3 PhDs & 1 Postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu project “C4: Compositional Compression in Cognition and Culture” to study learning across individuals, teams, and cultural timescales 👉 PhD: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html 👉 Postdoc: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc.... 28052
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025And here’s ours -- fully reproducible code and materials: 🔗 github.com/alexisbreen/... 9/9github.comGitHub - alexisbreen/Dynamic-nest-building: Reproducible repositoryReproducible repository . Contribute to alexisbreen/Dynamic-nest-building development by creating an account on GitHub. 010
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025More great EWA modelling repos worth a shout-out: 🐒 @bjjbarrett.bsky.social et al. (capuchins): 🔗 github.com/bjbarrett/pa... 🐍 @mchimento.bsky.social et al. (Python-based theory): 🔗 github.com/michaelchime... 🧵8/ngithub.comGitHub - bjbarrett/panama1: rstan code, graphing code, data simulations, and data for the first panama paperrstan code, graphing code, data simulations, and data for the first panama paper - bjbarrett/panama1 130
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Not a co-author, but a major influence -- big thanks to @dominikdeffner.bsky.social et al., whose prior modelling work and shared GitHub repo were foundational to this study: 🔗 github.com/DominikDeffn... 🧵7/ngithub.comGitHub - DominikDeffner/Dynamic-Social-LearningContribute to DominikDeffner/Dynamic-Social-Learning development by creating an account on GitHub. 120
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Huge thanks to all co-authors (T. Eckersley, A. Camacho-Alpízar, C. Lambert, G. Balasubramanian, S. Healy, @rmcelreath.bsky.social, @laurenguillette.bsky.social), with extra thanks to @laurenguillette.bsky.social and @rmcelreath.bsky.social sky.social for encouraging this passion project 🙏 6/n 111
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Overall, our study shows how computational modelling can link observed behaviour to hidden cognitive mechanisms, and probe their generalisability -- we hope this encourages wider use of these approaches in animal cognition research! 🌐📝⚙️🧠 🧵5/n 110
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Using cognitive model estimates, we ran simulations where material rewards varied. Payoff structure -- not (dis)satisfaction -- drove social material choice. But bigger rewards didn’t mean more copying. So, preliminary insights into how material-use strategies may generalise e.g., in tool use. 🧵4/n 110
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025We link males' material choices to two asocial and two social latent learning parameters -- their decisions are dynamic! -- to provide the first formal mechanistic evidence for the cognitive basis of birds’ nest building ⚙️🧠 🧵3/n 140
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Zebbie nest-builders seem to *copy-if-dissatisfied* with prior material-experience, particularly at 1st choice -- this suggests they recognise the utility of social information. 🧵2/n 120
Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025👇 New #preprint combining computational models with zebbie data: "Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalisability". 🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025... 🧵1/ndoi.orgDynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalisabilityAnimals often balance asocial and social information strategically, adjusting when and from whom they copy based on context. Yet the cognition driving this dynamic—and its broader implications—remains... 1169
Reposted by Alexis BreenSoapbox Science Berlin @berlin-soapbox.bsky.social · 26/05/2025Today, we're thrilled to announce two of our incredible speakers for the #SoapboxScience Berlin 2025 event. First up is Dr Annika Tjuka ✨ @annikatjuka.bsky.social 184
Reposted by Alexis BreenTomer J. Czaczkes @tomerczaczkes.bsky.social · 17/05/2025Tool use in insects: Assassin bugs apply resin to their forelegs before a stingless bee hunt. This makes the bees attack the bug in just the right position to be caught! Videos will worth watching www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....pnas.orgTool use aids prey-fishing in a specialist predator of stingless bees | PNASTool use is widely reported across a broad range of the animal kingdom, yet comprehensive empirical tests of its function and evolutionary drivers ... 519884
Reposted by Alexis BreenAnna Thoma @annaithoma.bsky.social · 10/04/20251/n 🆕📄: How do children learn to adapt to different environments when making repeated choices? And what do cognitive immaturity and probability matching have to do with it? Our new article explores how kids & adults differ in probability learning across statistical task structures: mpib.berlin/R3RFypsycnet.apa.orgAPA PsycNet 11911
Reposted by Alexis BreenNicholas Wu @nicholaswu.bsky.social · 05/04/2025🚨 Lecturer in Animal Behaviour position @waikatouniversity.bsky.social. Fantastic opportunity for someone passionate about teaching & research in animal behaviour, preferably on birds, amphibians, reptiles or bats. 📍 Hamilton, NZ Closes: 4th May 2025 🔗 www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795... 14557
Reposted by Alexis BreenChris Krupenye @chriskrupenye.bsky.social · 23/03/2025🚨RT! The Social & Cognitive Origins group at @jhuartssciences.bsky.social (social-cognitive-origins.com), directed by Dr. Christopher Krupenye, is recruiting a full-time research assistant or lab manager to begin Summer 2025. The position has a one-year minimum, w/ the possibility of extension. 1/ 24756
Reposted by Alexis BreenPrimate Research and News @ourprimatepast.bsky.social · 06/03/2025A new study investigates termite fishing in chimpanzees using camera traps in Mbam and Djerem National Park. Researchers document 46 technique variations, with similarities to both savanna and rainforest communities, suggesting environmental influences shape tool-use behaviors:onlinelibrary.wiley.comPatterns of Technical Variation in Chimpanzee Termite Fishing Behavior in Mbam and Djerem National Park, CameroonChimpanzees exhibit considerable inter- and intra-community variation in cognitively complex tool use behaviors, often attributed to social, genetic, and environmental factors. Termite fishing is a w.... 0147
Reposted by Alexis BreenAuke-Florian 🪹 @aukeflorian.nl · 28/02/2025JUST OUT! 🚨 Time capsule birds' nests! 🪹 I'm proud to share our discovery of layers of vintage plastic in urban birds’ nests... going back decades in time! 👀 “You flip through these nests like through pages of a history book, uncovering the past.” 📚 Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x #scicomm 🧪🪶 14398176