iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex Zemella @alexzemella.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Today marks the end of my PhD at the MPI-BI! I got to spend four years working with the most incredible birds, and somehow found myself surrounded by equally incredible people along the way. Grateful doesn't even begin to cover it. Thank you to everyone who made this chapter so unforgettable. 🐦❤️

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Reposted by Alex Zemella

MPI for Biological Intelligence @mpiforbi.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

🪺 🐣 Where do birds end up building their nests? A new study by the Küpper group & colleagues at the University of Oulu shows that in ruffs, this is driven by both social and environmental factors: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @chorlnev.bsky.social

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Reposted by Alex Zemella

Ecology and Evolution @ecol-evol.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

How do female ruffs choose their nest location? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @koivulakari.bsky.social #ornithology

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Alex Zemella @alexzemella.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

What a fantastic Etho 2025 conference in Tutzing this week! 🤩 So much fun as both a speaker (behavioural genetics symposium represent! 🧬) and part of the organising team. It was fantastic connecting with so many brilliant scientists. Already looking forward to the next one!

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Alex Zemella @alexzemella.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

A super enzyme encoded by a supergene. Is there anything not "super" about these birds? 🤩 doi.org/10.1126/scie...

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Reposted by Alex Zemella

Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Studying these male ruffs led to "findings [that] change what we know about how hormone levels can be controlled." That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Independent (left) and satellite (right) males make similar amounts of testosterone in their testes—but have vastly different amounts of the hormone in their blood. Credit: Axel Griesch/MPI for Biological Intelligence

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Alex Zemella @alexzemella.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

A big thank you to @rosvall-lab.bsky.social for the fantastic perspective article on our latest findings! 🔥 The power grid metaphor really captures the essence of our research 🧬 Check out the article here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #Science #BehavioralGenetics #Endocrinology

science.org

Adaptations in surprising places

Testosterone is controlled while it circulates in the bloodstream

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Alex Zemella @alexzemella.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Thrilled to share that our research on androgen variation underlying the three ruff mating morphs has been published in Science! 🎉 Huge thanks to @science.org‬ for the stunning cover highlighting our work 💫 Check out the publication here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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