iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

If you are going to @animbehsociety.bsky.social meeting later this month you can check out what we are doing now - see Erin Murray’s talk about our newest version of the operant device!

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If you can’t access it, DM me and I’ll send it to you.

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The birds had to figure out which perch to land on to get access to their babies (we only blocked them for one hour, we aren’t monsters). Noise did not impact cognitive performance, although it did affect some other behaviors. Read the paper to see the details.

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Sara exposed half of the bluebird pairs at the Penn State research farm to noise with the other half acting as controls. She also tested all the birds with an operant trap door device.

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I’m so happy to say that my first bird cognition project since my dissertation is out at Behavioral Ecology. This was half of MS student Sara Isgate’s thesis; she is now at Indiana University working on a PhD with @rosvall-lab.bsky.social.

Tessa Solomon-Lane @tksolomonlane.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Reposted by Jason Keagy

Please share! I'm hiring a new NSF-funded Lab Technician, ideally to start in June at the Claremont Colleges. We study the development of social behavior and its regulation by behavioral, endocrine, and neural mechanisms using a highly social cichlid fish 🐠🧠🧪 +info TessaSolomonLane.com/Hiring

A white, blue, and purple flyer advertising that the Solomon-Lane Lab is hiring an NSF-funded Lab Technician. Apply by May 8th!

About the Lab
• We study the development of social behavior and its regulation by behavioral, endocrine, and neural mechanisms using a highly social cichlid fish model - Burton’s Mouthbrooder (Astatotilapia burtoni).
• Our lab group is comprised entirely of undergraduate researchers! We are a part of the Department of Natural Sciences of Pitzer College and Scripps College, within the Claremont Colleges consortium.
• We are a welcoming and collaborative group committed to an inclusive, honest, and fair environment for research and learning.

About the Position
• In collaboration with the PI and undergraduate researchers, the technician will be actively involved in all aspects of the research process, from designing experiments to disseminating results.
• Learn key and cutting-edge scientific techniques in behavioral neuroendocrinology.
• Gain experience in mentoring undergraduates, leadership, and research independence.

Job details & eligibility
• Ideal start date in June 2026 (flexibility possible)
• NSF-funded, full-time, 1-year (with possibility for extension) position with benefits. See job ad for pay.
• Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, biology, psychology, or a related field required.
• At least 1 year of relevant research experience.

Learn more at: TessaSolomonLane.com/Hiring

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Jason Keagy @jasonkeagy.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I liked the Princeton guide, but didn’t try any others. As for a human bird guide - Sathyan Meppayur is the GOAT. Amazing artist and photographer, too.

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Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Are you (or do you know someone) recently graduated from undergrad looking to beef up your skills and experience prior to starting grad school/career? Do you like social drama and parakeets? Come join my team! I'm looking for two people to start very soon!! tinyurl.com/59rf8jcy

Graphical ad for Hobson Lab Parakeet sociality & cognition Postbac Research Technician, with a graphic showing a flock of monk parakeets flying towards a social network, two unmarked monk parakeets perched, and examples of our individually color-marked birds showing their dye marks and color codes

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Jason Keagy @jasonkeagy.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Do you mean from multiple tissues or is a single tissue type OK? We have this data for gills in brook trout. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/ac...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

GEO Accession viewer

NCBI's Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) is a public archive and resource for gene expression data.

David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Reposted by Jason Keagy

I am currently searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass at Michigan State University. This work will be funded by a newly funded five-year DOE grant. careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...

careers.msu.edu

Research Associate-Fixed Term - East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Position Summary The Lowry Lab at Michigan State University is searching for a postdoctoral research associate to conduct molecular and physiological experiments to understand the causes of genetic va...

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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!

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Vladimir Pravosudov @cognitiveecol.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

I am looking for a postdoc to work in our long-term system of food-caching mountain chickadees in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The expected start is April 2026. Please see details here: chickadeecognition.com/positions If interested and qualified, please contact me directly (email on the website).

chickadeecognition.com

POSITIONS

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Rachael Shaw @wild-minds.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

PhD scholarship alert! Are you interested in cognitive evolution? Do you want to know how development influences cognitive traits? Do you love hanging out with birds in the forest? If the answer to these questions is yes, please apply to work with us! 1/2 🧪 www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...

Ella holds a fluffy and sleepy looking toutouwai chick during banding and fits an orange band to its leg

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Reposted by Jason Keagy

Julia Saltz @juliasaltz.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

My lab at Indiana University is searching for a *postdoc* and *technician* to contribute to our work studying the evolution of social behavior using fruit flies as a model system. Details below, feel free to email me with any questions! More info on our research: saltzlab.com

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David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Michigan State University, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship. eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...

eeb.msu.edu

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

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Amanda Moehring @flybehaviour.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

I'm recruiting a US PhD student to come to Canada to work on the genetic and neural basis of female mating behaviour. Fellowship of ~$40k per year. Contact me if interested in submitting an application. Details of eligibility here! grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...

grad.uwo.ca

US-CAN Doctoral Excellence Award

Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

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Also from a personal side of things, this was a massive undertaking that, quite frankly, I still can’t believe we pulled off. Kudos to grad student Sarah Batchelor for leading the field and lab work and @marathon-rana.bsky.social for some creative analysis of a truly insane dataset. (5/n)

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Landscape transcriptomics as a tool for addressing global change effects across diverse species

* Overall change in expression patterns was more intense during the second heatwave. We think the first heatwave "primed" response for the second heatwave. * This is an example of the landscape transcriptomics approach we've been advocating: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... (4/n)

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Landscape transcriptomics is an emerging field studying how genome-wide expression patterns reflect dynamic landscape-scale environmental drivers, including habitat, weather, climate, and contaminant....

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* Many of the genes we identified as responding to heatwaves have been identified in lab work as potential biomarkers. We show these likely have utility in wild pops where things are "messier". (3/n)

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Some key points: * Across the four pops of brook trout sampled we saw consistent and strong transcriptomic response to the heat waves. * There was also some variability bw pops in gene expression response and some of this variability can be attributed to genetic differences between the pops. (2/n)

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Matthew Herron @matthewherron.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

This is a bit delayed because I’ve been distracted by the world going to shit, but… We published a paper that I am so very excited about: doi.org/10.1016/j.sc... In this study we tracked brook trout response to heat waves in nature using gene expression from non-lethal gill biopsies. (1/n)

doi.org

Redirecting

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Reposted by Jason Keagy

I lost my job at the National Science Foundation yesterday, along with 167 of my colleagues, including some dear friends. This was the best job I've ever had, and I thought it would be my last. The PI community has been sympathetic and supportive, without exception. I will miss working for you.

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Reposted by Jason Keagy

Sinead English @englishse.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Exciting PhD opportunity with @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social , @padpadpadpad.bsky.social (Exeter) and myself (Bristol) on gulls, their microbiomes, and role in transmitting disease. Details below - deadline 13 January!

Poster of PhD advert about role gulls play in spreading disease and antimicrobial resistance. More info: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/what-role-do-gulls-play-in-spreading-disease-and-anti-microbial-resistance-nerc-gw4-dtp-phd-studentship-for-september-2025-entry-ref-5431/?p178297

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Erica Larson @ellarson.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

We have a postdoc position available in the lab on post-copulatory barriers in hybridizing crickets. We have genomic data ready to be analyzed and crickets ready for experiments. This is a great collaborative group and a study system with a lot of potential for new projects. Join us!

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Jason Keagy @jasonkeagy.bsky.social · 16/10/2024

Another (much longer than any of us suspected) project finished!

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Every time I moved and transitioned to a new job, this paper got put on the backburner, and then it took awhile to find a journal that saw its potential (thanks Proc B!), but NEVER GIVE UP! (6/6)

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This was my first foray into transcriptomics which has become an important tool for my current lab. It also was the first large grant I ever wrote AND received (thanks BEACON Center!) (5/6)

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There’s a lot in this paper, but the most interesting result was that gene expression in the brains of female stickleback fish changed dynamically depending on the male traits the female was exposed to, and this response differed between sympatric closely-related species. (4/6)

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We used the benthic-limnetic species-pair stickleback system to characterize gene expression in the brains of females making mate choice decisions. (3/6)

Mate choice plays a key role in the generation and maintenance of new species, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms influencing these important decisions. (2/6)