Sign in

Alexander Kotrschal

@kotrschal.bsky.social
352 followers 152 following 29 posts

Evolutionary behavioral biologist at Wageningen University, Netherlands - - - Fish, cognition, brains...not necessarily in that order

PostsRepliesMedia
Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐟🐠🐟 Looking for a postdoc? Let's develop a proposal together: www.wur.nl/en/jobs/pers... Get in touch to discuss topics 🐟🐠🐟🐟🐠🐟🐟🐠🐟🐟🐠
backend.wur.nl
0612
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Alberto Corral-Lopez @corrallopeza.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
We are recruiting a PhD student in my recently established lab at the Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala! Come work with us on the evolution of alternative mating tactics in water striders!
034
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Ray-finned fishes are famously diverse, but we know little about their brains or cranial endocasts. @rodrigoichthys.bsky.social opens this black box with a dice-CT survey of 86 species across the actinopt tree of life. #OA in @royalsocietypublishing.org 🐟🧠 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Figure of radial phylogeny featuring colored branches and tips representing brain-to-endocranial cavity correlation and endocast complexity. Select endocasts (rendered as semitransparent gray) and brains (rendered in peach) are shown for some terminals. They show substantial variation in shape and the degree of brain:endocast correspondence.

From Figueroa & Pierce (2026) Proc Biol Sci 293 (2070): 20253277 .
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.3277

Shared under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
09841
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Postdoc Opportunity! 4-year @royalsociety.org funded post @uniexecec.bsky.social: “Understanding the role of individual cognitive variation in reintroduction biology”. Closes: 5 June 2026. More info & to apply: careers.exeter.ac.uk/vacancies/78... Wt: @paradiseparkhayle.bsky.social & Wildwood Trust
Red-billed chough
15956
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Camille Troisi @camilletroisi.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
📢Fully-funded #PhD opportunity with us: 🐦 Quantifying (social) learning and social behaviour in an urbanised world 🐦 Position at @ceec-research.bsky.social 📆29th May deadline More info: tinyurl.com/yz28s96x Apply: tinyurl.com/2wpkb64y #cognition #socialbehaviour #fieldwork #birds 🙏Please Share
Great tit perched on a branch, with beak slightly open. 
Photo credit: Alizée Vernouillet
28398
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Davide Bottacini @davidebottacini.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Last week I finally managed to have some fun time watching bearded reedlings! This male posed for a while before taking off from the golden reeds for what was probably his last flight of the day.
121
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Animal Ecology Uppsala @animecol-uu.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
We have a new exiting PhD position in our program on the skin microbiome of amphibians, supervised by @cortazar-chinarro.bsky.social! Follow the link to read more and apply: www.uu.se/en/about-uu/.... Deadline the 8th of May.
uu.se
PhD in Evolutionary Ecology and genomics - Uppsala University
PhD in Evolutionary Ecology and genomics, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University
0613
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Cameron Blevins @cblevins.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
This is so, so well-articulated.
People call this friction "grunt work." Schwartz uses exactly that phrase, and he's right that LLMs can remove it. What he doesn't say, because he already has decades of hard-won intuition and doesn't need the grunt work anymore, is that for someone who doesn't yet have that intuition, the grunt work is the work. The boring parts and the important parts are tangled together in a way that you can't separate in advance. You don't know which afternoon of debugging was the one that taught you something fundamental about your data until three years later, when you're working on a completely different problem and the insight surfaces. Serendipity doesn't come from efficiency. It comes from spending time in the space where the problem lives, getting your hands dirty, making mistakes that nobody asked you to make and learning things nobody assigned you to learn.
97107673882
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Jess Stephenson @jfstep.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I'm looking for a lovely, talented PhD student, working on my ERC-funded project investigating the links between sexual selection and epidemic dynamics. The project uses guppies, worms, behaviour tracking, big experiments, and maths.. email me! Must have a masters! su.varbi.com/what:job/job...
su.varbi.com
Doktorand i sjukdomsekologi och partnerval
Zoologiska institutionen är en av de äldsta institutionerna vid Stockholms universitet med en lång historia av grundläggande och tillämpad forskning om djur, från leddjur till stora däggdjur. I
089
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Fichtel-Kappeler-Lab @kirindy.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Fully funded PhD position on primate parochialism! Study how cooperation within groups and conflict between groups evolve in red-fronted lemurs at our long-term field site in Kirindy Forest, Madagascar. @kirindy.bsky.social & @primatenzentrum.bsky.social. Apply here: www.dpz.eu
02734
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Rapid and repeated evolution of pigmentation patterns in reef fishes #ichthyology link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Rapid and repeated evolution of pigmentation patterns in reef fishes - BMC Biology
Background Pigmentation patterns are central to animal biology—shaping camouflage, signaling, and mate selection—and uncovering the mechanisms driving their diversification is key to understanding the...
04722
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Davide Bottacini @davidebottacini.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
This is an endemic from Mauritius that I thought I would have to leave the island without seeing: the Mauritius ornate day gecko. I managed to find quite a few in the end and I think that their upright posture complements their smiley face perfectly!
061
Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Open PhD position - please share with potential candidates. 🐟🐟🐠🐟🐟
044
Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
We are looking for a PhD student to help us improve welfare of farmed fish. Behaviour, Cognition, Welfare, Fish - join us at Wageningen University and Research! www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
054
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I am looking for a PhD student to join my new Socio-Eco-Evo group, hosted in Katie Peichel's Evolutionary Ecology Division @ University of Bern. We're offering a fully funded 4-year position, studying social plasticity and behavioral adaptation among stickleback in Greenland. Please share around!
17895
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Davide Bottacini @davidebottacini.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Another endemic from Mauritius: the Mauritius kestrel. The only bird of prey on the island. I had never been that close to a raptor in the wild!
011
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Davide Bottacini @davidebottacini.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I have recently visited Mauritius, where I was constantly looking for animals that I had never seen before (both in the water and on land). The pink pigeon is one of the few endemic birds that you can see there. They were almost extinct in the '90s and are still pretty rare in the wild.
041
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Animal Behavior Society @animbehsociety.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Job alert! The University of Zurich is hiring a professor for Evolutionary Anthropology and Primatology. Learn more here: www.appointments.mnf.uzh.ch/auth/Apply/0...
appointments.mnf.uzh.ch
Selectus - Home
01418
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Konrad Lorenz Research Center @klf-univienna.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
📣 Interested in a 4-year postdoc in the movement ecology group? @univie.ac.at is recruiting outstanding female researchers through the E-STEEM programme. @pesumas.bsky.social is a registered host and welcomes applications from potential candidates. careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
02231
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Stockholm University seeks a PhD student for a 4-year project on female sexual selection in pygmy halfbeaks. Strong interest in evolutionary and behavioral research needed. Apply by Feb 15, 2026: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:8932… #phd
su.varbi.com
PhD student in Animal Behaviour
PhD student in Animal Behaviour
0710
Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I have been breeding those guys for years as fish food. Feels bad now as we are rearing them with the kids and it turns out they are very cute pets. 24h old Artemia, let's see how they develop.
030
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
jasonwalsman.bsky.social @jasonwalsman.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Thanks @judithmank.bsky.social for this thoughtful piece on GenAI in scientific writing! academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com
Editorial: Accountability, voice, and trust - responsible use of GenAI in scientific publishing
Over the last few years, the development and rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatG
063
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Rike Stelkens @stelkens.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
We're looking for a new colleague at Asssoc Prof level! Come join us in the Zoology Department at Stockholm University. A teaching profile in ecology, faunistics and/or physiology is beneficial. Find the full job advertisemnt here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
su.varbi.com
Associate Professor in Zoology with focus on ecology and evolution
Department of Zoology  at Stockholm University includes ca. 80 employees counting researchers, PhD students, and administrative staff. Research and education at the department occurs in an internatio
04873
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Eamonn Wooster @predator-smarts.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
I'm recruiting a PhD student to study how predation shapes animal cognition and the conservation opportunities of animal cognition. Lots of fun field work in beautiful places : ) Please share !! www.eifwooster.org/opportunities
eifwooster.org
Opportunities — Eamonn I.F Wooster
12623
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Richard Lenski @relenski.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
The 2026 Guarda Summer Course in Evolutionary Biology is now accepting applications. Amazing place, amazing course, amazing opportunity for early grad students. tb.ethz.ch/education/gu...
tb.ethz.ch
Summer school:<br> Evolutionary Biology in Guarda
Information about the annual summer school Evolutionary Biology in Guarda
16571
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
The Institute for Bird Populations @instbirdpop.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
🪶🌎🧪 WE'RE HIRING!!! Want to band fabulous birds on a far-flung island in the Western Pacific? We need to fill this position ASAP. More information here: birdpop.org/docs/jobs/Ro...
Photo of the coastline of Rota by Asch Nighthawk with inset photo by Lauren Helton of two people banding a Mariana Kingfisher and inset of bander handling a Mariana Fruit-dove for photo documentaion by Kristin Attinger.
35843
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Primate Behavioral Ecology @primbehavecol.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Come and join our lab! We have TWO fully funded PhD positions AND a paid field assistant opportunity in our Behavioral Ecology group @uni-goettingen.de & @primatenzentrum.bsky.social. Projects will be part of @rtg2906-curiosity.bsky.social & @sfb1528.bsky.social!! Details in thread. Please re-post!
24953
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
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!
104564
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 18/11/2025
editors usually request cover art image submissions from authors or use stock imagery (journal publishers don't usually pay artists for cover art which is weird) Tecumseh Fitch, the editor of this special issue, chose to generate AI slop instead. He should know better
35911
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Barbara Tschirren @btschirren.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
*PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social* How does antimicrobial resistance spread through ecosystems? Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪 Please repost!
shorturl.at
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter, list...
01019
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Gilles De Meester @gilles-de-meester.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
New🐟🧠 paper! To better understand what aspects of group-living are cognitively demanding, we tested whether individual recognition depends on relative brain size in guppies. Spoilers: guppies recognized and preferred familiar fish, regardless of brain size! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Individual recognition in guppies does not require large brains - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Abstract It is often assumed that group-living animals require larger brains in order to deal with the various social challenges they encounter. One such key challenge is the need to recognize and dis...
082
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Ethological Society @ethoges.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Award alert! 🎖️🚨 Every other year, the Ethologische Gesellschaft awards the Niko Tinbergen Award to outstanding post-doc level researchers in Behavioural Biology (<=6yrs post PhD exam). ...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...
etho-ges.de
Awards – Ethologische Gesellschaft e.V.
01923
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Vivek Nityananda @viveknityananda.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
New #PhD ad alert! Interested in wild #bee #cognition and #brains in different #bumblebees? Want to live in #Newcastle and the beautiful north-east of England? Check out this project with me, @lenariab.bsky.social and Sarah Scott. Contact me for further information. iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
iapetus.ac.uk
The cognitive ecology of wild bumblebees
25159
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
EMPSEB31 @empseb31.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
🧬✨ It’s official! EMPSEB31 is coming to Germany, June 2026! Europe’s friendliest evolution meeting returns, organized by PhD students, for PhD students. Expect inspiring research, new connections, and a mix of science + fun, the EMPSEB way! 📍Save the date & follow us for updates! Link in Bio 🌍
11520
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Natalie E. van Dis @disnatalie.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
📢4-year fully funded #PhD on seasonal timing of egg overwintering insects 🦋🦗🪳 🔬Identify universal mechanisms underlying #insect egg developmental time under #ClimateChange 📌@niooknaw.bsky.social @animalecol-nioo.bsky.social ℹ️ vacatures.knaw.nl/job-invite/2... ❗Application deadline: 7 December 2025
vacatures.knaw.nl
PhD Seasonal Timing of Egg Overwintering Insects under Climate Change - NIOO-KNAW - Wageningen
PhD Seasonal Timing of Egg Overwintering Insects under Climate Change - NIOO-KNAW - Wageningen
02119
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Nick Jones @nickarjones.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
🐟 Our special issue "Measuring Fish Cognition: Empirical-based Guidance for Designing Cognition Assays" is out! From acclimation protocols to automated tracking, these studies tackle a range of methodological issues. Check it out: tinyurl.com/vdprfbf4 #FishCognition #AnimalBehaviour
tinyurl.com
Special Issue: Measuring fish cognition: Empirical based guidance for designing cognition assays: Journal of Fish Biology: Vol 107, No 4
The <em>Journal of Fish Biology</em> is a leading international ichthyology journal, addressing all aspects of fish biology, their exploitation and importance to human society.
1188
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Greg Albery @gfalbery.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...
05763
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Marc Naguib @marcnaguib.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Zebra finches produce soft laryngeal whistles during thermal panting that are not adaptive vocal signals
Zebra finch heat calls are suggested to have close-range communicative relevance in the global temperature rise context. Anttonen et al. identify the biophysical mechanism underlying these vocalizatio...
1165
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
715294779901
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Steve Portugal @sjportugal.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
14752
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
NeoBiota @neobiota.pensoft.net · 18/09/2025
Invasive fish are entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, but what is causing them to spread? 🌍🐟 blog.pensoft.net/2025/09/18/h... @pensoft.net
blog.pensoft.net
How are invasive fish entering the Mediterranean Sea?
A new study explores how shipping, currents and habitat factors carry alien species through the Suez Canal.
1108
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Cecilia Baldoni @cecibaldoni.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
PhD Alert! 😍 Our lab is hiring a PhD student to study how shrews shrink in winter and grow in spring. Yes, you read that right! tinyurl.com/shrinkingshr... Join us at the @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social, study a super cool animal, and join the @imprs-qbee.bsky.social community! DM me for questions!
imprs-qbee.mpg.de
Seasonal size change and aging in shrews
23549
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Jean-François Cudennec @limpetnerd.eurosky.social · 08/09/2025
Just woke up from a social media pause and the first thing I see is an incredible footage of a sperm whale casually cruising with a giant squid in its mouth ?? 🦑 🌊 🌿
Vertical photo of a sperm whale with a giant squid in its mouth. The tentacles and body of the squid can be seen emerging between the teeth.Ventral view of the same scene : a sperm whale with a giant squid in its mouth. The tentacles and body of the squid can be seen emerging between the teeth.
271526454
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.
7396126
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Catarina Vila-Pouca @catarina-vp.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
It was a pleasure talking to Mary about our apparatus to take fish cognition research into the wild! 🐟🧠 Read it on Psychology Today ⬇️⬇️ with @kotrschal.bsky.social and @amydeacon.bsky.social
0125
Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
How does predation shape evolution? We tested this with guppies, exposing them to real predators over 3 generations. Survivors evolved fast: bigger females with earlier broods, males with shorter tails and gonopodia. But... www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1131
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Roxy Holmes @roxybholmes.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
An interesting day spent at the 1st European #Lionfish Conference in Crete and a great visit to the aquarium and HCMR.Thanks @kotrschal.bsky.social for organising.
021
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Roxy Holmes @roxybholmes.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
🚨 Our new paper is out now in Ethology. Here we show that #lionfish show social attraction to conspecifics when selecting shelters. doi.org/10.1111/eth....
doi.org
Lionfish (Pterois volitans) Show Social Attraction to Conspecifics When Selecting Shelters
Group formation in animals can arise from two primary mechanisms: individuals aggregating over resources, or individuals socially benefiting from interacting with conspecifics. Distinguishing between...
285
Reposted by Alexander Kotrschal
Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
From Genes to Pathways: A Curated Gene Approach to Accurate Pathway Reconstruction in Teleost Fish Transcriptomics Hererra et al. 2025 Presents a curated gene list tailored for teleost fish transcriptomics doi.org/10.1002/jez....
doi.org
From Genes to Pathways: A Curated Gene Approach to Accurate Pathway Reconstruction in Teleost Fish Transcriptomics
A curated gene list for teleost fish transcriptomics enhances the interpretation of high volumes of data by focusing on key biological processes. This resource bridges gaps in automated annotations, ....
0198