iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

New PhD opportunities in behavioural ecology at the University of Tasmania and Macquarie University working with Geoff While and Martin Whiting plus multiple international collaborators on lizard sociality and communication. Please spread the word! #phd

02742

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Birgit Szabo, PhD 🦎🐸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @birgitszabo.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I am back at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia for 5 weeks and today I met an old friend 😍 the easter bluetongue skink 🦎 Oh, how I missed this place ❤️ and the people @lizardlab.bsky.social

0202

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Our TREE paper is now out in its final published form! Well done @yoricklambreghts.com for leading this and doing the heavy lifting! DM him for a PDF. @cellpress.bsky.social

1197

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Eamonn Wooster @predator-smarts.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

How and why does cognition vary so greatly between individuals and species? In @natrevbiodiv.nature.com, we propose the "Predatory Intelligence Hypothesis" which posits that the cognitive challenges associated with predator–prey interactions drive a cognitive co-evolutionary arms race rdcu.be/e5KIj

16430

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Yorick Lambreghts @yoricklambreghts.com · 22/12/2025

New paper published online in TREE, with @lizardlab.bsky.social, Tobias Uller, Camilla Whittington, and Geoff While! We discuss how prenatal development can influence the emergence of kin recognition and social evolution more broadly. Message me for PDF. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Top half of front-page of article titled "The prenatal foundations of kin recognition", published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

061

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Our recent paper on lizard societies now online in a special issue of Animal Behaviour. DM if you want me to send you a PDF.

0187

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

It’s a proud moment when your star exPhD student, now early career researcher, is the senior author on a Biology Letters paper in the same issue of Biology Letters as you. And to be precise, the paper above! @lizabeldm.bsky.social

1203

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

A huge congrats to Dr Jai Lake! Jai just gave his exit seminar at Macquarie on why lizards are social. To be slightly more precise, his PhD was about the mechanisms underlying sociality. Papers are submitted and in prep! Watch this space. Jai was cosupervised by Geoff While at Univ. Tasmania.

0113

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

‘Pirate Lizards’ Can Get Around on 3 Legs www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/s...

nytimes.com

‘Pirate Lizards’ Can Get Around on 3 Legs

141

Reposted by Martin Whiting

James T. Stroud @jameststroud.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

🦎THREAD: We just published something wild in @asn-amnat.bsky.social - lizards missing entire limbs not only survive, but some appear to actually thrive in the wild?! Let me tell you about the "three-legged pirate" lizards 🏴‍☠️ [Paper: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... ] (1/n)

110241

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Hot off the press! Check out our new paper on sleepy lizard aka shingleback skink fire cue discrimination led by @ecolojolly.bsky.social DM if you want a PDF.

03310

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Just out - our review of social learning in reptiles and its implications for animal culture. Part of a special issue on animal culture and conservation in a changing world. Happy to send a PDF if requested.

0233

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Dustin Rubenstein @dustinrubenstein.com · 07/05/2025

Our latest superb starling work in @nature.com. We observe long-term reciprocal helping relationships, and suggest reciprocity is an underappreciated mechanism promoting the stability of cooperatively breeding societies. Led by Alexis Earl and @gerrycarter.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

A cryptic role for reciprocal helping in a cooperatively breeding bird - Nature

A study of the cooperative breeding behaviour of superb starlings during 40 consecutive breeding seasons over 20 years reveals long-term reciprocal helping between both related and unrelated individua...

27437

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Huge congrats to Jai Lake for submitting his PhD thesis on the mechanisms underpinning social complexity. A huge amount of work - Jai learnt a whole range of new skills in the process. Jai was cosupervised by Geoff While (Uni Tasmania), with help from Dan Hoops + colleagues at Columbia University.

040

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Check out biologists Maddi Holmes and Kathy Potter from @muche-macquarie.bsky.social talking frog science at the Sydney Comedy Festival.

010

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Daniel Noble @danielwanoble.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Very happy and humbled to have received this award. A huge thanks to all my wonderful colleagues @scienceanu.bsky.social and abroad who made this possible!

3517

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Public Statement on Recent Attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Sincerely, the Executive Board of the ASIH (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists) #TeamFish #TeamHerps #ASIH www.asih.org/2025-asih-ex...

Public Statement on
Recent Attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

On 10 February 2025, the ASIH Executive Committee voted in support of the following statement:

11 February 2025

The Executive Board of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is concerned about recent turmoil at the United States federal governmental agencies established to promote the advancement of science. Many of our members are supported by federal funds in their scientific pursuits, and this funding is paramount for better understanding the diversity of our natural world. Inquiries into amphibians, reptiles, and fishes have resulted in major breakthroughs in the medical industry, serve as models for our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes, and have even been used to better prepare our armed forces for international conflicts. Federal funding has supported many of these endeavors. While we understand that funding models change over time, we adamantly condemn any model that does not incorporate cooperation between politicians and the greater scientific community. We also condemn any model that does not fairly provide funds to scientific investigators through peer review by experts in the scientific community.

The suggested changes in governmental funding practices centered around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have resulted in confusion amongst members of ASIH, and the greater scientific community. The Executive Board of ASIH fully supports the idea that diversity and inclusivity of the scientific community leads to greater discoveries in ichthyological and herpetological research and ultimately strengthens us as a community of scholars. Similar to DEI initiatives at ASIH, these initiatives at the federal level are designed to foster and protect diversity in STEM education and research.

We want to reaffirm our mission and commitment to all of you: ASIH condemns the recent attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initia…

216351

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Charles Darwin was born on this day in 1809. Happy birthday to the architect of natural selection and evolutionary theory - a true legend! Here he is as a youngster. We will be celebrating his birthday in our lab meeting today. #charlesdarwin #darwin #originofspecies #naturalselection

071

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Julian Schrader @julianschrader.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Ever wondered why some animals are social and others solitary? I was surprised by the link between animal behaviour and our own social structures New #EcolClips with @lizardlab.bsky.social m.youtube.com/watch?v=bfER... #ecology #biology #animals #behaviour #reptiles #nature #science #australia

m.youtube.com

The Evolution of Social Behavior with Prof. Martin Whiting | EcolClips

YouTube video by EcolClips

191

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Check out this amazing cartoon by Meghan Swan (IG: @deadpixelproductions) explaining tongue colour in the Australian blue tongue skink (blueys). It was such a pleasure collaborating on this project, which was part of a course at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

131

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Huge congrats to recent grads Dr. Victoria Russell and Dr. Yorick Lambreghts cosupervised by me, Geoff While and Erik Wapstra through the University of Tasmania. Both spent substantial time in the Lizard Lab at Macquarie University. Well done!

140

Reposted by Martin Whiting

Daniel Noble @danielwanoble.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Check out our cool new findings showing how developmental temperature and corticosterone have long term impacts on mitochondrial efficiency that coincide with consistent differences in body size through life! A fantatsic team effort doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

doi.org

From eggs to adulthood: sustained effects of early developmental temperature and corticosterone exposure on physiology and body size in an Australian lizard

Highlighted Article: Incubation temperature and prenatal corticosterone exposure have independent sustained effects, but not interactive effects, on morphological and physiological traits in the delic...

03210

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Check out our new paper "Effect of elevated incubation temperatures on learning and brain anatomy of hatchling and juvenile lizards" published online in Journal of Comparative Physiology B and led by Iván Beltran. @sherculanohouzel.bsky.social rdcu.be/d2So4

rdcu.be

Effect of elevated incubation temperatures on learning and brain anatomy of hatchling and juvenile lizards

1136

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Christine Wilson (@keytarchris) is retiring from the Lizard Lab after 10 years service! Chris has helped with field work, ordering supplies, checking on animals on weekends and public holidays including Christmas. Chris has been a great friend and supporter of the lab and we can’t thank her enough!

010

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Huge congrats to Rachel Wong for graduating with a Masters of Research! Rachel worked on quantity discrimination in water skinks, which we hope to submit for publication soon.

020

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

The Lizard Lab had a great week at ISBE in Melbourne a few weeks back. We had lab alumni, honorary and current members all give great talks! Well done everyone! #isbe2024

031

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 20/11/2023

Have just learnt Animal Cognition will be open access in 2024-Springer announced this with great excitement! But check the small print "The 2024 APC for Animal Cognition will be EUR 2690.00/ USD 3390.00/ GBP 2290.00." I'll publish elsewhere. @springer1842.bsky.social

020

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 01/11/2023

Check out an unbelievable video of Gould's monitor (Varanus gouldii) gobbling down 5 zebra finch chicks at Fowler's Gap in arid western New South Wales, Australia. The video and details are on Simon Griffith's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkyP... #herps

041

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 29/10/2023

Can sleepy lizards (aka shingleback skinks) count? Check out our new paper just published in Behavioral Ecology!

192