iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 23h

We do have regular guest drop ins…. Just in case you’re ever near St Andrews in October!

Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

It’s the most wonderful tiiime of the year! Flint knapping class followed by deer (or tomato) butchering & pot luck! In which we all learn 1. ‘Simple’ stone tools are pretty hard to make; 2. Even an accidental flake is still very (!) sharp; 3. Language helps but not the way you think it might! 🧪🗻🔪

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Brendan Barrett @bjjbarrett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I am part of a team guest editing a special issue of the American Journal of Primatology on "Digitization and use of legacy datasets in primatology” and we are seeking out submissions due on 1 September 2027. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal...

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Black Mammalogists Week @blackmammalogists.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

First day of #BlackMammalogistsWeek2026 means #BMW2026RollCall! Today we are highlighting the organizers and ANY Black person doing mammal-related stuff, be it art or research, writing or conservation! If that's YOU, tag us & we'll share your info! #BlackSky

Black Mammalogists Week 2026 at a glance: Sunday October 11th is #BMW2026RollCall, Monday October 12th is #BMW2026Resist, Tuesday October 13th is #BMW2026Create, Wednesday October 14th is #BMW2026Innovate, Thursday October 15th is #BMW2026Resilience, Friday October 16th is #BMW2026Community, and Saturday October 17th is #BMW2026Celebrate

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Trunks and ears and tusks! Oh my! Elephant gesture 🐘🤓🧪It’s been so much fun thinking about gesture outside of ape bodies and behaviour!

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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 06/10/2026

Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.com? And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026

I have absolutely wondered about this. Amazing.

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

What immortal hand or eye… Winter is coming, time to restart the firelight research 🔥🤓🧪 #wildmindslab

A birdseye view of scintillating coals in a round fire pit

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Cheeky little public debut for our shiny new capuchin gesture data 🤓🐒 Fair warning - for capuchin ladies, choosing the right rock to ‘flirt’ with is more about heft and throwability than any sparkly nonsense 😂 🧪🐒🛘👌 @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @byretheatre.bsky.social #festivaloflanguages

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Sheina Lew-Levy @sheinalew.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hey fieldworkers! Do you need documentation (health & safety protocols, codes of conduct, feedback forms)? Do you have documentation that you think could help others do better fieldwork, but don’t know where to share it? We’ve got you covered in our new Fieldwork Repo! osf.io/4h7bu/overview

osf.io

OSF

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Shumon T. Hussain @shumon.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

ZOOGESTURES organizes Session 3: #Multispecies Ecologies of #Innovation at the upcoming 2027 Kiel conference. If you are interested in #animal #archaeology and #more-than-human learning and innovation, please consider to submit an abstract! www.uni-kiel.de/en/cluster-r... 🏺🧪🦣🦝🦜

uni-kiel.de

Call for Papers

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Shumon T. Hussain @shumon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Only a bit more than two weeks left to submit an abstract for our #multispecies #archaeology session in Kiel early next year!

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Someone knows how to find her angles.. Northern Red-bill hornbill 🪶 🧪 #northafrica #hornbill #strikeapose #fieldwork

Northern red billed hornbill batting her
eyelashes in the morning light

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Be afraid.. be very afraid.. 🫣 looks like it’s going to be a bumper year for the basecamp Carolina Reapers 🔥💀🔥

Two red super hot chilli’s with more in the background

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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026

We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/

a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans

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Claudia Wascher @wascherclaudia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm so excited to finally see the special issue "Addressing Biases in Animal Behaviour" fully published: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu.... Huge thanks to my brilliant co-editors @viveknityananda.bsky.social & @nicolakoyama.bsky.social. Special issue grew from @asab.org's 2024 Winter Meeting 🧵

sciencedirect.com

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Claudia Wascher @wascherclaudia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Using the STRANGE framework to improve replicability in animal behaviour research @mikemwebster.bsky.social et al. show structured reporting on subjects' background, rearing & trappability helps explain mixed findings and boosts replicability www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Using the STRANGE framework to improve replicability in animal behaviour research and allied fields

Many research fields rely on assessing the behaviour of wild or captive animals, using observational and experimental protocols. This work is highly s…

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Claudia Wascher @wascherclaudia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social: building confidence and breaking barriers through community @delphinedemoor.bsky.social et al. describe a community initiative using microgrants & mentorship to support marginalised early-career researchers www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

The animal behaviour collective: building confidence and breaking barriers through community

Despite increasing efforts to diversify the field of animal behaviour, systemic barriers continue to limit access and inclusion for researchers from h…

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Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I have not responded to the email that you sent me and which you probably spent awhile writing Forgive me it was so long and my executive functioning is completely shot

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Attention Philadelphia! We need your help saving the Academy of Natural Sciences! The Save the Academy Coalition needs volunteers to help hand out organizing flyers in front of the museum this weekend, Sept 25-27. Please sign up here if you can take a shift! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

Help Save the Academy: Volunteer to talk with visitors and hand out flyers at the Academy.

Sign up for a shift outside the Academy of Natural Sciences during its last open days: Fridays to Sundays, Sept 18 to 20 and 25 to 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteers will be on the ground outside the Ac...

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It’s thesis read-through day! There are pros and cons to the thesis vs portfolio approach, but there’s something really incredible about getting to read either cover to cover as a single piece of scholarship from someone 🤓😭🤓🧪✨ #proudPI #WildMinds @standrewspsyneuro.bsky.social

Thesis table of contents visible on a laptop sitting next to coffee in the the cottage

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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Are you a #NewPI in Ecology & Evolution? Would you like to meet with peers to chat about work, the future and life as a new PI? 🍪☕️ Then I have the form for you! 📋 Help us gauge interest in a new network/event by filling in this short survey: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/K4wUiuLuFn Please RT! 🙏

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Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Check out our new paper, led by @amandalea.bsky.social, in PLoS Genetics: "Divergent biological consequences of APOE isoforms across industrialized and non-industrial environments." journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

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Simon Kirby @simonkirby.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We uncovered spontaneous evolution of new languages in populations of AI agents. This creates extraordinary scientific opportunities but also safety risks. New blog post with about how we created a platform for studying this safely. www.schmidtsciences.org/glossogen/

schmidtsciences.org

AI Agents Evolve Their Own Languages

Schmidt Sciences’ new AI Agents Evolving Communication and Coordination pilot program works toward advancing foundational research on multi-agent communication and coordination, and building an open-s...

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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“Life history theory is often invoked to make universal predictions about phenotypic evolution. Eg it’s conventional wisdom that organisms should evolve later first reproduction if they have longer lifespans. We clarify that LHT does not provide such universal predictions about phenotypic diversity”

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Chris Krupenye @chriskrupenye.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🚨 PhD position in human, nonhuman primate, and/or dog cognition! I am thrilled to be reviewing applicants this year for a new PhD student to join the Social & Cognitive Origins Group in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins @jhu.edu @jhuartssciences.bsky.social 1/

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EHBEA @ehbea.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🚨 DEADLINE APPROACHING 🚨 The deadline to submit a grant application for the WORKSHOP & OUTREACH GRANT of @ehbea.bsky.social is TOMORROW! (11.09.2026) Don’t miss out! More info 👇

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

100% my advisor always said the best antidote to someone deliberately misunderstanding you is making sure there’s no room to do so.. & if there was fix it with a very British, I’m sorry my lack of clarity led to your misunderstanding, let me redress that (sometimes after a deep breath/long walk 😂)

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

💯 totally agree! And these elements like song, rhythm, dance are where we’d predict other apes might show some overlap in basics of group identity.. we had to sadly drop a lot of this into the supp mat, but so excited to get stuck into testing these ideas!! 🤓🔥

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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.c.im.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

Nice ideas here from Catherine Hobaiter and Nathaniel Dominy on the relationship of language, story and firelight. As they argue, apes are perfectly able to do everything they need without language. We agree language arose for reference to other worlds. But words alone cannot create those other […]

c.im

Original post on c.im

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

And honestly we might be wrong - but this is the most excited I’ve been about a new idea in a long time. We’ll learn something either way, and if we’re not, we might actually be able to say something new about the evolution of language.. 22/n

static.klipy.com

Anchorman: It's Science

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

So where does this leave us.. evolutionary scenarios have a justifiably poor reputation.. 👀 But we really do think we can go beyond this into something that is testable. 21/n

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Flickering firelight could act as a central point of shared stimulus for collective neural entrainment—we might, quite literally, be resonating with the rhythms of firelight, and by extension with each other.   20/n

static.klipy.com

Synchronized Hiphop Dance

Alt: Synchronized Hiphop Dance

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Lastly - but definitely not least-ly - firelight flickers! And it does so at a remarkably consistent rhythm (~ 1.5-3Hz). Neurons in the visual cortex tend to synchronize their firing to the frequency of flickering light (termed: photic driving). 19/n

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

* the patient physicists have told me I am not allowed to call us plants or say we are photosynthesising.. but holy heck this is still one of the coolest new findings about human biology out there  www.nature.com/articles/s41...  18/n

nature.com

Longer wavelengths in sunlight pass through the human body and have a systemic impact which improves vision - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Longer wavelengths in sunlight pass through the human body and have a systemic impact which improves vision

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Those wavelengths don’t stop at the visible, firelight comes with a massive dose of IR. We’re only just learning that mitochondria absorb near infrared wavelengths. Time by the fire could have photometabolic benefits*, reducing need for calories and sleep, while offsetting cognitive costs.. 17/n

static.klipy.com

Conair: Feels Good sunlight Moment

Alt: Conair: Feels Good sunlight Moment

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Firelight is made up of largely red wavelengths. No big surprise, but it is important when we consider that the extra 4hrs of ‘day’ it gives us is 4 fewer hrs sleep. But firelight might be the optimal light to get ready to sleep by: the absence of blue limits the opsin that blocks melatonin.. 16/n

static.klipy.com

Cute Kitten Yawning and Sleeping

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

As it turns out the fireside is more than bright enough to gesture by, but it is highly variable - and so gesture might still be disadvantaged.. importantly though firelight is much more than just its brightness.. 15/n

static.klipy.com

Man Shocked by Brightness, Removes Sunglasses

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Then we need to knuckle down and actually measure the firelight niche because it turns out that it is so familiar we’ve been making a lot of assumptions (it is too dim for gesture) but there is very little data on it… 14/n

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

One of those things is to take storytelling - rather than mundane conversation - as our point of comparison with communication of other species. If stories are a characteristically human use of language we need to base comparisons on the structures & rhythms of storytelling speech and sign 13/n

static.klipy.com

Kim Burgess: Why Don't You Start At The Beginning?

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

To be fair at this point it was v much in the wild speculation after dinner arena of language use, & there was almost certainly whisky and a fireside involved… but this time the conversation continued & we started to wonder if there wasn’t something there that we could start to measure.. 12/n

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Nate Dominy & I started to wonder if we could go a step further - what if the non-linguistic communicative systems shared by modern apes are sufficient to sustain the mundane practicalities of life in small-scale prosocial society. Perhaps language itself emerged in fireside storytelling. 11/n

static.klipy.com

Math Lady Meme

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

fireside stories were key drivers of human sociality: fuel for imagination, cultural norms, belief systems. There was no new ingredient in the human mix. But the use of language for storytelling so reshaped our social worlds it made us who we are : Homo narrans, the storyteller. 10/n

static.klipy.com

Alexis Rose: There Is More To This Story

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Polly Wiessner made the provocative suggestion that social fire was the fundamental driver of human evolution - highlighting a crucial difference between daytime topics (mundane practicalities, gossip) and fireside conversation. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... 9/n

pnas.org

Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen | PNAS

Much attention has been focused on control of fire in human evolution and the impact of cooking on anatomy, social, and residential arrangements. H...

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Our use of language to navigate the mundane logistics of social life does not (need to) differ dramatically from the communication of other apes. But, once our daily needs are taken care of, we continue to sit and talk long into the evening hours… 8/n

static.klipy.com

Ron Swanson by the Fireplace

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Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Our search for a ‘smoking gun’ to differentiate the communicative abilities of humans & apes continues to elude us. And yet we remain surrounded by evidence of human distinctiveness. No other ape is inventing algebra, writing King Lear, or probing interstellar space… 7/n

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Detective Chimpanzee

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