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Floriana Stanca

@stancaf.bsky.social
136 followers 209 following 7 posts

PhD student at KLIVV-Vetmeduni-Vienna currently exploring the sensory and cognitive mechanisms of navigation in poison frogs 🇲🇺🇮🇹🇨🇭🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇿🇦🇦🇹🇬🇫

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Reposted by Floriana Stanca
Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
So proud of Dr. Schlippe Justicia, a new metamorph coming out of the Rojas Lab pool👩🏻‍🎓🎉🐸 Congrats, Lia! 💚 @klivvvienna.bsky.social
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Reposted by Floriana Stanca
Shubham Soni @shubhamsoni.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Check out a full video explainer about this about this research here : www.instagram.com/reel/DXHOFal...
instagram.com
Floriana on Instagram: "Find out more about our snake predation note conducted here in the @rnn.nouragues and @cnrs.nouragues stay tuned for some behind the scenes ;)"
132 likes, 10 comments - florianastagon on April 14, 2026: "Find out more about our snake predation note conducted here in the @rnn.nouragues and @cnrs.nouragues stay tuned for some behind the scene...
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Floriana Stanca @stancaf.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Thrilled to see our first paper as PhD students out there 🎊🫶🏽🎉
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
"Who is who? Water makes frog image recognition 100% clear" Have a look at this article about the findings reported in our Edina Nemesházi's latest publication! @klivvvienna.bsky.social doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0341460 www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/universit...
vetmeduni.ac.at
Who is who? Water makes frog image recognition 100% clear
An Austrian-Hungarian study led by the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology (KLIVV) at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna developed a new, optimized photography method. As the research on fro...
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Reposted by Floriana Stanca
Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Formatted version out at last! “Defensive colouration is not a reliable indicator of 🍄 infection in aposematic poison 🐸” academic.oup.com/beheco/artic... @klivvvienna.bsky.social @behavecol.bsky.social 👩🏻‍🔬🧪
academic.oup.com
Defensive coloration is not a reliable indicator of fungal infection in aposematic poison frogs
Bright warning colors in animals often signal danger to predators and are thought to reflect health. But do these colors change when individuals are infect
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Sharmi Sen @sharmisen.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Are you an animal behavior researcher? 🐸🦜🐒🪲🦋🦇🐍🐏Consider supporting @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social this holiday season ❄️🐝 It takes less than a minute and your money goes directly towards supporting #AnimalBehavior students!! 🎄🎄🎄 opencollective.com/animal-behav...
opencollective.com
Animal Behaviour Collective - Open Collective
We are a collective of animal behaviour researchers organising microgrants and mentorship for undergraduate & graduate students in animal behaviour.
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Wishing everyone a joyful holiday season ❄️🎄⛄ At @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social 🐝🐝🐝, we’re excited to support even more #AnimalBehavior students through #microgrants + #mentorship. Your generosity makes this possible - consider donating to help us keep this work going!
Merry Christmas!! This Christmas, give the gift of hope. 
Your donation helps the Animal Behavior Collective ensure more students receive the resources they need to learn, grow, and thrive. Donate!
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
This #GivingTuesday please consider donating to @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social to support undergraduate students globally!! 🫶🗺️ Help us make #animalbehaviourresearch more inclusive 🐝🐝🐝 Sign up to be a monthly donor, or make a one time contribution using this link opencollective.com/animal-behav...
opencollective.com
Animal Behaviour Collective - Open Collective
We are a collective of animal behaviour researchers organising microgrants and mentorship for undergraduate & graduate students in animal behaviour.
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Reposted by Floriana Stanca
Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
New paper out in @behavecol.bsky.social! Multiple studies show that sexually selected traits such as colours can reflect the presence of pathogens/parasites, but, can defensive coloration do the same? L. Schlippe Justicia, @carodittrich.bsky.social, O. Nokelainen & I tackled that question (1/3)
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Our #mentorshipmatching event is two days away now!! 📣 --> Sign up to be a mentor/mentee, join the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social community!! 🐝🐝🐝 --> Share this with interested students and ECRs in your group! --> Become a monthly donor to help us keep growing!
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
We’re thrilled to announce the ABC's fourth mentorship-matching event!! 📣📣 This is a unique opportunity for you to meet and connect with experienced mentors. The mentorship match event - more of an informal "vibe check" - will be on Nov 6 2025 at 14:00 GMT 🐝🐝 Help us spread the word!! #mentorship
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Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
#CrowCoG is hiring🚨MULTIPLE PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS 🚨for our 2026 field season (May - Sep)! Field and aviary-based positions - come help us study the remarkable tool-making New Caledonian crows. Apply here: bit.ly/3WlxxHE
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Mandy Ridley @mandyridley.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Our new paper is out! @camillasoravia.bsky.social leads this research, which looks into the relationship between heat- mediated cognitive impairment and the antipredator response in wild pied babblers. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Investigating the relationship between heat-mediated cognitive impairment and antipredator response in a wild bird | Royal Society Open Science
Increasingly frequent heatwaves require animals to spend more time thermoregulating at the expense of other fitness-related behaviours. Emerging evidence also indicates that high temperatures can impa...
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Adam is Gone Froggin @gonefroggin.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
The Suriname Toad (Pipa pipa) is a horror inducing frog. During mating, the eggs are laid into the backs of the female frog. There, they develop and then hatch out of the back. 📸 Chaline Olivier discover more at buff.ly/RCBnUSE
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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 02/10/2025
In memory of Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist and the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. Take a look at her 1985 article published in #PhilTransB 'Conditions of innovative behaviour in primates': royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
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Delphine De Moor @delphinedemoor.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Want to help make the field of animal behaviour more accessible to help? Visit the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social at poster 72 to learn about how to apply for microgrants and mentorship, become a mentor or financial contributor. 🐝🐝🐝 @behaviour2025.bsky.social @asab.org
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Floriana Stanca @stancaf.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
I had a blast at the @ecobhvr2025.bsky.social in Montpellier last week 🎉 what a friendly (and free) conference to start off sharing the first findings of my PhD 🙏🏽
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Having Sir David Attenborough narrate a story based on our findings on the dyeing poison frog was something that I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams. Now it’s happening, in the new BBC series “Parenthood” (Episode on Freshwater)! 🤩 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zih... 📸: Screenshot from trailer
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Two more presentations from our group at #ATBC2025 are done and dusted! 🐸🧪🌍Paul Kesseler presented a poster on Hg contamination in phytotelmata and their inhabitants at Nouragues (French Guiana), which he investigated during his Master’s (1/2)
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Super proud of Lia Schlippe Justicia, who gave an excellent talk on her PhD work involving frog disease, skin microbiome and habitat disturbance 🐸🧬🍄🏘️🏗️ #ATBC2025 @klivvvienna.bsky.social
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Wild Behavior Podcast @wildbehaviorpod.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Why did some birds evolve to be so clever? Mark O'Hara & Berenika Mioduszewska took on the challenge of studying wild Goffin's cockatoos on a small Indonesian island. Their exciting findings help answer that question. Listen: linktr.ee/wild_behavior_pod Photo: Goffin Lab Tanimbar
Five white Goffin's cockatoos sit on various branches of a small tree with large green leaves. They have cute, big eyes and quite small beaks. They are about the same size as the leaves.
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Gwen Wirobski @gwenwiro.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
You can find the job offers here: evolvinglanguage.ch/jobs/#getapo... Looking forward to hearing from you 😊
evolvinglanguage.ch
Join us as an early career researcher - NCCR Evolving Language
Are you interested in joining us for:
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Floriana Stanca @stancaf.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
First #fieldwork of my PhD in French Guiana is now completed 🇬🇫🐸 I don't have the words yet to describe how amazing this place is, but I believe these few videos will do some justice ☀️🎥 #wildlife #experiments #Nouragues
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Over the past 4 years, ABC has collected donations and distributed the funds as microgrants to animal behaviour students in financial need. These microgrants have helped students cover costs such as books, travel, registration fees, etc. Thank you to everyone who donated to ABC!
Over the past 4 years, ABC has collected donations and distributed the funds as microgrants to animal behaviour students in financial need. These microgrants have helped students cover costs such as books, travel, registration fees, etc. Thank you to everyone who donated to ABC!
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
What a great weekend at the #WienerForschungsfest! 100s of visitors learned about how the spots of fire salamanders work as fingerprints, which we can use to count them in the wild (even faster now, with the help of AI!) ⚫️🟡🦎🟡⚫️ @klivvvienna.bsky.social MASSIVE thanks to our wonderful helpers! 🙏🏼
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Have a look at this coverage of the new paper led by Daniel Shaykevich, featuring Andrius Pasukonis, both currently at @klivvvienna.bsky.social 😊 Link to paper in the comments 🐸 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Take me home, country toads
Cane toads have remarkable navigation abilities, even when their sense of smell and magnetic-sensory systems are compromised.
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Floriana Stanca @stancaf.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
I have already been fortunate enough to find these guys around the institute in Vienna, what will it be like in French Guiana..? More frogs for sure ! 🐸☀️✈️
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University of Exeter CEC @uniexecec.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
💑 Relationships can be hard work. In fact, the challenges of maintaining social relationships are often thought to have favoured the evolution of intelligence in humans and other social animals. Photo credits: @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social and @stancaf.bsky.social
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Alice Auersperg @auersperga.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
We have an exciting new position in our lab for a PhD on parrot tool use! See below
PhD position in parrot tool use
 Job offer: applications opening 19th of February 2025.
We are looking for a PhD student (funded by the Austrian Science Fund, FWF) for a doctoral project in the field of animal behaviour and cognition
Project Title: 
Dexterity in the tool use of the Goffin’s cockatoo
https://www.fwf.ac.at/forschungsradar/10.55776/PAT2728324
 Project Location: 
The Messerli Research Institute is located at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Its division on Comparative Cognition  investigates cognitive abilities in both the social and physical domain of various, free-living as well as domesticated, animal species including Goffin’s cockatoos, keas, dogs, goats and pigs. 
https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/messerli
This PhD project will be conducted at the Goffin Lab in Lower Austria.
https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/cognition/goffin-lab
Academic Supervision: 
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alice Auersperg (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna) 
Project Description:
The Goffin’s cockatoo uses and builds tool -based technologies rivalling higher primates, both in captivity as well as in the wild. While we already understand a lot about what kinds of tools animals use in which context, we still know very little about the innovative process and fine-scaled mechanisms underlying such behaviour: how are the cockatoos able to innovate tool use in the first place? 
Thereby, it is important to consider behavioural as well as physical barriers that animals face when using tools. We currently predict that tool use techniques are strongly affected by the different properties of the tasks the birds are operating their tools upon. This PhD project aims to test to what extent the tool use techniques invented by aviary cockatoos in Austria manifest in a predictable manner based on specific tool and task properties. To achieve this, we plan to blend behavioural analysis and material physics. The findings of this project will help to understand the onset and mechanisms underlyi…Deadline and project start:
Please send your application before 1th of June 2025. The successful candidate can start in July at 
the earliest (we would like to have started the project by September of this year).
 
Requirements
•	A master’s degree 
•	A master’s thesis with a topic related to animal cognition/animal behaviour/comparative psychology or material science.
•	Genuine Interest in animal behaviour and cognition
•	At least some experience in direct interaction with animals (experience with animal testing is highly appreciated). 
•	Comfortable with direct contact with parrots
•	Statistical knowledge (preferably experience in General Liner Mixed Models, PCA, Survival Analysis etcetera.)
•	Experience with R.
•	Excellent English skills written and spoken (additional German skills are highly appreciated)
•	Excellent teamworking and communication skills

What we offer
•	Employment at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna via a FWF funding for a minimum of three years.
•	Access to institutional support (administrative support, statistician, IT manager, technician for experimental apparatuses).
•	Various scientific events including weekly seminars of comparative cognition researchers
•	Opportunity to visit international conferences.
•	Opportunity to visit social events for PhD students studying avian cognition in Vienna.
•	An international and interdisciplinary work environment at the Messerli Research Institute for Human-Animal Interaction.

How to apply: 
Applications (email: alice.auersperg@vetmeduni.ac.at) will be considered until the 1st of June  2025
Only complete submissions will be taken into consideration.

Your application should contain the following information:
1.	A Cover Letter detailing your motivation for the research topic, relevant experience, and expectations for the position (max. 2 pages)
2.	A Curriculum Vitae including copies of relevant university degree certificates
3.	Contact details for two references (incl. email)
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Save the date! We will be in the "Wiener Forschungsfest 2025" (Vienna Research Festival) with a stand that combines our beloved fire salamanders and AI. Come and find out how! 📆March 21-23, 📌Rathaus. Everybody welcome! @klivvvienna.bsky.social forschungsfest.at
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Let's celebrate all of the female scientists we know! Who is the woman in science that inspires you the most? :) Recommended reading on Women in Animal Behaviour and Welfare: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Let's celebrate all of the female scientists we know! Who is the woman in science that inspires you the most? :) 

Recommended reading on Women in Animal Behaviour and Welfare: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11047719/#B10-animals-14-01184
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
So proud of #KristinSzydlik, who did an excellent job in her MSc thesis defence yesterday 🥳🙌🏽 Stay tuned to learn about her findings on #firesalamanders from the Vienna woods! ⚫️🟡🦎🟡⚫️
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Luca Hahn @lucahahn.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
(1/9) Our new paper "Pair-bond strength is consistent and related to partner responsiveness in a wild corvid" is now out in Proc R Soc B! Research together with Beki Hooper, @guillmcivor.bsky.social, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social Link: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
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Karen R. Lips @karenrlips.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Fonseca Species Conservation Fund $$$: early career, 35 y.o. GEF-recipient countries. $25,000 grants for: amphibians, FW fish, primates, small mammals, tortoises & FW turtles. 🐟🐸🐢🐒🐿️ action.https://www.rewild.org/the-fonseca-species-conservation-fund
rewild.org
Re:wild | Re:wild.org • Fonseca Species Conservation Fund
The Fonseca Species Conservation Fund is available to young conservationists under the age of 35 in any GEF-eligible country to either start or progress their careers. The FSCF is supported by the GE...
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Jean-Pierre Vacher @jpvacher.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
New book: “Atlas des Amphibiens de Guyane”, by Antoine Fouquet, Elodie Courtois, Maël Dewynter. A milestone in Guianan herpetology. Right now in French, and soon an English edition should be available: crbe.cnrs.fr/en/parution-... 🐸🐸🐸 #herpetology #frogs #caecilians
crbe.cnrs.fr
Parution de l'Atlas des amphibiens de Guyane | CRBE
L’atlas des amphibiens de Guyane intègre les progrès considérables réalisés au cours des vingt dernières années en termes de connaissances sur la taxonomie, la répartition, l’écologie et la conservati...
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
So lucky to work with this fun and talented bunch! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 Happy holidays, everyone! 🎄 @klivvvienna.bsky.social
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
A warm (and belated) welcome to our new PhD student, @stancaf.bsky.social, who has joined our (with A Pašukonis, who’s not yet in 🦋) project on sensory ecology and cognition in #poisonfrogs funded by @fwf-at.bsky.social!
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