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Thomas MacGillavry

@thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social
557 followers 701 following 126 posts

Postdoc with Tecumseh Fitch, UniWien | The biology and evolution of dance in a comparative perspective 💃🏻🕺🏼 🦚 | Love music, nature, bouldering, and exploring wild places 🌴 | he/him | University of Vienna

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Reposted by Thomas MacGillavry
Alberta Claw @albertonykus.bsky.social · 20h
Evolution of inner ear shape in birds and other theropods (as well as pterosaurs) relates more to braincase geometry than the ability to fly: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🪶🧪 (📷 @gnavalon.bsky.social et al.)
Scatter plots showing how the shape of the inner ear in birds and other dinosaurs (as well as pterosaurs) relates to the shape of the braincase, especially in the orientation of the opening for the spinal cord.
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Konrad Lorenz Research Center @klf-univienna.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Birdsong and bee dances #Birdsong, #beedances and big questions. Meet the #animalbehaviour community in Vienna! XXXIX International Ethological Congress - Behaviour 2027 University of Vienna | 23–27 August 2027 behaviour2027.eventsairsite.com #Behaviour2027 #animalbehaviour #univienna
behaviour2027.eventsairsite.com
Program
Join us for Behaviour 2027, an international animal behaviour conference at the University of Vienna, Austria, from 23–27 August 2027.
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David Berger @dbergerbiol.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
PhD-position ALERT! Interested in the genomics of local adaptation and the evolution of niche breadth? 🪲🧬🪲🧬🪲🧬🪲🧬🪲🧬 Come join me and @gmkov.bsky.social at @animecol-uu.bsky.social, Uppsala University, by applying here: uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/... Deadline 1st of November!
uu.varbi.com
PhD-student in Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics
Do you want to conduct frontier research in an outstanding environment within evolutionary biology at Sweden’s largest faculty of science and technology? The Department of Ecology and Genetics at Up
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Alice Godden @alicegodden.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
🔔Fantastic PhD opportunity here in #Norwich From Brain to Germline: How Perception Affects Genetic Inheritance aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships... Come work with the amazing 🤩 @immler.bsky.social @zebrafishrock.bsky.social
aries-dtp.ac.uk
From Brain to Germline: How Perception Affects Genetic Inheritance | Aries
Professor Simone Immler, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia – contact me Professor Tracey Chapman, School of Biological Sciences, UEA Professor Alexei Maklakov…
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Ari Strandburg-Peshkin @arispeshkin.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
We are offering 3 #PhD positions in our Ecology of Animal Societies Department @livingingroups.bsky.social at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior - check them out! imprs-qbee.mpg.de/66685/current
imprs-qbee.mpg.de
Current
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Vesta Eleuteri @vestaeleuteri.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Our study covered on @sciencex.bsky.social @angelastoeger.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social phys.org/news/2026-10...
phys.org
'Move away' and 'stop that!' Wild elephants use a rich gestural repertoire intentionally to 'mean business'
Wild African savanna elephants use a wide range of gestures when competing with other elephants, according to research from an international group of scientists, including researchers from the Univers...
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Kevin Healy @healyke.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Congrats to @amyduclaux.bsky.social on publishing her first paper. She shows that sexual dichromatism in birds is more pronounced in species with fast life history strategies, lower latitudes and with mating systems associated with higher sex ratio skews. 🌐 academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
academic.oup.com
Higher levels of sexual dichromatism are associated with faster life history strategies and lower latitudes in passerine birds
Abstract. Sexual dichromatism has been widely investigated in passerine birds, with studies looking at its relationship with life history traits and latitu
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Brendan Barrett @bjjbarrett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Our paper on how orangutan mothers plan and alter their space use at personal costs so their offspring may play with similarly aged offspring (independent of kinship and fruit productivity) has transitioned from preprint to peer reviewed publication doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org
Maternal ranging strategies facilitate offspring social play at energetic cost in the most solitary ape | PNAS
In most vertebrates, social play among peers is considered essential for behavioral development. Yet in solitary species bearing single offspring, ...
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 06/10/2026
A survey of rainforest restoration groups in Australia’s Wet Tropics shows 42% end site monitoring once tree canopies close. While groups aim for biodiversity recovery, reliance on short-term visual checks leaves long-term wildlife and forest restoration unmeasured. Liz Kimbrough reports.
mongabay.cc
In Australia’s Wet Tropics, restoration misses the forest for the tree cover
Relics of ancient wet forests stretch across the coast of Queensland state in Australia. In a landscape made patchwork by agriculture, volunteers, community groups and Indigenous rangers in…
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PEC Exeter @pec-exeter.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Funded 3.5 year PhD🎺 The effects of gamebird release and management on the lowland ecosystems of S England Lots of fieldwork. A robust and resilient student is required. Focus on reptiles and ecto-parasites Any Qs, please DM or email me Please RT www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Crazy staring pheasant glares at camera
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Will Oestreich @will-oestreich.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I am recruiting a PhD student to work with our group at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior! Learn more & apply here: tinyurl.com/kd4xx4ku Deadline: 15 Nov 2026 Start date: Flexible (summer-fall 2027) @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @livingingroups.bsky.social @carlzeissstiftung.bsky.social
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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The answer to this question is a very loud and resounding NO. And neurobiologists don't just consider the notion of a "lizard brain" in humans misleading. It is wrong. Very wrong. The only lizard brain is that found within lizards. #neuroethology #neuroskyence www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Do humans really have a ‘lizard brain’ lurking beneath our rational minds?
It’s a powerful analogy that captured the popular imagination, but the biological reality is quite different
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Bob Wong @bbmwong.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Monash University is offering a fully-funded PhD scholarship to an outstanding student in animal behaviour/evolutionary ecology. Choose from eight project areas. For information about what project I'm offering, please DM me or see application form: forms.gle/ia9t4KPD3FKT.... Deadline: 15 Nov.
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Pretty big wood borer moth (I think Cossidae?)
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Oh sick, you catch any? Paradise riflebirds are the only Australian Bird of Paradise I haven’t had in the hand! Not much known about the displays, too.
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Ahh jealous!
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Amelia Eisch 🧪🧠👩‍🔬 🐁 @eisch.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
🧪 inpreparation.substack.com/p/opinion-re... this is satire….but daaaaaaamn is it laying down some truths: “We have replaced the danger of mouth-pipetting with the danger of a generation of scientists spending their most productive years writing grants that will not be funded”
inpreparation.substack.com
Opinion: I Miss When The NIH Payline Was 40% And We All Mouth-Pipetted Phenol
By Dr. Douglas R. Waverly, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Yale University
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Knew it
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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Grant agreement signed! Advertising 4 new jobs (3 year contracts w/potential to extend +2 years) on ERC #CROCOLOCOEVO grant next week-- stay tuned for details. 2 postdocs 1 technician 1 research administrator who can do science communication Start date flexible but could be as soon as 1 November!
Picture of right hindlimbs and pelvis of Terrestrisuchus (long skinny legs) and Crocodylus (modern croc; beefy and stubby), from 3D computer models
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
House sparrow?
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Nabil Wakim @nabilwakim.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Summer 2026 was hottest on record in Western Europe, yet still no political awakening - According to the European Copernicus service, the average summer temperature reached 21.7°C, well above average. Yet European Union member states continued to invest in fossil fuels.
lemonde.fr
Summer 2026 was hottest on record in Western Europe, yet still no political awakening
According to the European Copernicus service, the average summer temperature reached 21.7°C, well above average, and river flows dropped to their lowest levels in more than 30 years. Yet European Unio...
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UNR Biology Buzz @unr-biologybuzz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We are hiring! 🧪 Tenure-track position in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Great colleagues, nearby mountains, and of course a certain lake... Application info: nshe.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UNR-external... www.unr.edu/biology #evolution #EEB #ecoevo #evolsky #academicjobs
A winter view of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains with snow on the ground and trees
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Nico Mongiardino Koch @nmkphylo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I am looking for graduate students to join my lab in Fall 2027. If your interests lie within the realms of phylogenetics, macroevolution, and/or invertebrate biodiversity please reach out to me!!
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
What makes human cooperation interesting is that it’s not about “being nice to other people” but more about balancing selfish versus collective goals. We can be extremely cooperative and even self-sacrificial regarding ingroup members and horribly nasty to an outgroup.
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Science Magazine @science.org · 01/10/2026
These frogs “see” prey with their star-shaped toes. Learn more: scim.ag/4daOBJh
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MPI for Biological Intelligence @mpiforbi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Your PhD journey starts here and now! 🚀 🎓 We are recruiting PhD students in the life sciences for our international and fully funded graduate program IMPRS-BI in the Munich area, Germany. 📆 Apply from: 01 October 2026 ⏰ Deadline: 10 November 2026 ❗ Apply now: imprs-bi.mpg.de/51861/How-to...
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Huge 🤘
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Jolyon Troscianko @jtroscianko.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🦋 Butterfly wing patterns create motion illusions that protect them from predators! Our new study (8 years in the making) is out in Nature today doi.org/10.1038/s415... @grahancock.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social @scienceanna.bsky.social @lauraakelley.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨Postdoc job alert: Come work with my paleontology & evolution group in Edinburgh! Researcher in Cognitive Evolution Over Deep Time. You'll study how brains & neurons have evolved over time, and predict neuron count in extinct species! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTC355/p...
jobs.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time at The University of Edinburgh
Apply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.
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Laura Kelley @lauraakelley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Butterfly wing patterns in flight create illusions that misdirect predator attacks 🦋 www.nature.com/articles/s41... with @grahancock.bsky.social @jtroscianko.bsky.social @scienceanna.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social
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Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
How do brightly coloured butterflies successfully evade being eaten? Fascinating new research suggests this relates to visual illusions created by their fluttering wings. The spots & stripes, combined with the dancing flight, interfere with a predator’s sense of the insects’ speed & direction. 🦋🧪
theguardian.com
All of a flutter: how butterflies avoid being a predator’s lunch
Their whirring wings and bright patterns help keep them safe from birds, British study finds
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Lola von Kietzell @lolavk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My first first-author paper is online today! Read it in @asab.org #AnimalBehaviour: Cooperatively breeding white-winged choughs use recruitment calls selectively in food-associated contexts. doi.org/10.1016/j.an... A dream to work with these social #birds and the fantastic #co-authors!
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Laura Kelley @lauraakelley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We used virtual mates and genetic algorithms to ask swordtail fish to design their ideal mate. Males all liked larger females but females did not share a clear preference for male appearance. Led by @kathrynbullough.bsky.social @grahancock.bsky.social in @royalsocietypublishing.org shorturl.at/rCeR2
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Zoë Goldsborough @zoegoldsborough.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Why care about weird animal behaviors? Just out as an advanced publication, my contribution to the next Frans de Waal special issue in Behaviour @degruyterbrill.bsky.social. Unusual behaviors are a recurring theme in my career, and I much enjoyed writing this perspective! doi.org/10.1163/1568...
doi.org
The science of the unusual: how rare observations reveal the diversity of animal behaviour
Abstract Behavioural biology often focuses on identifying general patterns, yet unusual or rare behaviours at both the population and individual level can provide insight into animal behaviour. Here, ...
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Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
1,200 sexual assault cases were filed at Cornell from 2018 to 2024. Most of those found responsible received minor sanctions that allowed them to remain on campus, such as probation or training. Only 7 ended in expulsion or dismissal. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
usatoday.com
Cornell rarely expels students in sex assault cases | Exclusive
A third of undergraduate women say they've been sexually assaulted. But on average, Cornell reported expelling just one attacker per year.
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Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 25/09/2026
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
lemonde.fr
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
In a report titled 'We Had Whistles, They Had Guns,' the NGO documents widespread human rights violations committed by ICE in the United States.
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Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
".... people recognize or discover a thing, but then take years, even decades, to get it into print. Why are they taking so long, others say, despite knowing that just about everyone in science is overworked, underpaid, and perpetually on the brink of physical or emotional collapse."
tetzoo.com
In Memory of Richard Ellis, Influential Artist and Author — Tetrapod Zoology
Within recent days, the world has learnt of the passing of American writer, author, artist and natural historian Richard Ellis (1938-2024), best known for his many works on marine animals and their en...
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Will Gervais @willgervais.com · 29/09/2026
🚨NEW PREPRINT🚨 @aiyanakoka.bsky.social Meara Geraty and I revisited religious priming, breaking the causal claim into links that we robustly tested. Do God Primes Prime God? Converging Evidence Against the Efficacy of Experimental Religious Priming osf.io/preprints/ps... #PsychSciSky #metascience
Do God Primes Prime God? Convergint evidence against the efficacy of experimental religious priming.

WIll Gervais, MEara Geraty, Aiyana Willard

then the rest of the image is a screenshot of the table of contents.plot summarising bayes factor results testing:
Prime -> Religious concepts (overt primes yield positive evidence, scrambled sentence negative)

Prime -> prosociality: universaly evidence strongly favoring the null result across 4 primes and 2 operationalisations of prosociality

Prime -> suspicion: fairly universal evidence in favor of priming methods causing suspicion

Religious concepts -> $$$: four independent sets of evidence favoring the null
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Dr Lauren K. Common @laurenkcommon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
So pleased to have published my first foray into movement ecology, with my co-first author @varalikajain.bsky.social ! These geese are TRAVELLING (or not!), with some going north for the winter! 🪿❄️
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Some fun birds
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David Baracchi @davidbaracchi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm pleased to share our new review, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, with L.Baciadonna, C.Macri & M.Giurfa. We discuss evidence for emotions in insects and their possible deep evolutionary roots, while stressing the need for rigor and caution doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
doi.org
Exploring emotional expression in invertebrates: mechanisms, functions and phylogeny
Abstract. The idea that invertebrates may exhibit basic forms of emotion, and possibly sentience, is gaining traction as evidence of their advanced cogniti
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Clemens Küpper @chorlnev.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
‼️Now published @evolletters.bsky.social Developmental differences between males and females alter the sex ratio. 🐥🧵 about this study 1/9
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wow really amazing effort!! You should be very proud!
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Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast) @epthepod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This week, we talk to @manvir.bsky.social about magic, shamanism, and mythology! youtu.be/m7zLQ6oSbaM?... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... www.podbean.com/eas/pb-avb7s...
youtu.be
Magic, Shamanism, and the Scale of Cooperation with Manvir Singh
YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)
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Dr Maggie J Watson @terngirl.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Musk lorikeet Trichoglossus concinnus in a grass tree Xanthorrhoea australis, Inverell, NSW photo by Ash Falconer
Musk lorikeet Trichoglossus concinnus in a grass tree Xanthorrhoea australis, Inverell, NSW photo by Ash Falconer
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Vesta Eleuteri @vestaeleuteri.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
8 years ago I started monitoring the Marakele wild elephants and dreaming of one day studying their communication. Today my first wild elephant paper exploring intentional gestural communication in the Marakele and Addo populations is out, marking a key personal moment 🐘❤️. rdcu.be/87qLLG6DSs7a 1/4
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Vesta Eleuteri @vestaeleuteri.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Online link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Elephant gestural communication during agonistic interactions: repertoire, intentionality, and goals - Animal Cognition
Goal-directed intentionality is the ability to communicate with the intention of eliciting reactions from recipients. Long considered uniquely human, today it has been reported in the signalling of se...
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Thomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Paradise 😍
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Behaviour 2027 @behaviour2027.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Spread the word! Behaviour 2027 will be taking place in Vienna, Austria, from August 23-27.
Galapagos short-eared owl with text "Who is excited about behaviour 2027? Join us in Vienna August 23-27"
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ARAA @araa.at · 24/09/2026
#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ “Body awareness in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)” 🦜 Sept 2026. Scientific Reports. P. Hundegger, R. Folkertsma, @drracheldale.bsky.social, @auersperga.bsky.social & @biotay.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Body awareness in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Body awareness in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)
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