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Tom Ratz

@tomratz.bsky.social
584 followers 410 following 63 posts

Evolutionary biologist | Independent Group Leader & SNSF Fellow at University of Zurich | Evolution, plasticity, & social interactions 🪰🐞🦗 🕷 ⍦ tomratz.weebly.com

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Reposted by Tom Ratz
Joël Meunier @jmeunierearwig.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🦗 New paper in Animal Behaviour. In European earwigs, females isolated too early were less likely to lay eggs, took longer to lay them, produced smaller clutches, and were more likely to fail completely. Such costs could help maintain prolonged social living. 📄 authors.elsevier.com/a/1nqcjmjMDuJ5
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Daniela Rößler @roesslerdaniela.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨New paper🚨 Garden #spiders are everywhere right now—big, beautiful ladies, still in the hub of their 🕸️ But they are not just waiting, at night they also 💤! We found behavioral signatures of sleep in the wild. Out in #AnimalBehaviour w/ @mherberstein.bsky.social tinyurl.com/uznvv58y 🧵1/5
Adult female garden spider (Araneus diadematus) sitting at the center of her orb web, with orange‑brown legs and a patterned abdomen. The web’s radial and spiral threads are sharply visible, catching the light. The background is blurred green foliage with soft circular highlights, making the spider and web stand out in clear focus.
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Our new paper is out in @jevbio.bsky.social! Body size shapes aggression as well as how strongly individuals influence their opponents and how responsive they are to social interactions. @cdegroot.bsky.social @roriwijnhorst.bsky.social @dingemanselab.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Size-mediated differences in social responsiveness (left) and social impact (right). Here, individual i is smaller, more responsive to variation in opponent body size and elicits more aggression from opponents than individual j.
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David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I am currently searching for a postdoc to work on the evolution of adaptations, cold acclimation, and freezing tolerance in switchgrass. The position entails lab, growth facility, bioinformatics, and fieldwork. careers.msu.edu/jobs/postdoc...
careers.msu.edu
Postdoctoral Scholar-Fixed Term - East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Position Summary The Lowry Lab at Michigan State University is searching for a postdoctoral research associate to conduct field and laboratory experiments to understand the causes of genetic variation...
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
First day presenting our research on Drosophila behaviour at the #Scientifica26 festival in Zurich
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Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Come and work with us (the Kokkonuts) as a postdoc! Our research within (theory-evo-eco) is broad; let's say it's implicitly defined by the journal club papers we read. Which is why the application process includes a JC-related task, I hope it'll be a fun one for you! www.evoldir.net/brian/evoldi...
evoldir.net
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Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
.The very talented and fun Jonathan Henshaw has two positions to offer! If you like theoretical eco-evo questions, don't hesitate. Also, Freiburg is a very pretty place PhD: uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb... Postdoc: uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb...
uni-freiburg.de
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Kate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
For anyone that missed my talk at @isbe2026.bsky.social - never you fear! You can watch my talk and read more about the new Replication Studies section at @behavecol.bsky.social right here! laskowskilab.faculty.ucdavis.edu/2026/07/22/r...
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Absolutely fascinating plenary by @roesslerdaniela.bsky.social about the diversity of sleep in spiders, the challenges of fieldwork, and much more! 🕷️💤 #ISBE2026
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Behaviour conference next year in Vienna. #Behaviour2027
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Males that experience more aggressive encounters achieve greater reproductive success in the highly territorial fly Drosophila prolongata. Congratulations to Gayatri Raina on presenting these exciting findings in her first talk an international conference (and in a huge auditorium!). #ISBE2026
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Eva Ringler’s inspiring talk on frog parental care and the challenges of academic research at #ISBE2026 👇 🐸
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Kate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Tadpole backpacks? Not onlu this season's *hottest* fashion accessory, but Eva Ringler shows this is also a great system for studying the behavioral decisions involved in parental care! Day 2 of ISBE begins!
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Long-term trends reveal declines and increases in insect populations in Switzerland. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Ninety-year trends reveal sharpest insect declines in the mid-twentieth century - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Assessing the magnitude and drivers of recent biodiversity losses requires informative, long-term baseline data. Here the authors reconstruct the temporal trajectories of butterflies and saproxylic be...
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Dieter Lukas @dieterlukas.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026
I compiled a list of 350 #funding opportunities for #postdoctoral research #fellowships: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J2M… I realized I should share this again after mentioning it to some folks at the #EFP2026
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Abhishek Meena, Ph.D. @abhishek11.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🌡️ Excited to share my talk today at Global Change! 🗣️ “When Heat Stress Matters Most” I’ll discuss how stress affects life stages of insect 🐞 and why identifying vulnerable periods to climate change is important. 📅 01/07/2026 🕥 10:30–12:30 📍 Area Descartes — talk at 12:00 #ECE2026Tours
🌡️ Excited to share my talk today at GLOBAL CHANGE: Thermal ecology and climate change 3!

🗣️ “When Heat Stress Matters Most: Identifying Critical Windows of Thermal Vulnerability”
I’ll discuss how thermal stress impacts organisms across life stages and why identifying vulnerable windows is key to understanding responses to climate change.

📅 01/07/2026
🕥 10:30–12:30
📍 Area Descartes — talk at 12:00
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Insects are being celebrated across Tours, not just at #ECE2026Tours! 🪲🦗🦋
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Excited to be back in Tours for #ECE2026Tours! Kicking off tomorrow with the social behaviour/parental care session 🐞🕷️🪳🪲
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Moth trapping on the #uzh campus
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Barbara Class, Ph.D. (she/her) @barbaraclass.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Our article on Peer Community In and its journal Peer Community Journal is out!!🎉 I am so proud to have been part of it 😊Dive in to learn all about this alternative publishing model: doi.org/10.1629/uksg... @peercommunityin.bsky.social @peercomjournal.bsky.social
doi.org
Peer Community In and Peer Community Journal: a two-step diamond OA process giving research communities back control of publishing | Insights
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Science Magazine @science.org · 28/05/2026
In a new Science study, researchers use data on food webs to show that African elephants have a keystone role in savanna ecosystems through their effects on dung beetles, an insect group with important ecological functions. 📄: scim.ag/42Ybev1 #SciencePerspective: scim.ag/435N4yC
A dung beetle stands on a ball of elephant dung in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
New research provides further evidence for pain-like states in an insect: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Flexible self-protection as evidence of pain-like states in house crickets
Abstract. The possibility that insects experience pain is a frontier question at the intersection of behaviour, cognition and philosophy of mind. Interest
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ZooKeys @zookeys.pensoft.net · 11/05/2026
🐛 The XIII European Congress of Entomology (ECE 2026) is set to be held in Tours, France, from June 29 to July 3, 2026. ➡️ Find out more by accessing our latest news announcement: zookeys.pensoft.net/news/1225 #ECE2026Tours @irbi-tours.bsky.social @socentomolfr.bsky.social
apr.pensoft.net
Pensoft Heads to Tours, France for the XIII European Congress of Entomology 2026
The XIII European Congress of Entomology (ECE 2026) is set to be held in Tours, France, from June 29 to July 3, 2026. This international gathering is organised by the French Entomological Society and ...
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Will Oestreich @will-oestreich.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Our paper about how resource variability shapes the ecology of social information is out in this issue of TREE! This eco-evolutionary lens helps explain why collective sensing has evolved across such a wide range of lifeforms, from microbes to blue whales. www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
We're recruiting! We're looking for two graduate students to join us at UBC in Vancouver. Fully funded and open to global applicants, with flexible start-date. Topics include theory, bioinformatics, and microbiology. More details: asherleeks.com/apply #socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
Leeks Lab is recruiting. We study social evolution in viruses. We're recruiting for two fully funded PhD or MSc positions, starting from September 2026. Evolutionary theory / experimental microbiology / viral bioinformatics. Experience optional / enthusiasm essential. asherleeks.com/apply
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Denis REALE 🇨🇦 @denisreale.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Vous êtes intéressé.e par l’écologie évolutive et la génétique quantitative. Vous aimez l'écologie de terrain et les oiseaux. Joignez-vous à notre laboratoire et à notre équipe de recherche internationale (UQAM / CEFE-CRNS). csee-scee.ca/job/fully-fu...
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Charles Mullon @charlesmullon.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Applications now open for the UNIL Summer School on Modelling for Evolutionary Biology (31 Aug–5 Sep 2026, Lausanne)! For PhD & postdocs interested in formal approaches to evolutionary ecology (incl. social evo, life-history, species interactions). Scholarships available, Pls RP! shorturl.at/fo1GA
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Thomas Lesaffre 🌱 @thomaslesaffre.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
🌺 PhD position in Theoretical Evolutionary Biology! 🌺 There is about two weeks left to apply to come work with me on the evolution of plant reproductive strategies at @unifr.bsky.social ! Contact me or visit here or for more info: tinyurl.com/monoecy Please share! 🌱
A view of the city of Fribourg, Switzerland
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Joël Meunier @jmeunierearwig.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
🌱 Nous ouvrons une thèse (financée) sur l’utilisation du perce-oreille européen comme agent de lutte biologique dans les vergers de pommes et poires du Centre-Val de Loire. 📌 Candidature avant le 11 mai 2026 via le portail emploi CNRS uniquement . Plus d’infos via le QR code ci-dessous.
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Andy Radford @andyradford.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
📢Fully-funded #PhD opportunity with us ❓Quantifying animal #movement patterns & behavioural #interactions in a changing world 👥Joint position in @bristolbiosci.bsky.social & #MacquarieUniversity 📆19th April deadline tinyurl.com/343acaev #maths #modelling #data #fieldwork #Australia 🙏PLEASE SHARE
Zebra finches in Australia; one of the study organisms for the PhDDwarf mongoose staring at a camera in South Africa; one of the PhD study organisms
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Max Körner @max-evolbio.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
New study out with @steigerlab.bsky.social! We investigated male care in a biparentally caring 🪲. Why does male contribution vary so much? Turns out there are repeatable individual differences, and how much the female does only affects some male care behaviors. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
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Dirk Metzler @dirkmetzler.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Two exciting PhD positions for biologists or bioinformaticians in Barbara Feldmeyer's lab at Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute in Frankfurt, one on transcriptional regulation of odorant perception in hymenoptera and... g-evol.uni-muenster.de/open-positio...
g-evol.uni-muenster.de
Open Positions – GEvol – DFG SPP 2349
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Dax Kellie @daxkellie.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
In one week I'll be talking about tips for reproducible R code and why science would love you to try these tips on your own code too 🧪😍🌏 It's an online talk, so feel free to watch comfortably from your couch. Hope to see you there! @sortee.bsky.social #rstats events.humanitix.com/sortee-webin...
events.humanitix.com
SORTEE Webinar: On what makes good sharable and reproducible R code, how to do it, and why it’s good for science
For this month's SORTEE webinar, Dr. Dax Kellie from the Atlas of Living Australia will present on good, sharable, and reproducible R code in science
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Andy Radford @andyradford.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
🚨JOB alert🚨 We have three (yes, THREE) 🌟lectureships🌟 advertised in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol. Broad remit, including #AnimalBehaviour & #GlobalChangeBiology ⏱️Deadline: 8th March 2026 🙏Please circulate widely 😊Come join us! Full #job details: tinyurl.com/y3us95rc
bristol.ac.uk
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol
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Animal Behaviour Collective @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Our first round of ABC microgrants for 2026 is done, and for the first time, we were able to fund each and every eligible application! 🎉🎉🎉 We funded a total of 5 applications – this was made possible thanks to our generous donors! 🙏🏽
Announcement that ABC funded every single eligible microgrant application this Febreary.
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Louis Bliard @lbliard.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
New paper out in @jevbio.bsky.social Using 58 years of data, we look at the effect of environmental variation on reproductive trade-offs in great tits. With @jsmartin.bsky.social, @dzchilds.bsky.social, Ella Cole, @sheldonbirds.bsky.social, @paniw.bsky.social & Arpat Ozgul doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
doi.org
Ecological harshness has a weak influence on reproductive trade-offs in a great tit population
Abstract. Lack’s seminal work on bird clutch sizes has spurred expansive research on reproductive trade-offs, especially focusing on offspring quantity–qua
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Erik Postma @erikpostma.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Then you cannot miss #ExE2026! Hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall, this #conference has a stellar line-up of speakers and lots of pre-and post-conference workshops. Space is limited, so register now at evoxeco.uk!
ExE 2026
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Vivek Nityananda @viveknityananda.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
New #PhD on #bees (BeeHd?)! Despite the ad saying "UK Students only", a limited number of scholarships are available for international candidates. So please apply!
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Our new preprint is out in @ecoevorxiv.bsky.social: size-dependent aggression and behavioural plasticity in field crickets, with @cdegroot.bsky.social, @roriwijnhorst.bsky.social, @dingemanselab.bsky.social, and (not on Bluesky?) Emily Herter and Melissa Bahtije Maliqi.
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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
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Alexis Stamatakis @stamatak.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
The submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting in Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is getting closer!
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The contribution of stochastic mechanisms to behavioural individuality: Trends in Ecology & Evolution www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
cell.com
Playing dice with behavior: drivers of stochastic individuality
Animal behavior is often viewed as stemming from predictable genetic and environmental factors. However, despite our best attempts to control genetic and environmental influences on behavior, variatio...
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Alexis Stamatakis @stamatak.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting in Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is getting closer!
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Jocelyn Poissant @jocelynpoissant.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
The Canada Government will offer 400 postdoctoral fellowships to international researchers in early 2026. If you have a background in wildlife microbiome or quantitative genetics and are interested to apply to work on microbiome variation in Sable Island horses or caribou, feel free to get in touch
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Abstract submission is now open for the ASAB Spring Conference in Bristol.
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Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Excited to be back in Edinburgh for the @britishecologicalsociety.org conference 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Yvette Fisher @yvetteefisher.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!! How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭 led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman: “Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Thread ⬇️
Schematic of how ER-EPG plasticity enables the bump of activity in EPGs to accurately track visual cues. As a fly makes a counter-clockwise turn (top to bottom) it will view visual cues (e.g. the sun) from a new angle and the EPG activity bump (red) will swing clockwise around the network by integrating self motion signals with these visual inputs. When the fly faces a different angle, distinct visual ER neurons are active. Plasticity forms a trough of weak synapses (large circles - strong synapses, small circles - weak synapses) that allow ER neurons with distinct visual tuning to move the EPG bump via disinhibition.
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Alexis Stamatakis @stamatak.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Join us in Crete in May 2026 for the Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting mceb2026.sciencesconf.org on the island's northern coastline near Heraklion. Abstract Deadline: January 31st
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Patrick Kennedy @patrick-kennedy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
POSTDOC ALERT🚨 Two exciting social evolution postdoc positions live today! We're looking for two excellent field biologists. Join us to explore the evolution of sociality in wasps across Africa. Apply by 11th January. Collaboration with @dustinrubenstein.com @bristolbiosci.bsky.social
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