ASSAB

Register for the ASSAB 2026 conference here: www.assab.org/assab-2026

The conference is warm and welcoming for all animal behaviour enthusiasts and researchers. Hosted by Flinders University, South Australia.

⭐ASSAB 2026 Plenary Speakers⭐

🐝Prof. Andrew Barron: Why the honey bee is smarter than ChatGPT

🐦🐿️Assoc. Prof. Kristal Cain:
Chasing birds and shiny squirrels - an alternative path in academia

🪲Dr Kawsar Khan
Behaviour ecology in the Anthropocene

🐟Dr Upama Aich
Sex and stress in a changing world

Challenges for wildlife seeking sleep in a disturbed world Summary: Animals must obtain a daily amount of sleep to perform well when awake, but doing so in the modern world is increasingly difficult owing to various forms of human-made disturbance.

Read about the challenges faced by wildlife trying to sleep in a disturbed world

"Challenges for wildlife seeking sleep in a disturbed world"

doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Natural History of Dolomedes schauinslandi, a Range Restricted Fishing Spider From Hokoreroro | Rangatira | South East Island Dolomedes schauinslandi Simon 1899 is a large fishing spiderspecies endemic to the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Today, it only occurs on remote offshore islands, being extinct from most islands of t...

Read this fantastic new paper covering the species ecology of the fishing spider Dolomedes schauinslandi 🕷️

doi.org/10.1002/njz2...

#science

⭐The ASSAB 2026 conference registrations are now open⭐

Early bird registrations are open until 15 May 2026

Click here to register: www.assab.org/assab-2026

We are also open for abstract submissions!

23-25 June, Adelaide, South Australia
Flinders University

Simple life, simple minds? How habitat simplification in aquatic ecosystems shape fish cognition - Animal Cognition Animal Cognition - This narrative review synthesises current knowledge on the effects of habitat complexity, defined as the variation in physical structures within ecosystems, on fish cognition,...

Curious about how habitat reflects fish cognition?

Read here: "Simple life, simple minds? How habitat simplification in aquatic ecosystems shape fish cognition"

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

Very cool paper using acoustics to identify species richness in oil palm plantations:

"Habitat structure and landscape context influence vocalising vertebrates in oil palm plantations"

doi.org/10.1007/s105...

#science #research

Want to learn about shorebird food chains?🐤

Read
"Stable isotopes show that across non-breeding sites migratory shorebirds rely on different primary producers"

doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

Roars, Rumbles, and Resonance: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Crocodylian Acoustic Signals Crocodylians are highly vocal reptiles, possessing a complex acoustic signalling system including vocal and non-vocal signals used for courtship, mating, mediating conflict, and providing maternal ca....

Want to know what we know about Crocodylian acoustics? 🐊

Read "Roars, Rumbles, and Resonance: A Systematic Review and
Meta-Analysis of Crocodylian Acoustic Signals"

doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

#science #biology #animalbehaviour

🚨Grant Alert🚨
Conducting concervation research in Victoria? Apply here!

🌟 Research highlight - Do large carnivores fare better in savannas when they get drier?

📖 Read the paper here ➡️ buff.ly/a9v23Dz

Exposure to the Oestrogenic Pollutant 17α‐Ethinyl Estradiol (EE2) Does Not Alter the Behaviour of a Coastal Marine Fish, Cristiceps australis Environmental contamination with the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) is widespread in coastal ecosystems, yet behavioural effects in marine fishes remain poorly understood. We exposed ...

🐟No effect of pollutant EE2 on southern crested weedfish behaviour!🐟

Read here:

"Exposure to the Oestrogenic Pollutant 17α-Ethinyl Estradiol
(EE2) Does Not Alter the Behaviour of a Coastal Marine
Fish, Cristiceps australis"

doi.org/10.1111/eth....

#animalbehaviour #research #science

Predictors of Wing Attacks by Birds Across Australian Butterflies Predation pressure can vary latitudinally and across different prey communities as well as between males and females of the same prey species. Here, the variation in predation pressure on Australian ....

🦋🦜Curious about butterfly predation?🦋🦜

Read this awesome paper!

Predictors of Wing Attacks by Birds Across Australian Butterflies
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Read about the diets of Australian rays here!!!

"Stable isotope analysis reveals resource use by rays in an Australian temperate estuary"

doi.org/10.1111/jfb....

Our newest paper is out! "Beluga societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete" is now published in Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology.
doi.org/10.1007/s00265-025-03630-3
Led by @jaclynaubin.bsky.social with our collaborators @raincoast.org & GREMM. Check out Jaclyn's thread 👇.

The awesome evolution of egg camouflage!🥚

Read "Matching Multiple Backgrounds: Egg Camouflage Across Different Habitats in a Shorebird"

doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Learn about Pūkeko vocalisations in this awesome new paper

"Examining combinatoriality within the pūkeko vocal repertoire"

doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

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
👩🏻‍🔬🧪

Screenshot listing the available career awards from the Animal Behavior Society: Distinguished Animal Behaviorist, Exemplar Award, Outstanding New Investigator, Quest Award, Exceptional Service Award, Penny Bernstein Distinguished Teaching Award and the Richard Buchholz Conservation Behavior Award

If you need something positive in your life right now, then how about nominating one of your favorite researchers for an award??

The Animal Behavior Society's Career Award nominations are due January 15th! Find more info here:
www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/awards-c...

Happy 2026 ASSABers!

We hope you had a stunning holiday break and a very happy New Year.

A reminder that our conference is a little over 5 months away!

Our Summer 2025 magazine is now online featuring:
🐧 New research on kiwi + long-tailed cuckoo koekoeā
🦆 Tips on finding unusual terns
🐥 Good news for pukunui southern NZ dotterels
🦉 News on new species of extinct penguins + shelduck & much more!
www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/u...

A new PhD opportunity in Melbourne!

Did you publish with researchers outside your lab during grad school? Or published as faculty with a student not under your supervision?

I’m collecting examples of cross-lab collaboration in graduate training.

Please share your experience & this post!

Repository: bit.ly/4pT66BE

🚨 New study by #SPEmembers 🚨
#AnimalBehaviour #Ethology #Evolution

"Morphological Evolution in Island Birds Is Associated With More Terrestrial Lifestyles and a Lower Number of Raptors and Intra-Family Competitors"

Opportunities ***PhD and MSc openings – Movement ecology and conservation*** I will periodically support graduate students, postdocs, and other staff through the Biology Department at the University of New…

I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉

gavinmjones.com/opportunities/

‼️another PhD opportunity‼️‼️

🚨 PhD position 🚨

Letter P | Pollinator Interaction Researcher Dr Dave Lawson | A to Z of the Biosciences YouTube video by Royal Society of Biology

In our latest A-Z of the Biosciences video, Dr David Lawson talks about his role as a senior lecturer inc his research into the interactions between flowering plants and their pollinators, particularly bumblebees 🐝.

Watch the full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QMQ...

Supported by BBSRC

🌍🦋 Across 6 continents, 21 sites & 15,000 paper moths, we joined a worldwide experiment led by @wlallen.bsky.social & Iliana Medina, showing how ecological context shapes the evolution of animal colouration.

Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Very cool paper on orangutan behaviour 🦧