Sensory Ecology Lab

These birds listen to their parents to avoid being eaten Jackdaw chicks learn not to sweat the small stuff.

“… listening to predator calls paired with alarm calls taught chicks to be afraid of the predator. The young birds were more vigilant when they heard the call again… chicks that heard the predator calls paired with the contact calls did not gain this fear.”
#scicomm

www.popsci.com/environment/...
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Cockroaches that eat each other’s wings turn into a fierce fighting force The wood-feeding cockroach’s cannibalistic love bites lead to a lasting bond. Afterward, the pair prefer each other over all other roaches.

“To pair up, a male and female will gently eat each other’s wings off before, during or after mating.”

“…the chemicals released as the animals eat could help them learn the signature of their partner.“

#scicomm

www.sciencenews.org/article/cock...
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O Finep pelo Brasil está percorrendo mais de 100 cidades, de norte a sul do Brasil, promovendo encontros para apresentar oportunidades de financiamento, fortalecer parcerias e impulsionar a inovação em todo o país.

Saiba mais: bit.ly/4qXMXyq

@mcti.bsky.social

In a first, researchers film treetops glowing during thunderstorms Glimmer sparked by electrical fields detected in nature for the first time

“The researchers caught a twinkling surrounding the tips of leaves at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. They hope the work will shed light on how thunderstorms electrify the landscape and produce lightning.”

#scicomm

www.science.org/content/arti...
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The Horse's Whinny Is a Unique Mix of Two Sounds, Study Finds NEW YORK (AP) – Horses whinny to find new friends, greet old ones, and celebrate happy moments like feeding time.

“The whinny's mysterious high-pitched tones, they discovered, are a kind of whistling that starts in the horse's voice box. Air vibrates the tissues in the voice box while an area just above contracts, leaving a small opening for the whistle to escape.”

www.sciencealert.com/the-horses-w...
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Deer Create Mysterious Ultraviolet Signals That Glow in Forests Deer have the ability to see ultraviolet light, and a recent study shows they can also leave a glowing trail visible in those wavelengths, too.

“Deer have the ability to see ultraviolet light, and a recent study shows they can also leave a glowing trail visible in those wavelengths, too.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#photoluminescence
#mammals

www.sciencealert.com/deer-create-...
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Humans really don't need chins Homo sapiens are the only primates that have them, but they don't make us special.

What about sexual selection? 🤔

“Just because we have a unique feature, like the chin, does not mean that it was shaped by natural selection to enhance an animal’s survivability”

#scicomm
#humanevolution

www.popsci.com/science/why-...
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How do autistic people age — and what does it mean for their health? Most research on autism focuses on younger people, but some studies suggest older adults face increased risks — and perhaps benefits.

Most research on autism focuses on younger people, but some studies suggest older adults face increased risks — and perhaps benefits

go.nature.com/4qNTCvh

Head on shot of a brownish-red moth larva on a thin tree branch. It has little white spots on its body. Its silhouette looks not unlike that of a lobster. It's grasping the twig of a plant. The background is green.

Here’s one lobster that you might not want with a side of butter: the lobster moth! Named for its lobster-like larval form, this wide-ranging insect inhabits parts of Europe & Asia. While it resembles a crustacean, it can also mimic ants as a way to deter potential predators.

#SPEetologia

Field recordings reveal that Dactylopterus volitans produces two distinct grunt types with defined temporal and spectral features. Anatomical analyses link sound production to specialized swim bladder and sonic muscles, confirming this species as soniferous.

🚨 New study by #SPEmembers 🚨
#AnimalBehaviour #Ethology

"Acoustic repertoire and anatomical features of the flying gurnard from the Adriatic Sea"
Horvatić & Vieira et al. with SPE members Manuel Vieira, M Clara Amorim, and Paulo Fonseca @ Journal of zoology

a close up of a fish with a large eye ALT: a close up of a fish with a large eye

Chemical cues facilitate foraging across the water-land interface in a resident predatory fish
#TransitionalEcosystems #SensoryProcessing #MorayEel

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

Anatomical diagram illustrating electrode placement targeting the LGN within the thalamus for visual prosthetic stimulation

Neural vision restoration in ophthalmology link.springer.com/article/10.1... "restore visual perception through retinal prostheses, optic nerve and thalamic implants, cortical brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), optogenetics, and non-invasive stimulation"

Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision Hybrid photoreceptors in larval deep-sea fish reveal evolution of an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision.

#Fish #vision #deepsea

"The current dogma is that vertebrates develop cone-dominated retinas first, adding rods later. Here we show that larval deep-sea fishes have “hybrid” photoreceptors, expressing cone-specific genes in rod-like cells."

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Elite Athletes Possess a Hidden Skill That Seems Superhuman. Here's Why. Elite sport often looks like a test of speed, strength, and technical skill.

“These skills allow elite athletes to scan a chaotic scene, pick out the right cues and act before anyone else sees the opportunity. In short, they don't just move faster, but they also see smarter.”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencealert.com/elite-athlet...
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Forest's Strange Response to an Eclipse May Have a More Mundane Explanation In a controversial study published in April last year, researchers described an astonishing phenomenon: a forest of Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) appeared to 'sync' their electrical signaling ahea...

“Instead of considering simpler, well-documented environmental factors, like a heavy rainstorm and a cluster of nearby lightning strikes, the authors leaned into the more seductive idea that the trees were anticipating the impending solar eclipse."

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/forests-stra...
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15 yrs since we published this, but some scholars still define (animal) colour vision as just wavelength discrimination independently of intensity. Colour vision requires having vision - and this means seeing an image in which things have colour properties.

Babies brains' can follow a beat as soon as they're born Brain scans and signals show babies can sort images and sense rhythm, offering new insight into how infant brains are wired from the start.

“… new research suggests babies are born with a surprisingly sophisticated neurological toolkit that can organize the visual world into categories and pick out the beat in a song.”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencenews.org/article/babi...
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Flower constancy in pollinators: a bouquet of agendas shapes interactions among mutualistic partners Abstract. Plant–pollinator interactions have become a major research area because of their impact on key ecosystem services. One pollinator behaviour of pa

I'm pleased to share this new #openaccess review article on 🌻 flower constancy🌻 and how it shapes plant-pollinator interactions. I hope you'll find it useful 🐝🦋 🌺:

tinyurl.com/mrx59pt3

Front cover of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B showing a trumpetfish shadowing a non-threatening species of a similar colour to aid its hunting success.

Delighted that a #trumpetfish has made the 🌟cover🌟 of @royalsocietypublishing.org journal #ProceedingsB.

Read about how these predatory #fish hide against similarly coloured non-threatening species to #camouflage on the move in our #OpenAccess article:

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

#behaviour #marine

Six individual bird illustrations focusing on the head of the bird are lined up in a collage. Species depicted include the Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail, Green Woodpecker and Chaffinch. Artwork by Will Rose.

✨ Vote for your favourite bird image! ✨ We need you to pick our new Birds in Greenspaces icon for our brand-new mobile phone app!

Vote here ➡️ bit.ly/VoteBiGsIcon

Will it be the Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail, Green Woodpecker or Chaffinch? 🤔

Voting closes on 15 February.

The Sensory Ecology of Tsetse Flies: Neuroscience Perspectives on a Disease Vector
#Drosophila

“Before the middle ear and its associated 'tympanic' hearing abilities, animals relied on bone-conducted sound, where nerves carry signals from vibrations in the jawbone to the brain.”

#scicomm
#fossil

www.sciencealert.com/250-million-...
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Fiddler crab claws divert predator attacks from their bodies Male fiddler crabs are bizarre-looking creatures. While most crabs have two equally sized claws, male fiddler crabs possess one normal-sized claw and one massively enlarged claw. They wave around thei...

“By waving it around to attract females or to deter other males, a male fiddler crab is very obvious to predators. But because the claw diverts predator attacks from the rest of the crab's body, it gives the crab an opportunity to escape.”

#scicomm

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
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Fluttering ‘tails’ on bird nests confuse would-be predators Blue manakins in Brazil use “disruptive camouflage” to protect their eggs, new study finds

“The findings suggest streamer-building birds aren’t trying to render their nests invisible, nor make them look like something else in their surroundings. Instead, a tail gives the nest a “false shape,”… “avoiding detection...”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.science.org/content/arti...
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A spot in the base of the brain has a love of language Brain scans show a spot in the cerebellum attuned specifically to words, expanding on studies that point to the region's importance for language.

“Tucked into the base of the brain, the fist-sized cerebellum is most known for its role in movement, posture and coordination. A new study maps the language system in this out-of-the-way place”

#scicomm
#neuroskyence

www.sciencenews.org/article/cere...
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🦇MY FIELD FOR DUMMIES IS BACK!🦇

We are THRILLED to have Dr. Alyson Brokaw as out first speaker of 2026. Dr. Brokaw focuses her research on behavioral ecology and sensory biology and is passionate about science communication and outreach.

REGISTER FOR FREE HERE!
tinyurl.com/2kw9wr5x

We are excited to announce that registration is open for the 2026 Neural Mechanisms of Acoustic Communication Gordon Research Conference. The preliminary program is now live: www.grc.org/neural-mecha...

We invite everyone to apply! See you @ Sunday River, Maine, May 31-June 5, 2026.

Cuttlefish Literally Twist Light to Attract a Mate, Study Finds Every critter on this planet that relies on a sexual means of reproduction has its own way of luring in a mate – but cuttlefish can do something really special.

“Male Andrea cuttlefish (Doratosepion andreanum) – quite drab to human eyes – use their birefringent arms to literally twist light, creating a highly conspicuous signal precisely tuned to cuttlefish vision.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/cuttlefish-l...
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Human Penis Size Evolved For 2 Purposes, New Study Finds "Size matters" sounds like a tabloid cliché, but for evolutionary biologists the size of the human penis is truly a puzzle.

“the enlarged penis in humans evolved more in response to its effect as a sexual ornament to attract females than as a badge of status for males, although it does both.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/human-penis-...
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