Luke Rendell
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lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell
@lrendell.bsky.social
2.2K followers 960 following 170 posts

Reader in Biology @_SMRU_ @SchoolofBiology @univofstandrews. Ocean Yachtmaster for hire! Marine conservation, cetacean & fish behaviour, cultural evolution. He/him. Thalassophile. Sailor. #Fife


https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/biology/people/ler4 .. more

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Environmental science 34%
Biology 22%
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lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · 3d
Awesome work by @izzylangley.bsky.social 🐳🦭🦑
seamammalresearch.bsky.social SMRU @seamammalresearch.bsky.social · 3d
Another new paper led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social: First observations of grey seal cannibalism at Sable Island, inc. a comparison of carcass pathology to cases in Scotland. Collab between SMRU, DFO and @dalhousie.bsky.social with support from @oceanfrontier.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
Gray Seal Cannibalism at the Largest Colony in the World, Sable Island
Click on the article title to read more.
doi.org

Reposted by Luke Rendell

seamammalresearch.bsky.social
SMRU @seamammalresearch.bsky.social · 3d
Another new paper led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social: First observations of grey seal cannibalism at Sable Island, inc. a comparison of carcass pathology to cases in Scotland. Collab between SMRU, DFO and @dalhousie.bsky.social with support from @oceanfrontier.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
Gray Seal Cannibalism at the Largest Colony in the World, Sable Island
Click on the article title to read more.
doi.org

Reposted by Luke Rendell

eadinomahony.bsky.social
Éadin O'Mahony, PhD @eadinomahony.bsky.social · 4d
🐋 Loved having a chat about bubble netting humpbacks on @npr.org's Science Desk with Nate Rott! As a *major* NPR Tiny Desk fan... can someone tell me is this the scientists' equivalent?! 🤪

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
Humpback whales cast bubble nets to catch prey. They may be learning from each other
Humpback whales will sometimes use an intricate strategy to catch food called bubble-net feeding. A new study suggests they're spreading the knowledge of how to do it to each other.
www.npr.org

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Martín Haspelmath, Philippe Huneman , and 2 more

kevinlala.bsky.social
Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · 10d
I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!

doi.org/10.1007/s137...
The Importance of Biological Theory - Biological Theory
Biological Theory -
doi.org

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · 17d
More coverage of ‪Éadin's paper: oceanographicmagazine.com/news/immigra... 🐳🦑

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · 18d
New paper!🚨 Social dynamics of group bubble net feeding in humpbacks. Congratulations Éadin for such an awesome first PhD paper!! 🐳🧪🦑

Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill, Rebecca Sear, Luke Rendell , and 1 more

jaclynaubin.bsky.social
Jaclyn Aubin @jaclynaubin.bsky.social · 19d
Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org
A white beluga surfacing in greenish-brown waters. Overlaid is the title of a new review published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Beluga Societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete.

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Luke Rendell

eadinomahony.bsky.social
Éadin O'Mahony, PhD @eadinomahony.bsky.social · 19d
New paper on the social learning of bubble net feeding by humpbacks in British Columbia, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B 🐋
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

#marmam @bcwhales.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social [1/5]
The diffusion of cooperative and solo bubble net feeding in Canadian Pacific humpback whales
Abstract. Animal culture, information and behaviours acquired and shared by social learning are a form of biodiversity with intrinsic and practical value.
royalsocietypublishing.org

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 23
maybe the human hubris that surrounds so much of the hype yes; if 'AI' includes deep learning networks my students work on them so it's not Luddism but there work ain't clickbait bs about talking to whales...

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 23
see also share.google/poGwdTJMChIA...
Are we really about to talk to whales?
It’s certainly an exciting time to study communication in whales and dolphins.
share.google

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 23
It would be, if it wasn't overhyped nonsense, at least partly inflated by those desperate for such a positive use case.... bsky.app/profile/lren...
lrendell.bsky.social Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 14
Don't just take my word for it ... @stephanielking.bsky.social and Denise Herzing provide insightful comments in this piece: www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-n...

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 23
and continuously reposting it doesn't change that...

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 23
Don't believe the hype - this study is egregiously oversold unfortunately... bsky.app/profile/lren...
lrendell.bsky.social Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 14
Don't just take my word for it ... @stephanielking.bsky.social and Denise Herzing provide insightful comments in this piece: www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-n...

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Luke Rendell

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · Dec 22
"Behavioural scientists are increasingly calling for context as a key to addressing pressing problems caused by human behaviour. However, despite its powerful ability to generate contextual hypotheses on the basis of relatively simple rules, ecological thinking is rarely applied to human behaviour"
Behavioural sciences need behavioural ecology - Nature Human Behaviour
Behavioural scientists want to see more consideration of context — so why are they not using tools derived from ecology, the science of all life in context? We invite behavioural scientists to align t...
www.nature.com

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 14
So chuffed for the newly minted Dr @eadinomahony.bsky.social who crushed their viva this week at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and gave an awesome seminar to boot! Many thanks to @tangeolsen.bsky.social for years of support! 🐳🦑🧪
me Eadin Oscar Gaggioti and Morton Olsen toasting in front of the SOI Xmas tree Three people with liquorice pipes Éadin looking happy Eadin and I in front of the title slide of her seminar "From breath to whole genome"

Reposted by Brian Kelly, Luke Rendell, Smith , and 8 more

thegmcconnachie.bsky.social
Garry @thegmcconnachie.bsky.social · Dec 9
“I am so bored by AI. One of the things I love about the theatre is AI can’t do it.”

Ethan Hawke is a dude 👌🏻

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 5
🐳

Reposted by Luke Rendell

whysharksmatter.bsky.social
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Dec 5
A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-ra... 🧪🦑🌎
A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada
Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean, with each group of whales living year-round in a…
news.mongabay.com

Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill, Rebecca Sear, Alex Mesoudi , and 2 more

rachkendal.bsky.social
Rachel Kendal @rachkendal.bsky.social · Dec 4
Today sees the publication of the Theme Issue featuring the CES Transformation Fund grant scheme. Enjoy! royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
@durhamdcerc.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social @cultevolfunding.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
Picture of front cover of Theme Issue entitled "Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures." The image on the front cover is of a Yao honey hunter in Mozambique holding retrieved honeycomb.

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 1
i don't agree, but it's moot because they didn't even show that, they just found spectral peaks and then made a story which is wildly inconsistent with what we know about sperm whael sound production, so.... 🤷

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Dec 1
Physically, yes that's what it is. But many animals sounds have this feature. What makes a vowel is not the sound but the phonological role in speech as the peak of a syllable - there's no definition that doesn't include the assumption it's a part of speech - no evidence for that role in whales!

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 28
Very cool to see this out, congratulations @alecburslem.bsky.social ! 🥳🐳🦑
alecburslem.bsky.social Alec Burslem @alecburslem.bsky.social · Nov 27
New paper out today in @ecol-evol.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ece3....

The total size of the body’s fat stores is a crucial factor in understanding animal health, life history and conservation biology, but no established method exists to measure it in large marine animals without capturing them.

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 27
Time to kick Ruzzia out of our politics. F**k Putin and his puppet Farage.
A yellow and blue banner with F*ck Putin written on it, the * being replaced by the Ukrainian trident

Reposted by Andy Gardner, Luke Rendell

alecburslem.bsky.social
Alec Burslem @alecburslem.bsky.social · Nov 27
New paper out today in @ecol-evol.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ece3....

The total size of the body’s fat stores is a crucial factor in understanding animal health, life history and conservation biology, but no established method exists to measure it in large marine animals without capturing them.

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 18
Yeah they did PR when they pre-printed it too, nothing's changed, just now they finally managed to get it into an allegedly peer reviewed journal - RIP that journal's reputation 🤣

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 18
Nice! I think it's always interesting to get a broader community response, thanks for sharing that...

Reposted by Luke Rendell

wiringthebrain.bsky.social
Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · Nov 15
Make Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence Again!

(Just a thought for journal editors, peer reviewers, journalists... 😉)

Reposted by Luke Rendell

oddnewsnetwork.bsky.social
Odd News @oddnewsnetwork.bsky.social · Nov 14
Marine biologists are locked in what observers describe as “an academic slap fight” over whether sperm whales communicate using vowel-like patterns or whether researchers just need better microphones. Read more below...

#linguistics #Research #spermwhale #vowels #whale #OddNews
AI Studying Whale Songs Says It Thinks Whale Language Might Have Vowels
Where linguists hear “vowels,” skeptics hear “clicks,” and whales hear… absolutely none of this nonsense.
oddnews.com

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 14
Don't just take my word for it ... @stephanielking.bsky.social and Denise Herzing provide insightful comments in this piece: www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-n...

lrendell.bsky.social
Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Nov 12
No, they really haven't. Calling spectral peaks vowels is as inane as saying that because my washing up gloves are also yellow, they have the same nutritional content as a banana. Zero evidence of vowel-like function. It's pure clickbait, and a new low in irresponsible claims from this group 🙄🐳🦑🧪
projectceti.bsky.social Project CETI @projectceti.bsky.social · Nov 12
CETI scientists have discovered vowel and diphthong-like patterns in sperm whale communication! Read: bit.ly/3WSn9rc

By: @begus.bsky.social, Ronald Sprouse, Andrej Leban, Miles Silva & Shane Gero.
@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social, @umich.edu, @carleton.ca, @csail.mit.edu
Animation: Meghan Fenske