Ben Kawam
@benkawam.bsky.social
Primatologist lost in a Markov chain | benkawam.github.io.
Pinned
New paper!
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist. For more information, see www.uni-regensburg.de/universitaet...
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist
We are looking for 4 PhD Positions and one Scientific Programmer / Ecological Data Scientist to join the AG Hartig (Theoretical Ecology)
www.uni-regensburg.de
November 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist. For more information, see www.uni-regensburg.de/universitaet...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
To give an idea of the status quo, the customary tactic in animal social networks is to not only aggregate across time but also to divide out the sample size by using various ratio outcome variables. If we could get ppl to stop using ratio variables, that alone would be a victory.
November 12, 2025 at 12:07 PM
To give an idea of the status quo, the customary tactic in animal social networks is to not only aggregate across time but also to divide out the sample size by using various ratio outcome variables. If we could get ppl to stop using ratio variables, that alone would be a victory.
New paper!
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 12, 2025 at 11:56 AM
New paper!
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Award alert! 🎖️🚨 Every other year, the Ethologische Gesellschaft awards the Niko Tinbergen Award to outstanding post-doc level researchers in Behavioural Biology (<=6yrs post PhD exam).
...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...
...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...
Awards – Ethologische Gesellschaft e.V.
www.etho-ges.de
October 31, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Award alert! 🎖️🚨 Every other year, the Ethologische Gesellschaft awards the Niko Tinbergen Award to outstanding post-doc level researchers in Behavioural Biology (<=6yrs post PhD exam).
...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...
...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
I am excited to announce two PhD opportunities! Come and join our interdisciplinary team in Sheffield, UK.
- Destroying forever chemicals with microbes and cold plasma: tinyurl.com/mth8ymx5
- Learning how motile bacteria make decisions: tinyurl.com/2hmc9a8u
UK and overseas students welcome to apply!
- Destroying forever chemicals with microbes and cold plasma: tinyurl.com/mth8ymx5
- Learning how motile bacteria make decisions: tinyurl.com/2hmc9a8u
UK and overseas students welcome to apply!
ECOSOLUTIONS DFA - Harnessing microbes and cold plasma to concentrate and destroy ‘forever chemicals’ in food associated ecosystems at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - ECOSOLUTIONS DFA - Harnessing microbes and cold plasma to concentrate and destroy ‘forever chemicals’ in food associated ecosystems at University of Sheffield, listed on Find...
tinyurl.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:53 AM
I am excited to announce two PhD opportunities! Come and join our interdisciplinary team in Sheffield, UK.
- Destroying forever chemicals with microbes and cold plasma: tinyurl.com/mth8ymx5
- Learning how motile bacteria make decisions: tinyurl.com/2hmc9a8u
UK and overseas students welcome to apply!
- Destroying forever chemicals with microbes and cold plasma: tinyurl.com/mth8ymx5
- Learning how motile bacteria make decisions: tinyurl.com/2hmc9a8u
UK and overseas students welcome to apply!
Now that it has a title page, this all becomes very official
October 29, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Now that it has a title page, this all becomes very official
Reposted by Ben Kawam
When there is a random way to do something, there is a less random way that is better but requires more thought. In this case, regression models that make no sense don't belong in a multiverse analysis. An inferential regression without a causal justification is like an opinion without reasons.
October 23, 2025 at 4:34 PM
When there is a random way to do something, there is a less random way that is better but requires more thought. In this case, regression models that make no sense don't belong in a multiverse analysis. An inferential regression without a causal justification is like an opinion without reasons.
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Applications for the MEME programme (www.evobio.eu
) are now open! MEME is a research- and mobility-oriented master’s in evolutionary biology (& I’m a proud alumna!), jointly run by the Unis of Groningen, Uppsala, Montpellier, and LMU Munich, with Harvard and Lausanne as partners. Spread the word!
) are now open! MEME is a research- and mobility-oriented master’s in evolutionary biology (& I’m a proud alumna!), jointly run by the Unis of Groningen, Uppsala, Montpellier, and LMU Munich, with Harvard and Lausanne as partners. Spread the word!
October 23, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Applications for the MEME programme (www.evobio.eu
) are now open! MEME is a research- and mobility-oriented master’s in evolutionary biology (& I’m a proud alumna!), jointly run by the Unis of Groningen, Uppsala, Montpellier, and LMU Munich, with Harvard and Lausanne as partners. Spread the word!
) are now open! MEME is a research- and mobility-oriented master’s in evolutionary biology (& I’m a proud alumna!), jointly run by the Unis of Groningen, Uppsala, Montpellier, and LMU Munich, with Harvard and Lausanne as partners. Spread the word!
Reposted by Ben Kawam
People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances, or in order not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate.
James Baldwin
James Baldwin
October 23, 2025 at 10:38 AM
People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances, or in order not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate.
James Baldwin
James Baldwin
Reposted by Ben Kawam
It’s become fashionable in some circles to reject decision theory (and other basic statistical ideas) for vaguely political reasons.
There are valid critiques—but also some worth being wary of.
Some thoughts:
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/10/17/s...
There are valid critiques—but also some worth being wary of.
Some thoughts:
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/10/17/s...
Separating the whack from the chaff in critiques of decision theory | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
October 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
It’s become fashionable in some circles to reject decision theory (and other basic statistical ideas) for vaguely political reasons.
There are valid critiques—but also some worth being wary of.
Some thoughts:
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/10/17/s...
There are valid critiques—but also some worth being wary of.
Some thoughts:
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/10/17/s...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Do any stats nerds have a good reference/examples for how to write about Gaussian Processes models and communicate them to readers? I am estimating spatial autocorrelation of things measured in grids and need some inspiration to guide my writing.
October 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Do any stats nerds have a good reference/examples for how to write about Gaussian Processes models and communicate them to readers? I am estimating spatial autocorrelation of things measured in grids and need some inspiration to guide my writing.
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Wild female gorillas live long after their last baby is born.
Do they go through menopause?
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510998122
Do they go through menopause?
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510998122
October 15, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Wild female gorillas live long after their last baby is born.
Do they go through menopause?
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510998122
Do they go through menopause?
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510998122
Reposted by Ben Kawam
The second seminar of the year is on Thursday, October 16 at 10am Eastern.
@salazarafra.bsky.social + @ellenclarke.bsky.social
Join us!
internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com/seminars/
@salazarafra.bsky.social + @ellenclarke.bsky.social
Join us!
internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com/seminars/
October 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The second seminar of the year is on Thursday, October 16 at 10am Eastern.
@salazarafra.bsky.social + @ellenclarke.bsky.social
Join us!
internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com/seminars/
@salazarafra.bsky.social + @ellenclarke.bsky.social
Join us!
internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com/seminars/
Reposted by Ben Kawam
⚠️Paper Alert!⚠️
Excited to share this paper with @roccoro.bsky.social where we examined whether ceramic technology in Saharan Africa was the result of a single or multiple episodes of innovation & diffusion
rdcu.be/eJi3g
Excited to share this paper with @roccoro.bsky.social where we examined whether ceramic technology in Saharan Africa was the result of a single or multiple episodes of innovation & diffusion
rdcu.be/eJi3g
Bayesian analyses of radiocarbon dates suggest multiple origins of ceramic technology in Early Holocene Africa
Nature Communications - Several possible points of origin have been proposed for the spread of ceramic technology in Saharan Africa between 11–10,000 years ago. Here, the authors...
rdcu.be
October 3, 2025 at 1:01 PM
⚠️Paper Alert!⚠️
Excited to share this paper with @roccoro.bsky.social where we examined whether ceramic technology in Saharan Africa was the result of a single or multiple episodes of innovation & diffusion
rdcu.be/eJi3g
Excited to share this paper with @roccoro.bsky.social where we examined whether ceramic technology in Saharan Africa was the result of a single or multiple episodes of innovation & diffusion
rdcu.be/eJi3g
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Want to know more about monkeys kidnapping other monkeys?🐒 I had an amazing chat together with @bjjbarrett.bsky.social on @sidedoorpod.bsky.social about the Coiban capuchins and their wild antics. Science really is stranger than fiction! Listen 👂 here: www.si.edu/sidedoor/mon...
October 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Want to know more about monkeys kidnapping other monkeys?🐒 I had an amazing chat together with @bjjbarrett.bsky.social on @sidedoorpod.bsky.social about the Coiban capuchins and their wild antics. Science really is stranger than fiction! Listen 👂 here: www.si.edu/sidedoor/mon...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
I'm looking for a doctoral student with Bayesian background to work on Bayesian workflow and cross-validation (see my publication list users.aalto.fi/~ave/publica... for my recent work) at Aalto University.
Apply through the ELLIS PhD program (dl October 31) ellis.eu/news/ellis-p...
Apply through the ELLIS PhD program (dl October 31) ellis.eu/news/ellis-p...
ELLIS PhD Program: Call for Applications 2025
The ELLIS mission is to create a diverse European network that promotes research excellence and advances breakthroughs in AI, as well as a pan-European PhD program to educate the next generation of AI...
ellis.eu
October 6, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I'm looking for a doctoral student with Bayesian background to work on Bayesian workflow and cross-validation (see my publication list users.aalto.fi/~ave/publica... for my recent work) at Aalto University.
Apply through the ELLIS PhD program (dl October 31) ellis.eu/news/ellis-p...
Apply through the ELLIS PhD program (dl October 31) ellis.eu/news/ellis-p...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
⭐PhD position available!⭐
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Analysis of communication and collective behavior in animal groups
imprs-qbee.mpg.de
October 3, 2025 at 7:40 AM
⭐PhD position available!⭐
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Are you studying animal sociality?
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
A causal framework for the drivers of animal social network structure
Author summary Behavioural ecologists ask mechanistic questions about behaviour—causal questions. When studying animal societies, these questions often concern the drivers of social network structure....
journals.plos.org
September 30, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Are you studying animal sociality?
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
3yr PDRA at @exeter.ac.uk with @york.ac.uk and Centre for Whale Research, studying how killer whale social relationships change with prey availability, partner loss and social info. A fantastic team & unique longterm dataset. Deadline 19 Oct!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/postdoctoral-research-associate
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/postdoctoral-research-associate
Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Exeter
Apply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.
share.google
September 24, 2025 at 8:42 AM
3yr PDRA at @exeter.ac.uk with @york.ac.uk and Centre for Whale Research, studying how killer whale social relationships change with prey availability, partner loss and social info. A fantastic team & unique longterm dataset. Deadline 19 Oct!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/postdoctoral-research-associate
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/postdoctoral-research-associate
Reposted by Ben Kawam
It's hiring season at @iast.fr!
- 2y research postdoc contract
- Full autonomy, you are your own PI
- Awesome multidisciplinary environment
- All social and behavioral sciences welcome
- Seed funding for projects and workshops
- Gorgeous city in the south of France
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
- 2y research postdoc contract
- Full autonomy, you are your own PI
- Awesome multidisciplinary environment
- All social and behavioral sciences welcome
- Seed funding for projects and workshops
- Gorgeous city in the south of France
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
September 20, 2025 at 9:15 AM
It's hiring season at @iast.fr!
- 2y research postdoc contract
- Full autonomy, you are your own PI
- Awesome multidisciplinary environment
- All social and behavioral sciences welcome
- Seed funding for projects and workshops
- Gorgeous city in the south of France
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
- 2y research postdoc contract
- Full autonomy, you are your own PI
- Awesome multidisciplinary environment
- All social and behavioral sciences welcome
- Seed funding for projects and workshops
- Gorgeous city in the south of France
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
When thinking about causal inference, mechanistic or process models are important. I think that the association of “causal” with black-box models leads to lots of problems.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/19/w...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/19/w...
When thinking about causal inference, mechanistic or process models are important. I think that the association of “causal” with black-box models leads to lots of problems. | Statistical Modeling, C...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
September 19, 2025 at 7:37 PM
When thinking about causal inference, mechanistic or process models are important. I think that the association of “causal” with black-box models leads to lots of problems.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/19/w...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/19/w...
Reposted by Ben Kawam
'The Desperation of Causal Inference in Ecology'
"What’s the solution? If you ask me, be less gaga over any statistical method and teach everyone basic biological models, simulate data from it and then fit their statistical model to it." […]
"What’s the solution? If you ask me, be less gaga over any statistical method and teach everyone basic biological models, simulate data from it and then fit their statistical model to it." […]
Original post on fediscience.org
fediscience.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
'The Desperation of Causal Inference in Ecology'
"What’s the solution? If you ask me, be less gaga over any statistical method and teach everyone basic biological models, simulate data from it and then fit their statistical model to it." […]
"What’s the solution? If you ask me, be less gaga over any statistical method and teach everyone basic biological models, simulate data from it and then fit their statistical model to it." […]
Reposted by Ben Kawam
Are you studying animal sociality? Confused about the "non-independence" of social network data: what on earth are they? are they threatening your results? should you attempt to get rid of them?
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
Five misunderstandings in animal social network analysis
ecoevorxiv.org
September 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Are you studying animal sociality? Confused about the "non-independence" of social network data: what on earth are they? are they threatening your results? should you attempt to get rid of them?
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).