Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social
Behavioral ecologist | Currently looking for Postdoc positions | PhD from @uofa-eeb.bsky.social and MS from IISER-Trivandrum | Robustness of collective foraging, animal contest, and evolution of eusociality
Website: chinmayhemantjoshi.wordpress.com
Website: chinmayhemantjoshi.wordpress.com
Pinned
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social
· Dec 29
Persist or Give up? Fire ants motivated to search for a high-quality food source even if they don’t know how to find it
Finding resources for the colony is one of the most difficult and risky tasks for a social insect worker. A worker on a foraging trip can face a number of challenges, including interference from other...
www.biorxiv.org
Pre-print alert 🚨🐜!!!
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
Fascinating findings!
This is what I love about behavioral ecology experiments. Simple and clever experimental designs can elegantly answer important questions.
This is what I love about behavioral ecology experiments. Simple and clever experimental designs can elegantly answer important questions.
Urban ants are less picky than rural ants when it comes to sugar solution. Maybe the aphids in cities produce poorer honeydew, reflecting the stress they, or their tree hosts are under?
New paper, with Stanislav Stukalyuk and @trigos-peral.bsky.social.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
New paper, with Stanislav Stukalyuk and @trigos-peral.bsky.social.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Urban Lasius niger ants more readily accept low concentration sucrose solution than rural ants - Urban Ecosystems
Urbanisation causes broad changes in biotic and abiotic factors, which are often detrimental to animals. While extensive attention has been focussed on food resources for pollinators, comparatively li...
link.springer.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Fascinating findings!
This is what I love about behavioral ecology experiments. Simple and clever experimental designs can elegantly answer important questions.
This is what I love about behavioral ecology experiments. Simple and clever experimental designs can elegantly answer important questions.
Looking to build T-mazes for behavioral experiments? I’ve shared open, fully editable designs on my GitHub repository linked below. I used these designs for my own experiments.
Happy to chat if further if you have any questions !
Happy to chat if further if you have any questions !
GitHub - chjoshi24/t-maze-laser-cricut-designs: This repository contains designs for T-mazes with different stem and arm lengths. You can use it to create T-mazes using different materials for your wo...
This repository contains designs for T-mazes with different stem and arm lengths. You can use it to create T-mazes using different materials for your work. - chjoshi24/t-maze-laser-cricut-designs
github.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:45 AM
Looking to build T-mazes for behavioral experiments? I’ve shared open, fully editable designs on my GitHub repository linked below. I used these designs for my own experiments.
Happy to chat if further if you have any questions !
Happy to chat if further if you have any questions !
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
There is still some time to submit for our Special Collection on social cognition and anthropogenic environments! We are looking forward to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/... Please do get in touch if you have any questions.
#openaccess #socialcognition
#openaccess #socialcognition
Excited to announce that Eli Garcia-Pelegrin and I are co-editing a special collection for Animal Cognition on "Social Cognition in a Human World". Do you study how urbanization, pollution, heat stress, fragmentation, ... affects cognition? We want to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/...
Social Cognition in a Human World
As humanity exploits and reshapes the environment to accommodate for development and population growth demands, animals need to adapt to these human-induced ...
link.springer.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM
There is still some time to submit for our Special Collection on social cognition and anthropogenic environments! We are looking forward to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/... Please do get in touch if you have any questions.
#openaccess #socialcognition
#openaccess #socialcognition
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
I am looking for a PhD working on tracking trait changes in insects/spiders at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity change @leibnizlib.bsky.social and the University of Hamburg.
Apply here: www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenan...
Apply here: www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenan...
Job advertisement
www.uni-hamburg.de
February 3, 2026 at 8:42 AM
I am looking for a PhD working on tracking trait changes in insects/spiders at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity change @leibnizlib.bsky.social and the University of Hamburg.
Apply here: www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenan...
Apply here: www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenan...
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
Don't be put off by the ad saying "UK Students only" - a limited number of scholarships are available for international candidates. So please apply!
New PhD alert! We'll be applying animal welfare ideas to look at how stress affects bees, looking at the effect on bee brains with @lenariab.bsky.social, and working with @sensibee.bsky.social developing new monitoring methods.
Please spread the word! #bees #PhD 🧪
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Please spread the word! #bees #PhD 🧪
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Don't be put off by the ad saying "UK Students only" - a limited number of scholarships are available for international candidates. So please apply!
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
Pre-print alert 🚨🐜!!!
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
Persist or Give up? Fire ants motivated to search for a high-quality food source even if they don’t know how to find it
Finding resources for the colony is one of the most difficult and risky tasks for a social insect worker. A worker on a foraging trip can face a number of challenges, including interference from other...
www.biorxiv.org
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Pre-print alert 🚨🐜!!!
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
🚨 New postdoc opportunity in Aotearoa 🇳🇿 with @drhhnz.bsky.social
RA / Postdoctoral Fellow in honeybee bacteriophages, microbial genetics & molecular evolution at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch).
3-year position, starts March 2026.
🔗 jobs.canterbury.ac.nz/jobdetails/a...
RA / Postdoctoral Fellow in honeybee bacteriophages, microbial genetics & molecular evolution at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch).
3-year position, starts March 2026.
🔗 jobs.canterbury.ac.nz/jobdetails/a...
Research Associate / Postdoctoral Fellow - Honeybee Bacteriophages and Advanced Biotechnology -
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
jobs.canterbury.ac.nz
January 12, 2026 at 3:38 AM
🚨 New postdoc opportunity in Aotearoa 🇳🇿 with @drhhnz.bsky.social
RA / Postdoctoral Fellow in honeybee bacteriophages, microbial genetics & molecular evolution at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch).
3-year position, starts March 2026.
🔗 jobs.canterbury.ac.nz/jobdetails/a...
RA / Postdoctoral Fellow in honeybee bacteriophages, microbial genetics & molecular evolution at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch).
3-year position, starts March 2026.
🔗 jobs.canterbury.ac.nz/jobdetails/a...
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
PhD position(s)🚨deadline 20th Jan
1-development of brain & behaviour in the precocial spiny mouse tinyurl.com/yaxhy5y2
2-social behaviour & neurophysiology in a menstruating rodent using AI tinyurl.com/ykv93cts
apply ✍️
@ai4bicdt.bsky.social @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social
1-development of brain & behaviour in the precocial spiny mouse tinyurl.com/yaxhy5y2
2-social behaviour & neurophysiology in a menstruating rodent using AI tinyurl.com/ykv93cts
apply ✍️
@ai4bicdt.bsky.social @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social
January 8, 2026 at 5:43 PM
PhD position(s)🚨deadline 20th Jan
1-development of brain & behaviour in the precocial spiny mouse tinyurl.com/yaxhy5y2
2-social behaviour & neurophysiology in a menstruating rodent using AI tinyurl.com/ykv93cts
apply ✍️
@ai4bicdt.bsky.social @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social
1-development of brain & behaviour in the precocial spiny mouse tinyurl.com/yaxhy5y2
2-social behaviour & neurophysiology in a menstruating rodent using AI tinyurl.com/ykv93cts
apply ✍️
@ai4bicdt.bsky.social @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
🐜 4-year #postdoc position in the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab @camzoology.bsky.social investigating metabolic cooperation between bodies in a BBSRC-funded project.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...
#ants #socialtransfers #sociallytransferredmaterials #autophagy #socialinsects #aging #job (🧵1/n)
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...
#ants #socialtransfers #sociallytransferredmaterials #autophagy #socialinsects #aging #job (🧵1/n)
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Fixed Term)
Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Social Fluids Laboratory (https://leboeuflab.com) led by Dr Adria LeBoeuf in the Department of Zoology
www.cam.ac.uk
January 6, 2026 at 9:33 PM
🐜 4-year #postdoc position in the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab @camzoology.bsky.social investigating metabolic cooperation between bodies in a BBSRC-funded project.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...
#ants #socialtransfers #sociallytransferredmaterials #autophagy #socialinsects #aging #job (🧵1/n)
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...
#ants #socialtransfers #sociallytransferredmaterials #autophagy #socialinsects #aging #job (🧵1/n)
"Ultimately, good science is produced by the individual people and the small teams within larger systems."
The Economy of Knowing
Why Metascience Needs Micro and Macro
open.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:45 AM
"Ultimately, good science is produced by the individual people and the small teams within larger systems."
Great perspective on why world needs behavioral ecology and behavioral ecologists !!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Brings back happy memories of ISBE 2024 where the conversation about this paper began.. great to see it out in @natecoevo.nature.com. Thanks to co-authors and to the organisers of that brilliant conference 🙏🏽. @bbmwong.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social, Suzanne Alonzo🫶, Sasha Dall, “Dr Cunningham”
Behavioural ecology in the 21st century..... www.nature.com/articles/s41... @asgriffin.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Great perspective on why world needs behavioral ecology and behavioral ecologists !!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
The deadline to apply for PhD positions with me (or anyone in my department!) are coming up: Jan 7th.
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/study/postgr...
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Introduction to Postgraduate Courses | Department of Zoology
Postgraduate study in the Department of Zoology We have about 100 postgraduate students working on an MPhil or PhD in Zoology at any one time and they form a strong and lively community.
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk
January 3, 2026 at 9:50 PM
The deadline to apply for PhD positions with me (or anyone in my department!) are coming up: Jan 7th.
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/study/postgr...
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
Application of robustness framework in a comparative context across different social insects using different communication systems may allow us to uncover when and how robustness is prioritized. (5/5). Excellent review to know more about biological robustness: www.nature.com/articles/nrg...
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Application of robustness framework in a comparative context across different social insects using different communication systems may allow us to uncover when and how robustness is prioritized. (5/5). Excellent review to know more about biological robustness: www.nature.com/articles/nrg...
Ants that did not abandon made random choices. This shows that fire ants heavily rely on pheromone trails over memory to navigate. With huge colony sizes, there may be little pressure for every forager to have strong individual memory. (4/5)
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Ants that did not abandon made random choices. This shows that fire ants heavily rely on pheromone trails over memory to navigate. With huge colony sizes, there may be little pressure for every forager to have strong individual memory. (4/5)
Most ants abandoned the food source in the face of this perturbation. But ants searching for the higher-quality food source were more persistent and less likely to give up. Higher food quality, therefore, pushes the ants to explore for food despite the lack of information. (3/5)
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Most ants abandoned the food source in the face of this perturbation. But ants searching for the higher-quality food source were more persistent and less likely to give up. Higher food quality, therefore, pushes the ants to explore for food despite the lack of information. (3/5)
We removed a small section of the pheromone trail leading to a low or high-quality food source on a T-maze and examined individual ant responses. We utilized the robustness mechanism framework from systems biology to examine whether ants can compensate for this disruption to communication. (2/5)
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
We removed a small section of the pheromone trail leading to a low or high-quality food source on a T-maze and examined individual ant responses. We utilized the robustness mechanism framework from systems biology to examine whether ants can compensate for this disruption to communication. (2/5)
Pre-print alert 🚨🐜!!!
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
Persist or Give up? Fire ants motivated to search for a high-quality food source even if they don’t know how to find it
Finding resources for the colony is one of the most difficult and risky tasks for a social insect worker. A worker on a foraging trip can face a number of challenges, including interference from other...
www.biorxiv.org
December 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Pre-print alert 🚨🐜!!!
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
I am really excited to share results from the first empirical chapter of my PhD. We ( @dornhaus.bsky.social and I) set out to examine how fire ants deal with perturbations to communication during foraging. Turns out their foraging is not robust to this perturbation. (1/5)
Most ants abandoned the food source when the trail was disrupted. But ants searching for the higher-quality food source were more persistent and less likely to give up. Higher food quality, therefore, pushes the ants to explore for food despite the lack of information. (3/5)
December 29, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Most ants abandoned the food source when the trail was disrupted. But ants searching for the higher-quality food source were more persistent and less likely to give up. Higher food quality, therefore, pushes the ants to explore for food despite the lack of information. (3/5)
We removed a small section of a trail leading to a low or high-quality food source on a T-maze and examined individual ant responses. We utilized the robustness mechanism framework from systems biology to examine whether ants can compensate for this disruption to communication. (2/5)
December 29, 2025 at 10:53 PM
We removed a small section of a trail leading to a low or high-quality food source on a T-maze and examined individual ant responses. We utilized the robustness mechanism framework from systems biology to examine whether ants can compensate for this disruption to communication. (2/5)
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
New paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Biology Letters. We show that variability in contest behaviour can emerge from plastic responses to modest size differences between focal males and their rivals.
#Drosophila
#Diptera
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
#Drosophila
#Diptera
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
Social plasticity and individuality shape variation in contest behaviour
Abstract. Physical contests are critical in most animals in determining access to limited resources such as territories, food and sexual partners. Individu
royalsocietypublishing.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:36 PM
New paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Biology Letters. We show that variability in contest behaviour can emerge from plastic responses to modest size differences between focal males and their rivals.
#Drosophila
#Diptera
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
#Drosophila
#Diptera
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Long before flowers painted the planet in brilliant colors, some of Earth’s earliest plants were glowing—not with pigment, but with heat. A new study from the lab of […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
December 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Reposted by Chinmay Hemant Joshi
Please pass along - We've extended the CAMBIUM fellowship deadline to December 15! Our NSF NRT supports new grad students to harness biodiversity big data to adapt to & mitigate climate change impacts. Great fit for evolutionary genomics, bioinformatics, ecology & more. cambium.arizona.edu 🧬🌐🌎
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Please pass along - We've extended the CAMBIUM fellowship deadline to December 15! Our NSF NRT supports new grad students to harness biodiversity big data to adapt to & mitigate climate change impacts. Great fit for evolutionary genomics, bioinformatics, ecology & more. cambium.arizona.edu 🧬🌐🌎