Ben Finkel
@finkelben.bsky.social
I research the challenges of aging with the Ngogo chimps, life history evolution, and other anthro things. Lecturer @ Dartmouth College
Such a cool paper. And, fascinating to think about in the context of aging organisms that compensate for deteriorating abilities with age and *thrive*
🦎THREAD: We just published something wild in @asn-amnat.bsky.social - lizards missing entire limbs not only survive, but some appear to actually thrive in the wild?!
Let me tell you about the "three-legged pirate" lizards 🏴☠️
[Paper: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... ]
(1/n)
Let me tell you about the "three-legged pirate" lizards 🏴☠️
[Paper: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... ]
(1/n)
October 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Such a cool paper. And, fascinating to think about in the context of aging organisms that compensate for deteriorating abilities with age and *thrive*
Reposted by Ben Finkel
"Behavior drives morphological change during human evolution"
Our new article is out in @science.org today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our new article is out in @science.org today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
July 31, 2025 at 10:02 PM
"Behavior drives morphological change during human evolution"
Our new article is out in @science.org today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our new article is out in @science.org today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
🌍✨ Still time to apply! The MBCP is looking for a Field Site Manager to join us in one of the most beautiful parks on the planet—work with an amazing team, semi-habituated chimps, and boost your project management chops for a career in #conservation or #research.
Info ➡️ bit.ly/MBCPmanager2025
Info ➡️ bit.ly/MBCPmanager2025
July 3, 2025 at 2:42 PM
🌍✨ Still time to apply! The MBCP is looking for a Field Site Manager to join us in one of the most beautiful parks on the planet—work with an amazing team, semi-habituated chimps, and boost your project management chops for a career in #conservation or #research.
Info ➡️ bit.ly/MBCPmanager2025
Info ➡️ bit.ly/MBCPmanager2025
Reposted by Ben Finkel
“Avoidance of reproductive conflict and the evolution of menopause in chimpanzees”
Read how we used genomic data to examine kinship dynamics as they relate to menopause in chimpanzees!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Read how we used genomic data to examine kinship dynamics as they relate to menopause in chimpanzees!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
June 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
“Avoidance of reproductive conflict and the evolution of menopause in chimpanzees”
Read how we used genomic data to examine kinship dynamics as they relate to menopause in chimpanzees!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Read how we used genomic data to examine kinship dynamics as they relate to menopause in chimpanzees!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Excited to share that my latest work exploring snark subreddits, evangelical content creators, and influencer anti-fandom is out now in Social Media + Society! Massive thanks to the r/FSU community for being so supportive of this project + my awesome RA & co-author, Cece.
Doing the Lord’s Work: Deconstructing Fundamentalist Christianity Through Cathartic Anti-Fandom on Reddit - Caitlin E. Lawson, Cecilia R. Hafferty, 2025
r/fundiesnarkuncensored is a Reddit community that monitors and critiques fundamentalist Christian, namely evangelical, content creators. Many members of the co...
journals.sagepub.com
June 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Excited to share that my latest work exploring snark subreddits, evangelical content creators, and influencer anti-fandom is out now in Social Media + Society! Massive thanks to the r/FSU community for being so supportive of this project + my awesome RA & co-author, Cece.
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Albatross Chick Alert! 😍
The world's oldest known banded wild #bird, a Laysan Albatross affectionately known as Wisdom, is officially parent to another chick on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge!
@friendsofmidway.bsky.social
The world's oldest known banded wild #bird, a Laysan Albatross affectionately known as Wisdom, is officially parent to another chick on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge!
@friendsofmidway.bsky.social
March 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Albatross Chick Alert! 😍
The world's oldest known banded wild #bird, a Laysan Albatross affectionately known as Wisdom, is officially parent to another chick on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge!
@friendsofmidway.bsky.social
The world's oldest known banded wild #bird, a Laysan Albatross affectionately known as Wisdom, is officially parent to another chick on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge!
@friendsofmidway.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Finkel
2025. Young female chimps develop nest-building independence earlier than males phys.org/news/2025-03...
Young female chimps develop nest-building independence earlier than males, study reveals
Young female chimpanzees make their nests earlier and more often than young male chimps, demonstrating their independence right from the start, a new UdeM study finds.
phys.org
March 11, 2025 at 5:11 AM
2025. Young female chimps develop nest-building independence earlier than males phys.org/news/2025-03...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
i keep getting told that woke students don't want to be challenged by hard ideas but whenever i spend time with actual college students i find that the opposite is true
March 11, 2025 at 1:20 AM
i keep getting told that woke students don't want to be challenged by hard ideas but whenever i spend time with actual college students i find that the opposite is true
Reposted by Ben Finkel
FINE starts again next week with exciting free online seminars.
In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!
In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!
February 19, 2025 at 3:33 PM
FINE starts again next week with exciting free online seminars.
In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!
In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!
Reposted by Ben Finkel
MacaqueNet, a global community and FAIR database, is now also a @animalecology.bsky.social paper!
Decades of research by 100+ ppl, 5yrs of data cleaning & standardizing, 2 workshops (+1 upcoming Kolkata '25), 4 active projects and counting.
Contibute data, follow the newsletter, make a request!
Decades of research by 100+ ppl, 5yrs of data cleaning & standardizing, 2 workshops (+1 upcoming Kolkata '25), 4 active projects and counting.
Contibute data, follow the newsletter, make a request!
So exciting to see MacaqueNet out into the world! 🤩
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
MacaqueNet: Advancing comparative behavioural research through large‐scale collaboration
We present MacaqueNet, a global community of macaque researchers who developed the first publicly searchable, standardised database on affiliative and agonistic behaviour. This cross-species database...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 14, 2025 at 10:55 AM
MacaqueNet, a global community and FAIR database, is now also a @animalecology.bsky.social paper!
Decades of research by 100+ ppl, 5yrs of data cleaning & standardizing, 2 workshops (+1 upcoming Kolkata '25), 4 active projects and counting.
Contibute data, follow the newsletter, make a request!
Decades of research by 100+ ppl, 5yrs of data cleaning & standardizing, 2 workshops (+1 upcoming Kolkata '25), 4 active projects and counting.
Contibute data, follow the newsletter, make a request!
A source of continuously updated news
www.science.org/content/blog...
www.science.org/content/blog...
Revised and Extended: What's Happening Inside the NIH and NSF
www.science.org
February 5, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A source of continuously updated news
www.science.org/content/blog...
www.science.org/content/blog...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Litter size plays an essential role in mammalian evolution
The Evolution of Primate Litter Size 🏺🧪
Jack McBride @primatesjack.bsky.social , Tesla Monson @paleotesla.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/4/...
Data supports last common ancestors of both primates and Haplorhini gave birth to multiples
The Evolution of Primate Litter Size 🏺🧪
Jack McBride @primatesjack.bsky.social , Tesla Monson @paleotesla.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/4/...
Data supports last common ancestors of both primates and Haplorhini gave birth to multiples
December 20, 2024 at 2:45 PM
Litter size plays an essential role in mammalian evolution
The Evolution of Primate Litter Size 🏺🧪
Jack McBride @primatesjack.bsky.social , Tesla Monson @paleotesla.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/4/...
Data supports last common ancestors of both primates and Haplorhini gave birth to multiples
The Evolution of Primate Litter Size 🏺🧪
Jack McBride @primatesjack.bsky.social , Tesla Monson @paleotesla.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/4/...
Data supports last common ancestors of both primates and Haplorhini gave birth to multiples
Reposted by Ben Finkel
"juvenile female baboons who had stronger paternal relationships or who co-resided longer with fathers led adult lives that were 2-4 years longer than females with weak or short paternal relationships..pattern did not differ between females who experienced high or low levels of early-life adversity"
Early-life paternal relationships predict adult female survival in wild baboons
Parent-offspring relationships can have profound effects on offspring behavior, health, and fitness in adulthood. These effects are strong when parents make heavy investments in offspring care. Howeve...
www.biorxiv.org
January 28, 2025 at 12:40 PM
"juvenile female baboons who had stronger paternal relationships or who co-resided longer with fathers led adult lives that were 2-4 years longer than females with weak or short paternal relationships..pattern did not differ between females who experienced high or low levels of early-life adversity"
Reposted by Ben Finkel
The closer a chimp is to the first urinator, the more likely it is to follow suit
https://go.nature.com/4hvR00T
https://go.nature.com/4hvR00T
All together now: chimps engage in contagious peeing
If one animal urinates, others are likely follow, according to a study of captive apes.
go.nature.com
January 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
The closer a chimp is to the first urinator, the more likely it is to follow suit
https://go.nature.com/4hvR00T
https://go.nature.com/4hvR00T
Reposted by Ben Finkel
🧪 Check out our new paper in Sciences Advances! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
Stress responsiveness in a wild primate predicts survival across an extreme El Niño drought
White-faced capuchins with a stronger stress response to previous droughts were more likely to survive a severe El Niño drought.
www.science.org
January 22, 2025 at 9:34 PM
🧪 Check out our new paper in Sciences Advances! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Menopause will be experienced by half of humanity, but it has rarely been a priority for health systems or research
https://go.nature.com/4jt4DPW
https://go.nature.com/4jt4DPW
Menopause research is globally underfunded. It’s time to change that
Nature asked the world’s largest health-research funders what they are doing to study a life stage experienced by half of humanity. Here is what some of them told us.
go.nature.com
January 22, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Menopause will be experienced by half of humanity, but it has rarely been a priority for health systems or research
https://go.nature.com/4jt4DPW
https://go.nature.com/4jt4DPW
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Our new paper announcing a freely available database of 3D scans of primate skeletal material--a major effort led by Sergio Almécija & his team at the American Museum of Natural History.
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
Primate Phenotypes: A Multi-Institution Collection of 3D Morphological Data Housed in MorphoSource - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Primate Phenotypes: A Multi-Institution Collection of 3D Morphological Data Housed in MorphoSource
www.nature.com
December 18, 2024 at 9:39 PM
Our new paper announcing a freely available database of 3D scans of primate skeletal material--a major effort led by Sergio Almécija & his team at the American Museum of Natural History.
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
Reposted by Ben Finkel
Reposted by Ben Finkel
What do we begin to discover about animals when humans are removed from the picture?
"...all balaenid and perhaps most great whales have an unrecognized potential for great longevity that has been masked by the demographic disruptions of industrial whaling."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"...all balaenid and perhaps most great whales have an unrecognized potential for great longevity that has been masked by the demographic disruptions of industrial whaling."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales
Whale life spans have likely been greatly underestimated.
www.science.org
December 21, 2024 at 5:25 PM
What do we begin to discover about animals when humans are removed from the picture?
"...all balaenid and perhaps most great whales have an unrecognized potential for great longevity that has been masked by the demographic disruptions of industrial whaling."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"...all balaenid and perhaps most great whales have an unrecognized potential for great longevity that has been masked by the demographic disruptions of industrial whaling."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
I wrote a story about some of the earliest modern humans to arrive in Europe. The LRJ culture, which dates to about 45,000 years ago, left fossils that contain DNA. And that DNA has a lot to say about modern humans in general. [Gift link] nyti.ms/4gAngzp 1/2
December 16, 2024 at 4:56 PM
I wrote a story about some of the earliest modern humans to arrive in Europe. The LRJ culture, which dates to about 45,000 years ago, left fossils that contain DNA. And that DNA has a lot to say about modern humans in general. [Gift link] nyti.ms/4gAngzp 1/2
Reposted by Ben Finkel
New book out on ‘The Biodemography of Ageing and Longevity’ www.cambridge.org/core/books/b...
The Biodemography of Ageing and Longevity
Cambridge Core - Biological Anthropology and Primatology - The Biodemography of Ageing and Longevity
www.cambridge.org
December 7, 2024 at 10:51 AM
New book out on ‘The Biodemography of Ageing and Longevity’ www.cambridge.org/core/books/b...
Reposted by Ben Finkel
New preprint! 🚨 Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use (tinyurl.com/2j324t9p). For short synopsis, see 🧵.
Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use
We know vanishingly little about how long-lived apes experience senescence in the wild, particularly with respect to their foraging behaviors, which are essential for survival. Some wild apes use tool...
tinyurl.com
November 26, 2024 at 12:20 PM
New preprint! 🚨 Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use (tinyurl.com/2j324t9p). For short synopsis, see 🧵.