Kiran Basava
@incertaesedis.bsky.social
Technically an anthropologist. Postdoc at the Data Diversity Lab, University of Arizona. Building a database of animal cultures.
https://kiranbasava.weebly.com/
https://kiranbasava.weebly.com/
Pinned
Kiran Basava
@incertaesedis.bsky.social
· Jun 22
Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database
www.nature.com
Happy to share our new paper introducing the Animal Culture Database in Scientific Data: We’re putting together a resource consolidating primary research on cultural behaviors in wild animal populations and how they’re affected by human activity (1/5) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
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
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:05 PM
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
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org
Reposted by Kiran Basava
If you work on corvid ecology, behaviour, cognition, or conservation, this might be useful for you 👇
I’ve just published CORVIDATA in Scientific Data 🐦
doi.org/10.1038/s415... (1/4)
I’ve just published CORVIDATA in Scientific Data 🐦
doi.org/10.1038/s415... (1/4)
CORVIDATA: A global dataset of morphology, ecology, sociality, and life-history in Corvidae - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - CORVIDATA: A global dataset of morphology, ecology, sociality, and life-history in Corvidae
doi.org
January 6, 2026 at 10:40 AM
If you work on corvid ecology, behaviour, cognition, or conservation, this might be useful for you 👇
I’ve just published CORVIDATA in Scientific Data 🐦
doi.org/10.1038/s415... (1/4)
I’ve just published CORVIDATA in Scientific Data 🐦
doi.org/10.1038/s415... (1/4)
Reposted by Kiran Basava
If you look at the lit on the just world delusion, or cognitive biases (those that survived the replication crisis) there’s ample evidence that every human deludes themselves to varying degrees to cope with this fucked up reality. There’s no escape short of Buddhist enlightenment. Only coping.
December 14, 2025 at 3:52 PM
If you look at the lit on the just world delusion, or cognitive biases (those that survived the replication crisis) there’s ample evidence that every human deludes themselves to varying degrees to cope with this fucked up reality. There’s no escape short of Buddhist enlightenment. Only coping.
Reposted by Kiran Basava
What role(s) can non-human animal culture play in conservation? Much has been written on this topic in recent years, but Dawn Barlow, Taylor Hersh, & I offer some new perspectives: "Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice" @behavecol.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice
Recent theoretical integration of the spatiotemporal and cultural elements of animal behavior has led to increasing calls to incorporate animal culture int
academic.oup.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:07 AM
What role(s) can non-human animal culture play in conservation? Much has been written on this topic in recent years, but Dawn Barlow, Taylor Hersh, & I offer some new perspectives: "Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice" @behavecol.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
Reposted by Kiran Basava
Little reminder that you can still register for the next talk in our online ROTO Lecture Series!
Just click the link and join the talk and discussion on Monday 🤗
rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio
Just click the link and join the talk and discussion on Monday 🤗
rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio
Next week, we welcome @rebeccasear.bsky.social in our Lecture Series. Rebecca will talk about 21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology. Just register here to participate 👉 rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio
#PhilSci #HPBio
December 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Little reminder that you can still register for the next talk in our online ROTO Lecture Series!
Just click the link and join the talk and discussion on Monday 🤗
rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio
Just click the link and join the talk and discussion on Monday 🤗
rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio
Reposted by Kiran Basava
Nice thread to balance things out! There are good researchers doing the hard work to treat evolutionary hypotheses of human psychology with the seriousness and rigor they deserve. Testing assumptions and, if necessary, shedding zombie theories is how a field progresses and improves
So, lots of people picking up Kevin's post to declare all Evolutionary Psychology/ists misogynistic pervs. And I get why but look:
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
November 9, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Nice thread to balance things out! There are good researchers doing the hard work to treat evolutionary hypotheses of human psychology with the seriousness and rigor they deserve. Testing assumptions and, if necessary, shedding zombie theories is how a field progresses and improves
Reposted by Kiran Basava
I am happy to present to you our review „The diversity and evolution of vocal communication in nonavian reptiles“, published @annualreviews.bsky.social Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. Huge thanks to @gabrieljcohen.bsky.social and my other co-authors! Must say, I am a bit proud of Figure 1. ….
The Diversity and Evolution of Vocal Communication in Nonavian Reptiles
Historically, research on nonavian reptile communication has emphasized visual, tactile, and chemical modalities. Recently, growing evidence highlights the significance of acoustic signals in intra- a...
www.annualreviews.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:09 PM
I am happy to present to you our review „The diversity and evolution of vocal communication in nonavian reptiles“, published @annualreviews.bsky.social Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. Huge thanks to @gabrieljcohen.bsky.social and my other co-authors! Must say, I am a bit proud of Figure 1. ….
Reposted by Kiran Basava
We must change this mindset that the essential and most critical work in a field is always the first one. That distorted view has caused a lot of problems in psychological science already. The first work is just that—the start. Every field should be evaluated based on the complete body of evidence.
November 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
We must change this mindset that the essential and most critical work in a field is always the first one. That distorted view has caused a lot of problems in psychological science already. The first work is just that—the start. Every field should be evaluated based on the complete body of evidence.
Reposted by Kiran Basava
If you want to know the latest on the government's 'compact' (i.e. extortion) offer to universities, you can use this tracker. Feel free to suggest edits as well. #academia
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
University 'Compact' Tracker
docs.google.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
If you want to know the latest on the government's 'compact' (i.e. extortion) offer to universities, you can use this tracker. Feel free to suggest edits as well. #academia
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
The superpower of books like Sapiens is that they require expertise in like 12 academic fields to debunk. So you get these super detailed takedowns of small sections that look to laypeople like nitpicking.
October 21, 2025 at 6:38 AM
The superpower of books like Sapiens is that they require expertise in like 12 academic fields to debunk. So you get these super detailed takedowns of small sections that look to laypeople like nitpicking.
Reposted by Kiran Basava
Violence, scientific DRAMA, and misunderstanding!
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
October 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Violence, scientific DRAMA, and misunderstanding!
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
October 7, 2025 at 8:27 PM
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
Reposted by Kiran Basava
The academic study of Religion also remains misunderstood as @vox-magica.bsky.social notes—whether because of its common misinterpretation as theological or the sense that it’s arcane +
September 4, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The academic study of Religion also remains misunderstood as @vox-magica.bsky.social notes—whether because of its common misinterpretation as theological or the sense that it’s arcane +
Reposted by Kiran Basava
A lot of the justifications point to the number of Religious Studies majors—but is this really how a dept’s value should be judged? In many RS departments in which I’ve taught, our courses have enormous enrollments & student interest +
September 4, 2025 at 11:45 PM
A lot of the justifications point to the number of Religious Studies majors—but is this really how a dept’s value should be judged? In many RS departments in which I’ve taught, our courses have enormous enrollments & student interest +
Reposted by Kiran Basava
Really happy to share this article I'm grateful to have been a part of: 'Impediments to countering racist pseudoscience' coauthored with @kevinlala.bsky.social, @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social and Marcus Feldman. Check out a preprint here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#ScientificRacism #Antiracism
#ScientificRacism #Antiracism
July 28, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Really happy to share this article I'm grateful to have been a part of: 'Impediments to countering racist pseudoscience' coauthored with @kevinlala.bsky.social, @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social and Marcus Feldman. Check out a preprint here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#ScientificRacism #Antiracism
#ScientificRacism #Antiracism
part of the issue may be that when people say ‘the humanities’, or my personal favorite, ‘the humanities and social sciences’ they could be referring to any of 53982 things that have very little to do with each other
Among all the weird takes that seem to be popular online, the one that always gets me is that studying STEM somehow morally corrupts people and the solution is to make people additionally go through a humanities and/or social science curriculum at the university level.
August 4, 2025 at 1:46 AM
part of the issue may be that when people say ‘the humanities’, or my personal favorite, ‘the humanities and social sciences’ they could be referring to any of 53982 things that have very little to do with each other
Reposted by Kiran Basava
I admit that I do not fully grasp what the knowledge of an ongoing genocide demands of me, but I think if I were not bothered by that question—if I batted it away, like a gnat—it could only be because something essential and irreplaceable had absented itself from my soul.
July 23, 2025 at 3:22 AM
I admit that I do not fully grasp what the knowledge of an ongoing genocide demands of me, but I think if I were not bothered by that question—if I batted it away, like a gnat—it could only be because something essential and irreplaceable had absented itself from my soul.
Happy to share our new paper introducing the Animal Culture Database in Scientific Data: We’re putting together a resource consolidating primary research on cultural behaviors in wild animal populations and how they’re affected by human activity (1/5) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database
www.nature.com
June 22, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Happy to share our new paper introducing the Animal Culture Database in Scientific Data: We’re putting together a resource consolidating primary research on cultural behaviors in wild animal populations and how they’re affected by human activity (1/5) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
New theme issue in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B @royalsocietypublishing.org:
Animal culture: conservation in a changing world
Edited by @pbrakes.bsky.social, @lucymaplin.bsky.social, @emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten and @ellengarland.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
Animal culture: conservation in a changing world
Edited by @pbrakes.bsky.social, @lucymaplin.bsky.social, @emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten and @ellengarland.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1925
doi.org
May 1, 2025 at 8:37 AM
New theme issue in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B @royalsocietypublishing.org:
Animal culture: conservation in a changing world
Edited by @pbrakes.bsky.social, @lucymaplin.bsky.social, @emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten and @ellengarland.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
Animal culture: conservation in a changing world
Edited by @pbrakes.bsky.social, @lucymaplin.bsky.social, @emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten and @ellengarland.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
“Protecting the living cultural landscapes of animal stone-tool-use sites involves preserving the environments where these behaviors occur and recognizing the intrinsic value of animal cultures” 🏺🧪🐒
Happy to have a new piece in @science.org with my friend Lydia where we draw attention to the significance of animal material culture for understanding human technical evolution and why we should digitally preserve and protect primate tools and tool use sites. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Saving the cultural legacy of wild animals
Loss of biodiversity threatens the study of tool use and other cultural behaviors in animals
www.science.org
April 4, 2025 at 6:33 AM
“Protecting the living cultural landscapes of animal stone-tool-use sites involves preserving the environments where these behaviors occur and recognizing the intrinsic value of animal cultures” 🏺🧪🐒
Reposted by Kiran Basava
Inside me there are two wolves. One of them has a 15 genome edits the other 20 genome edits. Neither of them is a dire wolf.
April 8, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Inside me there are two wolves. One of them has a 15 genome edits the other 20 genome edits. Neither of them is a dire wolf.
Reposted by Kiran Basava
I cannot imagine an ecologist saying "I'm going to start a genomics project, I don't know anything about DNA but how hard can it be?" You'd ask someone who knew. You'd learn.
You should do the same for social science research! Obviously!
You should do the same for social science research! Obviously!
March 18, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I cannot imagine an ecologist saying "I'm going to start a genomics project, I don't know anything about DNA but how hard can it be?" You'd ask someone who knew. You'd learn.
You should do the same for social science research! Obviously!
You should do the same for social science research! Obviously!
Reposted by Kiran Basava
We would love feedback on a new NCBI-BLAST service we are launching today: sky-blast.com
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
March 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
We would love feedback on a new NCBI-BLAST service we are launching today: sky-blast.com
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Reposted by Kiran Basava
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The demographic drivers of cultural evolution in bird song
Social learning can give rise to shared behavioral patterns that persist as culture within animal communities,1,2 such as bird and whale songs and cet…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Kiran Basava
CES offers its full support to the Stand Up For Science rallies in the U.S. on March 7 2025.
March 7, 2025 at 11:15 AM
CES offers its full support to the Stand Up For Science rallies in the U.S. on March 7 2025.