Matthew Silk
LightNews LightNews
banner
mattjsilk.bsky.social
Matthew Silk
@mattjsilk.bsky.social
560 followers 690 following 3 posts

Research Fellow in the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at University of Edinburgh. Social networks, behaviour, disease, demography and some wildlife photos.

Videos
Biology 17%
Psychology 12%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

juliasaltz.bsky.social
Julia Saltz @juliasaltz.bsky.social · 5d
My lab at Indiana University is searching for a *postdoc* and *technician* to contribute to our work studying the evolution of social behavior using fruit flies as a model system. Details below, feel free to email me with any questions! More info on our research: saltzlab.com

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk, Valentin Journé

emilygsimmonds.bsky.social
Dr. Emily G Simmonds @emilygsimmonds.bsky.social · 20d
PhD advert alert!

Come work with me at Edinburgh.

I'm advertising a PhD on: "Predicting responses of birds to climate change", competition funded through the E5 DTP. Would suit those with an interest in predicting responses to climate change, birds, or both.

e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
alt="Schematic of a graph of a population trajectory for blue tits that is known for half of the x-axis (time) and then forecasted with uncertainty. Above the population trajectory are some weather images (a sun and some rain) they have connections to the population size but the path is unknown. "

Reposted by Nicholas A. Christakis, Stephen D. Murphy, Matthew J. Silk , and 1 more

delphinedemoor.bsky.social
Delphine De Moor @delphinedemoor.bsky.social · 26d
Social relationships are powerful predictors of fitness across social animals. But *why*?

In our new @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social paper, we outline testable predictions for why relationship quality and quantity adaptively vary across socio-ecological contexts.

tinyurl.com/55dnkeh7
The Adaptive Relationships Framework illustrating how broad socioecological pressures shape the social solutions animals use to meet these challenges, and how these lead to social strategies and emergent structures that help them gain access to those solutions.

Reposted by Ben C. Sheldon, Andrew L. Jackson, Matthew J. Silk , and 1 more

gfalbery.bsky.social
Greg Albery @gfalbery.bsky.social · Oct 3
I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Richard McElreath, Ewan Carr , and 3 more

joelpick.bsky.social
Joel Pick @joelpick.bsky.social · Sep 15
Interested in simulating the kind of data that you might commonly find in evolutionary and ecological studies?

Then we have the R package for you - squidSim!!

Check our new preprint:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
squidSim: a flexible R package for structured and reproducible simulations in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
ecoevorxiv.org

mattjsilk.bsky.social
Matthew Silk @mattjsilk.bsky.social · Aug 1
Torness this morning 06:07-09:21:
1 arctic skua, 29 manxies, 82 sandwich, 8 arctic, 6 common and 7 commic terns, 59 fulmar, 27 common scoter, 1 velvet scoter, barwit and 3 whimbrel.
Then found this beaut of a house martin expertly photographed by @jarrodhadfield.bsky.social later on.
#BirdingLothian
jarrodhadfield.bsky.social Jarrod Hadfield @jarrodhadfield.bsky.social · Aug 1
As far as I know, there are no confirmed breeding records of Black Redstart in Lothian, but this one at Torness doesn't look long out the nest. Thanks to @mattjsilk.bsky.social for putting me on to one of the strangest colour/pattern abnormalities I've seen - it's a House Martin! #BirdingLothian

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

jarrodhadfield.bsky.social
Jarrod Hadfield @jarrodhadfield.bsky.social · Aug 1
As far as I know, there are no confirmed breeding records of Black Redstart in Lothian, but this one at Torness doesn't look long out the nest. Thanks to @mattjsilk.bsky.social for putting me on to one of the strangest colour/pattern abnormalities I've seen - it's a House Martin! #BirdingLothian

mattjsilk.bsky.social
Matthew Silk @mattjsilk.bsky.social · Jul 30
Looks same as bird in Firth of Forth a few days ago
bsky.app/profile/norm...
normmill.bsky.social Norm Milligan @normmill.bsky.social · Jul 27
Thought this was a leucistic bird due to dusky underwing from BOC shots but probable photo artefact and more likely to be an albino Sandwich Tern sw past Gullane Point this morning. (3 albinos ringed at Forvie NNR to date). Thanks to @lothianrecorder.bsky.social for info
Albino Sandwich Tern flying over a grey sea Albino Sandwich Tern showing dusky underwing which is probably due to photo artefact

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

normmill.bsky.social
Norm Milligan @normmill.bsky.social · Jul 27
Thought this was a leucistic bird due to dusky underwing from BOC shots but probable photo artefact and more likely to be an albino Sandwich Tern sw past Gullane Point this morning. (3 albinos ringed at Forvie NNR to date). Thanks to @lothianrecorder.bsky.social for info
Albino Sandwich Tern flying over a grey sea Albino Sandwich Tern showing dusky underwing which is probably due to photo artefact

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

andyradford.bsky.social
Andy Radford @andyradford.bsky.social · Jul 7
🚨JOB alert🚨 Full-time Managing Editor role for @asab.org journal Animal Behaviour. Applicants must have animal #behaviour background; previous editorial experience would be ideal.
Apply by 31st July 2025.
#publishing #editor #job

More details: www.asab.org/opportunities

PLEASE share widely.
Opportunities — ASAB
www.asab.org

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk, Samuele Ramellini

mchimento.bsky.social
michael chimento @mchimento.bsky.social · Jun 12
been a long time coming, there's now a preprint along with Will Hoppitt describing our new R package for creating, fitting and interpreting bayesian NBDA models (STBayes). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Documentation is here michaelchimento.github.io/STbayes/inde...

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

barbaraclass.bsky.social
Barbara Class, Ph.D. (she/her) @barbaraclass.bsky.social · May 25
Our paper on disentangling assortative mating and indirect genetic effects in empirical datasets has just been accepted in @jevbio.bsky.social ! It has been a long process (5 years in the making!) and I am very proud of the result 🥳
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
Disentangling non-random assortment, indirect effects, and joint plasticity as causes of phenotypic (dis)similarity between social partners
Abstract. Social partners frequently resemble each other. These correlations between the phenotypes of interacting individuals (e.g. social partners, group
academic.oup.com

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

jonesor.bsky.social
Owen Jones @jonesor.bsky.social · Apr 26
New paper! I introduce mpmsim, an R package for simulating matrix population models (MPMs). Great for exploring life history, sampling error, and teaching population dynamics. Full docs + vignettes to get you started! doi.org/10.1111/2041...
mpmsim: An R package for simulating matrix population models
Matrix population models (MPMs) are widely used in ecology and evolution to explore population dynamics, including assessing management impacts and extinction risk. In comparative studies, MPMs ca...
doi.org

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

elizabethhobson.bsky.social
Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · Feb 27
I am recruiting 1-2 postbacs for my parakeet sociality & cognition project! This position is for people finished with undergrad but who have not yet started grad school. Must be totally fascinated by parakeet social drama (there's a lot of it!)🪶🧪 Job ad here: ornithologyexchange.org/jobs/board/s...
Image showing the Hobson Lab logo (monk parakeets flying into a social network diagram with R code in the background), pictures of natural-colored green and gray monk parakeets, and head shots of our individually-marked birds showing their color combos and "names" (Blue-Orange-Blue has those colors on the head, cheek, and neck, and is "BOB"). Text says "Postbac position: parakeet sociality & cognition"

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

meganjthompson.bsky.social
Megan Thompson @meganjthompson.bsky.social · Feb 25
Our common garden experiment with urban and forest great tits is out early view in Evolution! doi.org/10.1093/evol... @denisreale.bsky.social @annecharmantier.bsky.social
Visual representation of common garden procedure.

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

allyphillimore.bsky.social
Ally Phillimore @allyphillimore.bsky.social · Feb 12
Fieldwork opportunity: We're looking to hire a field assistant for the www.phenoweb.org project starting 1 April. Please repost. #phenology #fieldwork #birdringing

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk, Andreas Nieder

delphinedemoor.bsky.social
Delphine De Moor @delphinedemoor.bsky.social · Feb 12
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/
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

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

tylerbonnell.bsky.social
Tyler Bonnell @tylerbonnell.bsky.social · Feb 11
I'm looking to hire two MSc positions. Interested in social animals, agent-based modelling, and reinforcement learning (RL)? Take a look at these two projects!

Agent-based modelling of beluga social dynamics: tinyurl.com/4umsvkdx

Social network dynamics of RL agents: tinyurl.com/5jztxdd6

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk, Zoe A. Xirocostas, Jenalle L. Eck

fletcher-h.bsky.social
Fletcher Halliday @fletcher-h.bsky.social · Feb 4
Please spread the word - I am looking for a postdoc to join my lab at @osubpp.bsky.social to study diversity and interactions of plants and pathogens in wild and working landscapes!

More information here: agsci-labs.oregonstate.edu/diseaseecolo...
Here's a photo of my favorite grass host, Dactylis glomerata, infected with ergot and stem rust in the beautiful Swiss Alps

Reposted by Olivier Giménez, Matthew J. Silk, Silvia Matesanz , and 2 more

ecobhvr2025.bsky.social
Ecology & Behaviour 2025 @ecobhvr2025.bsky.social · Nov 22
🚨SAVE THE DATE 🚨 The 17th Ecology & Behaviour is back at the CEFE!
Join us from August 11-15, 2025. Don't miss out!

Sign up here for updates: listes.services.cnrs.fr/wws/subscrib...
And, of course, follow us here! #ecobhvr2025
Logo for the 17th Ecology & Behaviour conference that will be hosted in Montpellier, France from August 11-15, 2025. The logo includes a black and white flamingo made up of other animals.

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

kokkonut.bsky.social
Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · Dec 17
The artwork by Franziska Brenninger is pretty, and we (coauthors Viktor Kovalov and I) think the equations are pretty too! Theme of the paper: when it's hard to succeed, do you try harder or do you give up in a "resistance is futile" way? Context: parasitism. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Sex-specific immunocompetence: resistance and tolerance can both be futile but not under the same circumstances
Abstract. Immunocompetence evolution can involve a “resistance is futile” scenario if parasite encounter rates are so high that high investment in resistan
academic.oup.com

Reposted by Matthew J. Silk

pfvale.bsky.social
Pedro Vale @pfvale.bsky.social · Dec 11
"What makes a super-spreader? Unravelling the genetics of host infectiousness"

Funded #PhD position in my lab exploring the drivers of host heterogeneity in pathogen transmission. Get in touch if interested. Deadline 17 Jan 2025.

#HostPathogen #DiseaseEcology

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
EastBio: What makes a super-spreader? Unravelling the genetics of host infectiousness. at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EastBio: What makes a super-spreader? Unravelling the genetics of host infectiousness. at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com

Reposted by Nichola Raihani, Matthew J. Silk

neeltjeboogert.bsky.social
Neeltje Boogert @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social · Dec 5
Come do a PhD with Sinead English @englishse.bsky.social , Dan Padfield @padpadpadpad.bsky.social and me on Gulls! GPS- and Bluetooth-tracking! Microbiomes & AMR acquisition & transmission! Human-wildlife conflict & mitigation! should be fun :-)

mattjsilk.bsky.social
Matthew Silk @mattjsilk.bsky.social · Dec 3
New NERC DTP PhD opportunity on social networks and demography in Soay sheep with me, Dan Nussey, Amy Sweeny and others (Autumn 2025 start). Apply by January 6th. Project and application details: e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/super...

Reposted by Marcel E. Visser, Matthew J. Silk

arsweeny.bsky.social
arsweeny.bsky.social @arsweeny.bsky.social · Nov 28
Interested in fitness consequences of the gut microbiome in the wild? Keen on being involved with an iconic long-term study system?

Check out a PhD opportunity working on Soay sheep microbiomes! Info below and feel free to contact with q's.

e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/super...