Rebecca Meagher
@rkmeagher.bsky.social
Animal behaviour and welfare researcher. Assoc Prof at Dalhousie. Fond of cows, mustelids, cats and nerdy humour.
Great scientists are people too.
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Great scientists are people too.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
On this day that supports inclusive futures for women and girls in science, let's not forget all the women that were sidelined, ignored, or forced out of science because they:
- had children
- prioritised family/caring
- did science differently
- questioned boundaries & norms
- fought the patriarchy
- had children
- prioritised family/caring
- did science differently
- questioned boundaries & norms
- fought the patriarchy
February 11, 2026 at 9:39 AM
On this day that supports inclusive futures for women and girls in science, let's not forget all the women that were sidelined, ignored, or forced out of science because they:
- had children
- prioritised family/caring
- did science differently
- questioned boundaries & norms
- fought the patriarchy
- had children
- prioritised family/caring
- did science differently
- questioned boundaries & norms
- fought the patriarchy
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
Is it possible to experience disgust fatigue? Because I feel like I'm there.
February 5, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Is it possible to experience disgust fatigue? Because I feel like I'm there.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
The absolute state of academic spam
February 3, 2026 at 6:48 AM
The absolute state of academic spam
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
Applications are now open for Mahouts Elephant Foundation's Asian Elephant Behavior and Community-Driven Conservation field-course!
Join PAN Works' own Dr. Liv Baker in Thailand to explore the science of animal behaviour and well-being in conservation.
#animals #wellbeing #conservation #elephants
Join PAN Works' own Dr. Liv Baker in Thailand to explore the science of animal behaviour and well-being in conservation.
#animals #wellbeing #conservation #elephants
Mahouts Elephant Foundation: 2026 Field Course
Applications are now open!
medium.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Applications are now open for Mahouts Elephant Foundation's Asian Elephant Behavior and Community-Driven Conservation field-course!
Join PAN Works' own Dr. Liv Baker in Thailand to explore the science of animal behaviour and well-being in conservation.
#animals #wellbeing #conservation #elephants
Join PAN Works' own Dr. Liv Baker in Thailand to explore the science of animal behaviour and well-being in conservation.
#animals #wellbeing #conservation #elephants
😂
Canadians you are not prepared for the temperature he tells you he is experiencing here.
January 22, 2026 at 1:59 AM
😂
Really nice clear explanations of why boredom is still a problem in our times and why a one-time "do nothing for 8 hours" isn't going to fix it from @jamesdanckert.bsky.social here:
nautil.us/why-the-do-n... (Thanks for the shout out, as always!)
nautil.us/why-the-do-n... (Thanks for the shout out, as always!)
Why the Do Nothing Challenge Doesn’t Do Much for You
Why the Do Nothing Challenge Doesn’t Do Much for You: Boredom lab researcher James Danckert says our collective obsession is misplaced.
nautil.us
January 19, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Really nice clear explanations of why boredom is still a problem in our times and why a one-time "do nothing for 8 hours" isn't going to fix it from @jamesdanckert.bsky.social here:
nautil.us/why-the-do-n... (Thanks for the shout out, as always!)
nautil.us/why-the-do-n... (Thanks for the shout out, as always!)
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
A big opportunity for researchers thinking about what’s next. Dalhousie University is recruiting up to 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty supported by the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative. Strong support, big ambition.
Apply by Jan 23: buff.ly/tfhDaUS
Apply by Jan 23: buff.ly/tfhDaUS
January 5, 2026 at 2:15 PM
A big opportunity for researchers thinking about what’s next. Dalhousie University is recruiting up to 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty supported by the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative. Strong support, big ambition.
Apply by Jan 23: buff.ly/tfhDaUS
Apply by Jan 23: buff.ly/tfhDaUS
Personally, I think a country having a history of harming people doesn't mean they should not try to be humane and kind in the present. Growth and learning is also part of being human. www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...
PNI Atlantic News
Home page for Home
www.saltwire.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Personally, I think a country having a history of harming people doesn't mean they should not try to be humane and kind in the present. Growth and learning is also part of being human. www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
August 13, 2025 at 6:06 AM
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
This article suggests the possibility of training AI on pre-existing proposals and their review reports, scores and related decisions. I.e. training them on a system which is known to preferentially award larger amounts of money to white men. What could possibly go wrong?
UKRI exploring use of AI in grant review - this will prompt debate but interested to know if people think it’d encourage novelty or the opposite? www.chemistryworld.com/news/ukri-op...
UKRI opens up grant proposal data to explore using AI to smooth peer review
Surging applications has led the UK's main funder to look at ways to reduce the burden on reviewers
www.chemistryworld.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:49 PM
This article suggests the possibility of training AI on pre-existing proposals and their review reports, scores and related decisions. I.e. training them on a system which is known to preferentially award larger amounts of money to white men. What could possibly go wrong?
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
New research reports that cats meow more frequently when greeting male owners. It’s hypothesized that men “require more explicit vocalizations to notice and respond to the needs of their cats.” In other words, the researchers are suggesting that many cats have concluded that men don’t always listen
To Get a Man’s Attention, Meow Harder
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:04 AM
New research reports that cats meow more frequently when greeting male owners. It’s hypothesized that men “require more explicit vocalizations to notice and respond to the needs of their cats.” In other words, the researchers are suggesting that many cats have concluded that men don’t always listen
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Is this the moment Canada gets serious about science and the economy?
The federal budget includes $1.7-billion to attract international researchers and support Canadian R&D and IP protections
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
I just love science people.
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute
Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 20, 2025 at 9:09 AM
I just love science people.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
While I wouldn't go as far as calling this tool use, it's certainly a clever way of acquiring food (check out the video in the article) 🐺
#wolf
#wolf
Have wild wolves learned to use tools?
Video captures a lone female pulling crab traps out of the water, but does it count as tool use?
www.science.org
November 18, 2025 at 10:52 AM
While I wouldn't go as far as calling this tool use, it's certainly a clever way of acquiring food (check out the video in the article) 🐺
#wolf
#wolf
Yes please, Outlook, could you cancel some meetings for me?
November 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Yes please, Outlook, could you cancel some meetings for me?
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
The Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research is launching a US-style attack on EDI in Tri-Council funding.
As part of this attack, they are demanding disclosure of confidential demographic info + reviewer comments of all Canadian researchers who have applied b/w 2000-2025.
As part of this attack, they are demanding disclosure of confidential demographic info + reviewer comments of all Canadian researchers who have applied b/w 2000-2025.
October 31, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research is launching a US-style attack on EDI in Tri-Council funding.
As part of this attack, they are demanding disclosure of confidential demographic info + reviewer comments of all Canadian researchers who have applied b/w 2000-2025.
As part of this attack, they are demanding disclosure of confidential demographic info + reviewer comments of all Canadian researchers who have applied b/w 2000-2025.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻
Enter if you dare...🚪
Enter if you dare...🚪
October 31, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻
Enter if you dare...🚪
Enter if you dare...🚪
This particular part of the article is my current life. (And yes I teach about cat behaviour.)
Stereo chooses to vocalize her concerns at inconvenient times in a baffling manner (yowling). Paired with inconsistent behavior, such as marching back and forth on management’s head at night, this communication is far from adequate, as management has no fucking clue what she wants.
Cat Performance Review
1. Skill and proficiency in carrying out assignments Inconsistent. When asked to come sit on the couch or get down off the kitchen table, Stereo’s ...
buff.ly
October 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
This particular part of the article is my current life. (And yes I teach about cat behaviour.)
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
How your email finds me. Photo from my collection, no date/info.
October 28, 2025 at 12:05 AM
How your email finds me. Photo from my collection, no date/info.
Really hope no dairy calves ever get loose in this airport.
I have been traveling and today I present to you...the thing I saw in the Frankfurt airport.
Is it efficient? Undeniably. Does it probably work better than the normal way? Oh certainly. Produce less of a mess? Probably?
But the existence of Condiment Udders gives me a deep, aghast disquiet.
Is it efficient? Undeniably. Does it probably work better than the normal way? Oh certainly. Produce less of a mess? Probably?
But the existence of Condiment Udders gives me a deep, aghast disquiet.
October 22, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Really hope no dairy calves ever get loose in this airport.
Reposted by Rebecca Meagher
📣 Are you interested in applied animal ethology and perceptual abilities of animals? Do you want to help us disentangle how animal emotions are modulated by their sensory environment? Then, you might be the postdoc we are looking for🌠
More info: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...
#appliedethology #postcoc
More info: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...
#appliedethology #postcoc
Postdoctoral position in Applied animal ethology and animal perception | slu.se
SLU - Science and Education for Sustainable Life
www.slu.se
October 15, 2025 at 7:16 AM
📣 Are you interested in applied animal ethology and perceptual abilities of animals? Do you want to help us disentangle how animal emotions are modulated by their sensory environment? Then, you might be the postdoc we are looking for🌠
More info: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...
#appliedethology #postcoc
More info: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...
#appliedethology #postcoc
Opportunity in animal welfare with a great supervisor:
I’m looking for a PhD student, please share!
#PhDPositionAlert
PhD on Advancing the welfare of dairy ruminant youngstock through a social science or multi-disciplinary lens
Michigan State University, USA
More information: www.applied-ethology.org/PhD_USA.html
PhD on Advancing the welfare of dairy ruminant youngstock through a social science or multi-disciplinary lens
Michigan State University, USA
More information: www.applied-ethology.org/PhD_USA.html
October 8, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Opportunity in animal welfare with a great supervisor: