Shaun Killen
@shaunkillen.bsky.social
Prof of Ecophysiology at Uni of Glasgow. Metabolic physiology, pred/prey interactions, social behaviour, fisheries-induced evolution. 🇨🇦 in 🏴
Congrats @helenanorman.bsky.social on an amazing poster!
Congratulations to #ASABWinter2025 best talk winner Jonah Walker (“Multimodal signalling and mate choice across peacock spider species“) and poster winners Helena Norman, Joey Baxter and James Robertshaw 🙌🎨🏆
December 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Congrats @helenanorman.bsky.social on an amazing poster!
Reposted by Shaun Killen
Day 2 of ShoalBase Fishmas: Snowflake eel (Echidna nebulosa) ❄️🐍 SB-00132: Usually solitary and nocturnal, sheltering among rocks and reefs. Being solitary is a form of sociality! Territorial encounters also occur. Seen this species? Add an observation to ShoalBase!
December 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Day 2 of ShoalBase Fishmas: Snowflake eel (Echidna nebulosa) ❄️🐍 SB-00132: Usually solitary and nocturnal, sheltering among rocks and reefs. Being solitary is a form of sociality! Territorial encounters also occur. Seen this species? Add an observation to ShoalBase!
Reposted by Shaun Killen
Day 1 of ShoalBase Fishmas ❄️🐟 Contribution SB-00131: Polar cod. This species schools beneath Arctic sea ice, but spread as ice cover increases, showing how social behaviour can change with environment. Have you seen this species? Add it again! You don’t need detailed data, simple observations help!
December 13, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Day 1 of ShoalBase Fishmas ❄️🐟 Contribution SB-00131: Polar cod. This species schools beneath Arctic sea ice, but spread as ice cover increases, showing how social behaviour can change with environment. Have you seen this species? Add it again! You don’t need detailed data, simple observations help!
SLR tests assume a single sample phase is enough for learning.
In our new paper, minnows only discriminated object locations after five exposures, a species-specific result with implications for how we assess cognition in fishes. Exploration also predicted performance. doi.org/10.1111/eth....
In our new paper, minnows only discriminated object locations after five exposures, a species-specific result with implications for how we assess cognition in fishes. Exploration also predicted performance. doi.org/10.1111/eth....
December 10, 2025 at 6:47 PM
SLR tests assume a single sample phase is enough for learning.
In our new paper, minnows only discriminated object locations after five exposures, a species-specific result with implications for how we assess cognition in fishes. Exploration also predicted performance. doi.org/10.1111/eth....
In our new paper, minnows only discriminated object locations after five exposures, a species-specific result with implications for how we assess cognition in fishes. Exploration also predicted performance. doi.org/10.1111/eth....
Please help us classify all fish species by their social systems 🙏! Any and all observations or general knowledge are useful. Log them at shoalbase.org, the form takes about a minute to fill in 😀.
Observation of the Week! In coastal Spain, adult Diplodus vulgaris were seen forming shoals over benthic habitat at ~20°C. Every record like this helps us map social systems across species. Contribute yours (with or without photo or video) at shoalbase.org! Observation by @cortesedaphne.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Please help us classify all fish species by their social systems 🙏! Any and all observations or general knowledge are useful. Log them at shoalbase.org, the form takes about a minute to fill in 😀.
Reposted by Shaun Killen
If you’ve ever watched fish, you have knowledge worth sharing! Help us map the social systems of 35,000+ species.
Contribute a record here, it only takes a minute!: shoalbase.org
Contribute a record here, it only takes a minute!: shoalbase.org
ShoalBase | Explore and Contribute
ShoalBase offers a global database on fish social behaviour, supporting research, conservation, and ecology through community contributions and visual data mapping.
shoalbase.org
November 27, 2025 at 9:53 PM
If you’ve ever watched fish, you have knowledge worth sharing! Help us map the social systems of 35,000+ species.
Contribute a record here, it only takes a minute!: shoalbase.org
Contribute a record here, it only takes a minute!: shoalbase.org
Reposted by Shaun Killen
Published records of fish social systems are valuable, but often lost in the literature; informal observations can fill gaps. ShoalBase can centralise literature and log new observations so patterns become visible. Know a paper? Please add it! Seen a behaviour? Please add that too! shoalbase.org
ShoalBase | Join, Explore, Contribute Now
ShoalBase offers a global database on fish social behaviour, supporting research, conservation, and ecology through community contributions and visual data mapping.
shoalbase.org
November 26, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Published records of fish social systems are valuable, but often lost in the literature; informal observations can fill gaps. ShoalBase can centralise literature and log new observations so patterns become visible. Know a paper? Please add it! Seen a behaviour? Please add that too! shoalbase.org
🧵1/9 There are 35,000+ fish species, but we have formal social-behaviour classifications for a tiny fraction. Most knowledge lives in the experience of researchers, fishers, divers, aquarists, naturalists, and Indigenous communities, but almost none of it is centralised. So we built ShoalBase.org.
ShoalBase | Join, Explore, Contribute Now
ShoalBase offers a global database on fish social behaviour, supporting research, conservation, and ecology through community contributions and visual data mapping.
ShoalBase.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
🧵1/9 There are 35,000+ fish species, but we have formal social-behaviour classifications for a tiny fraction. Most knowledge lives in the experience of researchers, fishers, divers, aquarists, naturalists, and Indigenous communities, but almost none of it is centralised. So we built ShoalBase.org.
That moment when you resolve the final comment on a manuscript and the whole document snaps back to the centre of the screen. Peak academic satisfaction, possibly better than publication.
November 6, 2025 at 11:41 AM
That moment when you resolve the final comment on a manuscript and the whole document snaps back to the centre of the screen. Peak academic satisfaction, possibly better than publication.
Our new study: territorial cichlids ramped up metabolic rate around conspecifics, while cardinal tetras showed little change. And only in tetras did individual sociability relate to metabolic rate. Energetic consequences of “social living” depend on social system. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 4, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Our new study: territorial cichlids ramped up metabolic rate around conspecifics, while cardinal tetras showed little change. And only in tetras did individual sociability relate to metabolic rate. Energetic consequences of “social living” depend on social system. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Ecstatic about the Blue Jays knocking off the Yankees🥳. Less ecstatic about what this will continue to do to my sleep schedule watching games from Scotland😭.
a blue jays mascot on a baseball field
ALT: a blue jays mascot on a baseball field
media.tenor.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Ecstatic about the Blue Jays knocking off the Yankees🥳. Less ecstatic about what this will continue to do to my sleep schedule watching games from Scotland😭.
Fisheries can drive selection, but what about small-scale ornamental fisheries? Our new study shows Amazonian fishes interact w/ traps in species- & environment-specific ways, hinting at overlooked selective potential. Led by @marpineda.bsky.social Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
September 9, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Fisheries can drive selection, but what about small-scale ornamental fisheries? Our new study shows Amazonian fishes interact w/ traps in species- & environment-specific ways, hinting at overlooked selective potential. Led by @marpineda.bsky.social Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Our new paper shows how arena size can bias sociability estimates in sticklebacks: bigger tanks = lower sociability, even after adjusting for tank size. Repeatability highest at intermediate size. #methodsmatter! Great work from @mgmci13.bsky.social! Read it here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
September 2, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Our new paper shows how arena size can bias sociability estimates in sticklebacks: bigger tanks = lower sociability, even after adjusting for tank size. Repeatability highest at intermediate size. #methodsmatter! Great work from @mgmci13.bsky.social! Read it here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🧵THREAD: (1/7) Standard metabolic rate (SMR) is one of biology's most measured traits. We argue it isn't the constant baseline it's assumed to be. Our preprint discusses how sleep-wake cycles create a 'metabolic mosaic' that requires us to rethink how we interpret SMR. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
The myth of the metabolic baseline: how sleep-wake cycles undermine a foundational assumption in organismal biology
ecoevorxiv.org
August 28, 2025 at 3:46 PM
🧵THREAD: (1/7) Standard metabolic rate (SMR) is one of biology's most measured traits. We argue it isn't the constant baseline it's assumed to be. Our preprint discusses how sleep-wake cycles create a 'metabolic mosaic' that requires us to rethink how we interpret SMR. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Shaun Killen
New paper out in the Journal of Sleep Research 💤 discussing how using light as a mode of sleep disruption might be disrupting a whole host of other things too... @shaunkillen.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
<em>Journal of Sleep Research</em> | ESRS Journal | Wiley Online Library
Click on the article title to read more.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
New paper out in the Journal of Sleep Research 💤 discussing how using light as a mode of sleep disruption might be disrupting a whole host of other things too... @shaunkillen.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
In our new correspondence, we discuss how light-based methods of sleep disruption may generate confounds that complicate interpretation of results. Light affects hormones, circadian rhythms & stress responses beyond just sleep! @helenanorman.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
August 27, 2025 at 3:37 PM
In our new correspondence, we discuss how light-based methods of sleep disruption may generate confounds that complicate interpretation of results. Light affects hormones, circadian rhythms & stress responses beyond just sleep! @helenanorman.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Animal brains don’t think in a vacuum, they think in heatwaves & hypoxia, and around predators, parasites, and social groups. Our new review maps mechanisms, timescales, and gaps for understanding animal cognition in changing environments: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lau5Esvgs...
August 12, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Animal brains don’t think in a vacuum, they think in heatwaves & hypoxia, and around predators, parasites, and social groups. Our new review maps mechanisms, timescales, and gaps for understanding animal cognition in changing environments: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lau5Esvgs...
A gift from a student 🥹. Blobfish before and after decompression = me before and after grant deadlines.
August 11, 2025 at 10:56 AM
A gift from a student 🥹. Blobfish before and after decompression = me before and after grant deadlines.
After so many years of toil, we've finally done it. Definitive proof that guppies can quantum phase shift between dimensions. Congrats to @helenanorman.bsky.social for this game-changing discovery. 🥳 #fishsci
July 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
After so many years of toil, we've finally done it. Definitive proof that guppies can quantum phase shift between dimensions. Congrats to @helenanorman.bsky.social for this game-changing discovery. 🥳 #fishsci
As usual, Nathan Fielder is right.
June 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
As usual, Nathan Fielder is right.
Reposted by Shaun Killen
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...
Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.
www.queensu.ca
June 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Reposted by Shaun Killen
1/3
www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.
**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**
Details below! Please RT
(AI-generated image)
www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.
**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**
Details below! Please RT
(AI-generated image)
June 3, 2025 at 9:22 PM
1/3
www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.
**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**
Details below! Please RT
(AI-generated image)
www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.
**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**
Details below! Please RT
(AI-generated image)
Reposted by Shaun Killen
Fish At Pretty Good Place In Its Life Right Now
theonion.com/fish-at...
theonion.com/fish-at...
May 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Fish At Pretty Good Place In Its Life Right Now
theonion.com/fish-at...
theonion.com/fish-at...
Outstanding talk by @helenanorman.bsky.social for @pintofscience.uk on the nature of sleep in fish and other animals. Incredible that we know so little about this vitally important process. More to come from this fantastic scientist!
May 21, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Outstanding talk by @helenanorman.bsky.social for @pintofscience.uk on the nature of sleep in fish and other animals. Incredible that we know so little about this vitally important process. More to come from this fantastic scientist!
Kayaked around the gorgeous Loch Drunkie, apparently named after the time whisky smugglers rolled their cargo into the water to dodge tax men. Today, no whisky, no rain, no midges. Just a creeping feeling that Scotland is becoming Portugal. Has barely rained here since March 😮 .
May 18, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Kayaked around the gorgeous Loch Drunkie, apparently named after the time whisky smugglers rolled their cargo into the water to dodge tax men. Today, no whisky, no rain, no midges. Just a creeping feeling that Scotland is becoming Portugal. Has barely rained here since March 😮 .