SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
@smruecophys.bsky.social
Research group at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, studying the ecology and physiology of diving animals. Lead by Dr. Chris McKnight and Dr. Jo Kershaw.
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Our new publication with @strandings.bsky.social & #SMRUsealpred contributors. A first attempt at quantifying grey seal predation of marine mammals and the potential impact on declining harbour seal populatons. Check it out! doi.org/10.1111/1365...
October 13, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Our new publication with @strandings.bsky.social & #SMRUsealpred contributors. A first attempt at quantifying grey seal predation of marine mammals and the potential impact on declining harbour seal populatons. Check it out! doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
🎉 Exciting to see this paper published using @smruinstrument.bsky.social tags to study diving behaviour and physiology of free divers! Congrats to the authors! 👏🔬📡 @smruecophys.bsky.social @chrismcknight.bsky.social
Read the paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Read the paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
New @seamammalresearch.bsky.social & @smruinstrument.bsky.social research out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social, using #NIRS integrated into SMRU phone tags to measure the diving behaviour and physiology of the most incredible human divers - the all-female Haenyeo
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
August 20, 2025 at 9:34 AM
🎉 Exciting to see this paper published using @smruinstrument.bsky.social tags to study diving behaviour and physiology of free divers! Congrats to the authors! 👏🔬📡 @smruecophys.bsky.social @chrismcknight.bsky.social
Read the paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Read the paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Fascinating new research led by @smruecophys.bsky.social researcher @chrismcknight.bsky.social
New @seamammalresearch.bsky.social & @smruinstrument.bsky.social research out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social, using #NIRS integrated into SMRU phone tags to measure the diving behaviour and physiology of the most incredible human divers - the all-female Haenyeo
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
August 18, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Fascinating new research led by @smruecophys.bsky.social researcher @chrismcknight.bsky.social
New @seamammalresearch.bsky.social & @smruinstrument.bsky.social research out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social, using #NIRS integrated into SMRU phone tags to measure the diving behaviour and physiology of the most incredible human divers - the all-female Haenyeo
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
August 18, 2025 at 8:43 PM
New @seamammalresearch.bsky.social & @smruinstrument.bsky.social research out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social, using #NIRS integrated into SMRU phone tags to measure the diving behaviour and physiology of the most incredible human divers - the all-female Haenyeo
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
🦤🌐🧪
Minke whales feeding in the Jacques Cartier passage over summer are predominantly pregnant females. From 2007–2015 pregnancy rates remain stable despite fluctuating prey availability, suggesting some resilience to environmental change
@smruecophys.bsky.social
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
Minke whales feeding in the Jacques Cartier passage over summer are predominantly pregnant females. From 2007–2015 pregnancy rates remain stable despite fluctuating prey availability, suggesting some resilience to environmental change
@smruecophys.bsky.social
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
April 17, 2025 at 11:53 AM
🦤🌐🧪
Minke whales feeding in the Jacques Cartier passage over summer are predominantly pregnant females. From 2007–2015 pregnancy rates remain stable despite fluctuating prey availability, suggesting some resilience to environmental change
@smruecophys.bsky.social
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
Minke whales feeding in the Jacques Cartier passage over summer are predominantly pregnant females. From 2007–2015 pregnancy rates remain stable despite fluctuating prey availability, suggesting some resilience to environmental change
@smruecophys.bsky.social
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 6, 2025 at 10:27 AM
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
🐳 UPCOMING BOOK ALERT 🐬
The Evolution of Cetacean Societies
Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @andrewfoote.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself
Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour
The Evolution of Cetacean Societies
Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @andrewfoote.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself
Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour
March 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
🐳 UPCOMING BOOK ALERT 🐬
The Evolution of Cetacean Societies
Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @andrewfoote.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself
Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour
The Evolution of Cetacean Societies
Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @andrewfoote.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself
Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour
We're pleased to share our work at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social, published in @science.org last week, showing that seals perceive circulating oxygen levels to adjust their diving behaviour. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
March 26, 2025 at 9:48 AM
We're pleased to share our work at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social, published in @science.org last week, showing that seals perceive circulating oxygen levels to adjust their diving behaviour. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
When did the lubricated joints that allow our skeleton to swivel, rotate and bend evolve? @crumplab.bsky.social explores a new @plosbiology.org paper by @neelimasharma.bsky.social &co that pinpoints their origin to the earliest jawed vertebrates 🧪 Paper: plos.io/3CTC8La Primer: plos.io/4kkhXa6
February 26, 2025 at 7:38 PM
When did the lubricated joints that allow our skeleton to swivel, rotate and bend evolve? @crumplab.bsky.social explores a new @plosbiology.org paper by @neelimasharma.bsky.social &co that pinpoints their origin to the earliest jawed vertebrates 🧪 Paper: plos.io/3CTC8La Primer: plos.io/4kkhXa6
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
California Coyotes Spotted Hunting #Seal Pups explorersweb.com/california-c...
California Coyotes Spotted Hunting Seal Pups » Explorersweb
Now we can add something new to the many foods that coyotes eat. For the first time, scientists have captured footage of them hunting harbor seals.
explorersweb.com
February 25, 2025 at 6:56 PM
California Coyotes Spotted Hunting #Seal Pups explorersweb.com/california-c...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Yellow-breasted capuchins use stones as nutcrackers, often inadvertently creating sharp-edged flakes, like those associated with early hominids, in what the authors suggest is a possible mechanism for the emergence of hominin stone tools. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
February 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Yellow-breasted capuchins use stones as nutcrackers, often inadvertently creating sharp-edged flakes, like those associated with early hominids, in what the authors suggest is a possible mechanism for the emergence of hominin stone tools. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Great new paper from one of our alumni Joanne Morten and Exeter Marine's Dr Lucy Hawkes!
#seabirds #AcademicSky 🦤🦑🧪🌐🌍
#seabirds #AcademicSky 🦤🦑🧪🌐🌍
🚨NEW OPEN ACCESS PAPER🚨details how we delineated six #MarineFlyways using #seabird #tracking data & novel analytical methods
➡️ doi.org/10.1111/geb.70004
🧪 #ornithology #migration #BLScience
@birdlifeglobal.bsky.social
We are grateful to GOBI @iki-germany.bsky.social for funding the project
🧵1/5
➡️ doi.org/10.1111/geb.70004
🧪 #ornithology #migration #BLScience
@birdlifeglobal.bsky.social
We are grateful to GOBI @iki-germany.bsky.social for funding the project
🧵1/5
February 17, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Great new paper from one of our alumni Joanne Morten and Exeter Marine's Dr Lucy Hawkes!
#seabirds #AcademicSky 🦤🦑🧪🌐🌍
#seabirds #AcademicSky 🦤🦑🧪🌐🌍
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
New blog post: Seals avoid an operating tidal turbine 🦭
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Seals avoid an operating tidal turbine
Authors of a recently published study discuss how their research discovered that seals exhibit avoidance of turbines during operation. This finding is important for industry developers and regulato…
appliedecologistsblog.com
February 6, 2025 at 9:44 AM
New blog post: Seals avoid an operating tidal turbine 🦭
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
We wrote a wee blog post detailing the findings of our most recent study @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and why the results are important! Give it a read below ⬇️
New blog post: Seals avoid an operating tidal turbine 🦭
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Important implications for developers & regulators, as lower numbers of seals close to the turbine at higher flow speeds during operation decreases the potential for fatal collisions & injuries 📉🌎🧪
🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/02/06/s...
Seals avoid an operating tidal turbine
Authors of a recently published study discuss how their research discovered that seals exhibit avoidance of turbines during operation. This finding is important for industry developers and regulato…
appliedecologistsblog.com
February 6, 2025 at 11:56 AM
We wrote a wee blog post detailing the findings of our most recent study @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and why the results are important! Give it a read below ⬇️
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Humpback whale songs have statistical patterns in their structure that are remarkably similar to those seen in human language. www.newscientist.com/article/2467...
Humpback whale songs have patterns that resemble human language
The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned
www.newscientist.com
February 6, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Humpback whale songs have statistical patterns in their structure that are remarkably similar to those seen in human language. www.newscientist.com/article/2467...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
SO very excited about new paper with @simonkirby.bsky.social and @ellengarland.bsky.social: We used infant-inspired tools to analyze eight years of humpback whale song, finding recurring parts with a Zipfian frequency distribution. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Whale song shows language-like statistical structure
Humpback whale song is a culturally transmitted behavior. Human language, which is also culturally transmitted, has statistically coherent parts whose frequency distribution follows a power law. These...
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 9:13 PM
SO very excited about new paper with @simonkirby.bsky.social and @ellengarland.bsky.social: We used infant-inspired tools to analyze eight years of humpback whale song, finding recurring parts with a Zipfian frequency distribution. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Andy Whiten and I wrote a @science.org perspective about a cool new study from @inbalarnon.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social et al! They found humpback whale song has language-like statistical structure, using methods inspired by infant language learning 🐋🎶 Links below ⬇️
February 6, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Andy Whiten and I wrote a @science.org perspective about a cool new study from @inbalarnon.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social et al! They found humpback whale song has language-like statistical structure, using methods inspired by infant language learning 🐋🎶 Links below ⬇️
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
We uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in whale song, published today in Science. @inbalarnon.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @jennyallen13.bsky.social @clairenea.bsky.social @emma-carroll.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
February 6, 2025 at 7:15 PM
We uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in whale song, published today in Science. @inbalarnon.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @jennyallen13.bsky.social @clairenea.bsky.social @emma-carroll.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
SMRU researchers are appealing for the public to help us understand why UK Harbour seals are in steep decline news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/st-a...
January 31, 2025 at 1:55 PM
SMRU researchers are appealing for the public to help us understand why UK Harbour seals are in steep decline news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/st-a...
Polar bear fur has a built-in deicing feature | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Polar bear fur has a built-in deicing feature
An analysis of the Arctic animals’ fur reveals chemical clues to how they stay ice-free
www.science.org
January 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Polar bear fur has a built-in deicing feature | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Anais Bliault presents the ventilatory adjustments of seals to physiological disturbance
January 17, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Anais Bliault presents the ventilatory adjustments of seals to physiological disturbance
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
How do you spot a leopard? Listen to its roar🐆
Research led by @jonathan-growcott.bsky.social shows for the first time that leopards have unique roars, meaning individuals can be identified through bioacoustic monitoring, a potentially significant advance in leopard conservation.
Research led by @jonathan-growcott.bsky.social shows for the first time that leopards have unique roars, meaning individuals can be identified through bioacoustic monitoring, a potentially significant advance in leopard conservation.
Leopards reveal their identity through a distinct roar
Scientists reveal how leopards' unique roars aid conservation in Tanzania, using cutting-edge technology to track and protect these big cats.
www.earth.com
January 17, 2025 at 11:05 AM
How do you spot a leopard? Listen to its roar🐆
Research led by @jonathan-growcott.bsky.social shows for the first time that leopards have unique roars, meaning individuals can be identified through bioacoustic monitoring, a potentially significant advance in leopard conservation.
Research led by @jonathan-growcott.bsky.social shows for the first time that leopards have unique roars, meaning individuals can be identified through bioacoustic monitoring, a potentially significant advance in leopard conservation.
Reposted by SMRU Ecophysiology Lab
Do you work in wildlife health & conservation? We are seeking participants for an online survey of practitioner/researcher attitudes to parasite conservation. Open to all roles and experience levels. DM me for more info and links.
Please help us reach as many folk as possible by reposting. 🧪🌍🪱🪰🦟
Please help us reach as many folk as possible by reposting. 🧪🌍🪱🪰🦟
January 15, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Do you work in wildlife health & conservation? We are seeking participants for an online survey of practitioner/researcher attitudes to parasite conservation. Open to all roles and experience levels. DM me for more info and links.
Please help us reach as many folk as possible by reposting. 🧪🌍🪱🪰🦟
Please help us reach as many folk as possible by reposting. 🧪🌍🪱🪰🦟
Some more of our lab’s recently published work - @eva-mariab.bsky.social used #NIRS and underwater arterial blood sampling to investigate depth-dependent effects on cardiovascular and blood oxygen regulation during freediving
t.co/tB6iZ5y0Xm
t.co/tB6iZ5y0Xm
January 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Some more of our lab’s recently published work - @eva-mariab.bsky.social used #NIRS and underwater arterial blood sampling to investigate depth-dependent effects on cardiovascular and blood oxygen regulation during freediving
t.co/tB6iZ5y0Xm
t.co/tB6iZ5y0Xm