Stephen Montgomery
@ebablab.bsky.social
Evolutionary Neurobiology and Behaviour
www.shmontgomery.co.uk
www.shmontgomery.co.uk
Pinned
Stephen Montgomery
@ebablab.bsky.social
· Jun 18
🎉We are delighted to announce that Professor Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social will be the 3rd Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolution.
We look forward to welcoming him next year!
We look forward to welcoming him next year!
Some personal news, to be filed under “things I did not see coming”…. 1/n
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
2025. #DEI. Low socioeconomic status is an under‐recognised source of challenges in academia. zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... via @jzoology.bsky.social
Low socioeconomic status is an under‐recognised source of challenges in academia
The iconic ‘class sketch’ from the 1960s satirical series ‘The Frost Report’ illustrates the longstanding and deep cultural importance of social class in the UK. In this perspective, a diverse author....
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 AM
2025. #DEI. Low socioeconomic status is an under‐recognised source of challenges in academia. zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... via @jzoology.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...
The sensory ecology of caterpillars - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Want to #BringScienceToPolitics?
Scientists can support the National Emergency Briefing on Climate & Nature by signing this Open Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Scientists can support the National Emergency Briefing on Climate & Nature by signing this Open Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
We're delighted that tireless advocate for the natural world, @chrisgpackham.bsky.social CBE, will be opening the National Emergency Briefing in Westminster Central Hall on 27th November.
Chris speaking with @bbclaurak.bsky.social earlier👇
Please make sure your MP is attending: nebriefing.org
#NEB
Chris speaking with @bbclaurak.bsky.social earlier👇
Please make sure your MP is attending: nebriefing.org
#NEB
November 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Want to #BringScienceToPolitics?
Scientists can support the National Emergency Briefing on Climate & Nature by signing this Open Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Scientists can support the National Emergency Briefing on Climate & Nature by signing this Open Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@ebablab.bsky.social and I helped a bit in this really informative article by Robin Grob in the el Jundi lab on spatial orientation strategies in Lepidoptera. Have a read :-)
@ebablab.bsky.social and I helped a bit in this really informative article by Robin Grob in the el Jundi lab on spatial orientation strategies in Lepidoptera. Have a read :-)
The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies – neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
The Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, display an astonishing diversity of spatial orientation strategies essential for survival, reproduction, and ecological success. These spatial orientation strat...
link.springer.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:18 AM
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@ebablab.bsky.social and I helped a bit in this really informative article by Robin Grob in the el Jundi lab on spatial orientation strategies in Lepidoptera. Have a read :-)
@ebablab.bsky.social and I helped a bit in this really informative article by Robin Grob in the el Jundi lab on spatial orientation strategies in Lepidoptera. Have a read :-)
“AI as it’s imagined and dreamed of being is this quest to give machines intelligence of different forms, the ability to communicate, to perceive the world, to make judgments,” Buolamwini says. “But once you’re making judgments, judgments come with responsibilities.”
November 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
“AI as it’s imagined and dreamed of being is this quest to give machines intelligence of different forms, the ability to communicate, to perceive the world, to make judgments,” Buolamwini says. “But once you’re making judgments, judgments come with responsibilities.”
Hashtag sorrynotsorry
I hadnt seen this particular take on this story till now. A minimalist apology. Not impressed.
nationalnews.co.uk/news/shamed-...
nationalnews.co.uk/news/shamed-...
Shamed Scientist Apologises For The First Time About The Academic Scandal That Destroyed His Career And Shocked The World
An ecologist who shot to fame after discovering that spiders have human-like personalities has made an emotional apology after being
nationalnews.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Hashtag sorrynotsorry
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Please repost!
I am looking for a passionate and hard-working PhD student to work in southern Africa on experimental defaunation and rewilding of megafauna. See the link below for more information:
@camzoology.bsky.social @conservation.cam.ac.uk
I am looking for a passionate and hard-working PhD student to work in southern Africa on experimental defaunation and rewilding of megafauna. See the link below for more information:
@camzoology.bsky.social @conservation.cam.ac.uk
Reversing defaunation through rewilding and its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem function | Department of Zoology
Reversing defaunation through rewilding and its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem function Supervisor: Professor Rob Fletcher The world is facing several global challenges that are transform...
www.zoo.cam.ac.uk
October 29, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Please repost!
I am looking for a passionate and hard-working PhD student to work in southern Africa on experimental defaunation and rewilding of megafauna. See the link below for more information:
@camzoology.bsky.social @conservation.cam.ac.uk
I am looking for a passionate and hard-working PhD student to work in southern Africa on experimental defaunation and rewilding of megafauna. See the link below for more information:
@camzoology.bsky.social @conservation.cam.ac.uk
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
My first paper as a first author is officially out 🎉 @elife.bsky.social
We show that the iridescent colour of Morphos 🦋 tends to converge in sympatry while their chemical signals diverge, illustrating the constrasting effect natural and sexual selection on trait evolution.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
We show that the iridescent colour of Morphos 🦋 tends to converge in sympatry while their chemical signals diverge, illustrating the constrasting effect natural and sexual selection on trait evolution.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Convergent iridescence and divergent chemical signals in sympatric sister-species of Amazonian butterflies
Ecological interactions exert contrasting evolutionary pressures on sympatric Morpho butterflies, promoting convergence in iridescence but divergence in chemical cues, illustrating how ecological inte...
doi.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
My first paper as a first author is officially out 🎉 @elife.bsky.social
We show that the iridescent colour of Morphos 🦋 tends to converge in sympatry while their chemical signals diverge, illustrating the constrasting effect natural and sexual selection on trait evolution.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
We show that the iridescent colour of Morphos 🦋 tends to converge in sympatry while their chemical signals diverge, illustrating the constrasting effect natural and sexual selection on trait evolution.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Now in its birthday suit with videos
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
And an interview with @ficusorganensis.bsky.social!
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
And an interview with @ficusorganensis.bsky.social!
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
November 5, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Now in its birthday suit with videos
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
And an interview with @ficusorganensis.bsky.social!
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
And an interview with @ficusorganensis.bsky.social!
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
#Evolution of complex adaptations can involve changes in multiple traits that lack standalone function. @benitoexplains.bsky.social &co show that leaf masquerade in #katydids evolved via concurrent modification in wing colour & shape, driven by evolutionary synergy @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oUE741
November 4, 2025 at 1:55 PM
#Evolution of complex adaptations can involve changes in multiple traits that lack standalone function. @benitoexplains.bsky.social &co show that leaf masquerade in #katydids evolved via concurrent modification in wing colour & shape, driven by evolutionary synergy @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oUE741
My 4 year old is still a big fan of biphasic sleep 🫠
Doomscrolling break...
This is fascinating stuff
Humans used to have 2 sleeps (biphasic)
It's normal to wake up in the middle of the night!
Our sleep patterns changed during the industrial revolution, because of artificial light and our working hours
Research by Professor Roger Ekirch
This is fascinating stuff
Humans used to have 2 sleeps (biphasic)
It's normal to wake up in the middle of the night!
Our sleep patterns changed during the industrial revolution, because of artificial light and our working hours
Research by Professor Roger Ekirch
The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps'
For millennia, people slept in two shifts – once in the evening, and once in the morning. But why? And how did the habit disappear?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
My 4 year old is still a big fan of biphasic sleep 🫠
Looks cool 👀
Sensory receptor expansion and neural accommodation in butterfly color vision https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.30.685642v1
November 1, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Looks cool 👀
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Combining genomic and neuroanatomical data shows that #Heliconiini olfactory systems vary in their #olfactory receptor diversity and investment in individual brain structures, but are developmentally plastic in responsive to environmental conditions:
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Yi Peng et al. 2025
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Yi Peng et al. 2025
Evolution of the olfactory system during the radiation of Heliconiini butterflies
Abstract. Sensory system evolution plays a crucial role in shaping species’ interactions with their environment, yet the extent to which olfactory system d
doi.org
October 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Combining genomic and neuroanatomical data shows that #Heliconiini olfactory systems vary in their #olfactory receptor diversity and investment in individual brain structures, but are developmentally plastic in responsive to environmental conditions:
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Yi Peng et al. 2025
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Yi Peng et al. 2025
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Wow. I did not know that Alfred Russell Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection) wrote a book in 1904 about the biological potential for life on other planets, and I've just found this extraordinary paragraph setting out the insanity of atmospheric pollution [1/3]. In 1904!
![But the sketch I have here attempted to give of its varied functions shows us that it is really a most complex structure, a wonderful piece of machinery, as[ 259] it were, which in its various component gases, its actions and reactions upon the water and the land, its production of electrical discharges, and its furnishing the elements from which the whole fabric of organic life is composed and perpetually renewed, may be truly considered to be the very source and foundation of life itself. This is seen, not only in the fact of our absolute dependence upon it every minute of our lives, but in the terrible effects produced by even a slight degree of impurity in this vital element. Yet it is among those nations that claim to be the most civilised, those that profess to be guided by a knowledge of the laws of nature, those that most glory in the advance of science, that we find the greatest apathy, the greatest recklessness, in continually rendering impure this all-important necessary of life, to such a degree that the health of the larger portion of their populations is injured and their vitality lowered, by conditions which compel them to breathe more or less foul and impure air for the greater part of their lives. The huge and ever-increasing cities, the vast manufacturing towns belching forth smoke and poisonous gases, with the crowded dwellings, where millions are forced to live under the most terrible insanitary conditions, are the witnesses to this criminal apathy, this incredible recklessness and inhumanity.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2g72wvrmzdfakrjq56d3lddj/bafkreidgfp3g5erh7m3rdhzqvar2th65nqj72arwtpxrzak4yvtepmshba@jpeg)
October 31, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Wow. I did not know that Alfred Russell Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection) wrote a book in 1904 about the biological potential for life on other planets, and I've just found this extraordinary paragraph setting out the insanity of atmospheric pollution [1/3]. In 1904!
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
NEW from me:
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
NEW from me:
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Always great fun to collaborate with your friends, especially when they are as smart as @emiliapsantos.bsky.social, and a total joy to work with a future star like @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social! 👊🏻
New preprint led by the brilliant @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social on cichlid brain diversification, fgf8a signalling and regulatory divergence with TEs on the mix! All part of a wonderful collaboration with @ebablab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Always great fun to collaborate with your friends, especially when they are as smart as @emiliapsantos.bsky.social, and a total joy to work with a future star like @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social! 👊🏻
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
New preprint led by the brilliant @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social on cichlid brain diversification, fgf8a signalling and regulatory divergence with TEs on the mix! All part of a wonderful collaboration with @ebablab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
New preprint led by the brilliant @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social on cichlid brain diversification, fgf8a signalling and regulatory divergence with TEs on the mix! All part of a wonderful collaboration with @ebablab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@camzoology.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Another is this hovering flight where they dance back and forth around before landing, again they do this repeatedly in a feeding bout… they also do it to artificial flowers that lack floral odours… 5/n
October 21, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Another is this hovering flight where they dance back and forth around before landing, again they do this repeatedly in a feeding bout… they also do it to artificial flowers that lack floral odours… 5/n
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Really like this paper, led by @ficusorganensis.bsky.social, the supplementary videos aren’t up yet but will post them when I’m back in the office!
Protein-rich flowers are spatially scattered food sources for Heliconinii 🦋. This requires a sophisticated spatial memory. @ebablab.bsky.social et al. monitors the flight behavior when 🦋 encounter novel 🌺 and compare this behavior with other 🦋 species.
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Heliconinii butterflies display flight behaviours reminiscent of orientation flights when using new floral sources
Despite their small brains, many insects form long-term memories of the spatial distribution of resources. To support this, some species display ‘orientation’ flights to increase capture of landscape ...
journals.biologists.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Really like this paper, led by @ficusorganensis.bsky.social, the supplementary videos aren’t up yet but will post them when I’m back in the office!
30 seconds of Irish Sea to ease your worries
October 18, 2025 at 2:23 PM
30 seconds of Irish Sea to ease your worries
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
October 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
Really like this paper, led by @ficusorganensis.bsky.social, the supplementary videos aren’t up yet but will post them when I’m back in the office!
Protein-rich flowers are spatially scattered food sources for Heliconinii 🦋. This requires a sophisticated spatial memory. @ebablab.bsky.social et al. monitors the flight behavior when 🦋 encounter novel 🌺 and compare this behavior with other 🦋 species.
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Heliconinii butterflies display flight behaviours reminiscent of orientation flights when using new floral sources
Despite their small brains, many insects form long-term memories of the spatial distribution of resources. To support this, some species display ‘orientation’ flights to increase capture of landscape ...
journals.biologists.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Really like this paper, led by @ficusorganensis.bsky.social, the supplementary videos aren’t up yet but will post them when I’m back in the office!
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Protein-rich flowers are spatially scattered food sources for Heliconinii 🦋. This requires a sophisticated spatial memory. @ebablab.bsky.social et al. monitors the flight behavior when 🦋 encounter novel 🌺 and compare this behavior with other 🦋 species.
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Heliconinii butterflies display flight behaviours reminiscent of orientation flights when using new floral sources
Despite their small brains, many insects form long-term memories of the spatial distribution of resources. To support this, some species display ‘orientation’ flights to increase capture of landscape ...
journals.biologists.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Protein-rich flowers are spatially scattered food sources for Heliconinii 🦋. This requires a sophisticated spatial memory. @ebablab.bsky.social et al. monitors the flight behavior when 🦋 encounter novel 🌺 and compare this behavior with other 🦋 species.
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Stephen Montgomery
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7