Dr. Franziska Wegdell
@franziswegdell.bsky.social
Biologist - Ethologist
postdoctoral researcher @University of Tuebingen
studying the communication of BONOBOS
🔊🐵🎙
postdoctoral researcher @University of Tuebingen
studying the communication of BONOBOS
🔊🐵🎙
Pinned
The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes
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www.science.org
We studied the evolution of infant-directed communication by comparing vocal input rates across great apes!
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
📢 Come to Tübingen and get your PhD with us! Unique opportunity to explore great ape communication 🐵🦧🦍 from multiple disciplinary angles within a single, integrated project. 👇
📢 2 PhD positions (E13 TV-L, 75%) in our DFG-funded project on great ape communication & the evolution of common ground!
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
August 4, 2025 at 7:31 AM
📢 Come to Tübingen and get your PhD with us! Unique opportunity to explore great ape communication 🐵🦧🦍 from multiple disciplinary angles within a single, integrated project. 👇
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
The spotlight video for the ChimpFACS Extension for bonobos is out: youtu.be/qijxWubdyNU?...
Adapting the Facial Action Coding System for chimpanzees to bonobos
YouTube video by PeerJ
youtu.be
July 15, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The spotlight video for the ChimpFACS Extension for bonobos is out: youtu.be/qijxWubdyNU?...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
🐾 Just out & open access!
Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound, Vol. 2 🎶
From insects to elephants and whales—how animals use & are affected by sound.
Thanks to Christiane Erbe & all co-authors (me included)!
👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound, Vol. 2 🎶
From insects to elephants and whales—how animals use & are affected by sound.
Thanks to Christiane Erbe & all co-authors (me included)!
👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
July 4, 2025 at 8:04 AM
🐾 Just out & open access!
Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound, Vol. 2 🎶
From insects to elephants and whales—how animals use & are affected by sound.
Thanks to Christiane Erbe & all co-authors (me included)!
👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound, Vol. 2 🎶
From insects to elephants and whales—how animals use & are affected by sound.
Thanks to Christiane Erbe & all co-authors (me included)!
👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
Do you have field work experience? Do you want more? Our team wants YOU to manage our field site studying Kinda baboons in Kasanka National Park, Zambia!
Start date is this August 2025 so apply ASAP!
Job ad here: tinyurl.com/KindaBaboon
Start date is this August 2025 so apply ASAP!
Job ad here: tinyurl.com/KindaBaboon
July 1, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Do you have field work experience? Do you want more? Our team wants YOU to manage our field site studying Kinda baboons in Kasanka National Park, Zambia!
Start date is this August 2025 so apply ASAP!
Job ad here: tinyurl.com/KindaBaboon
Start date is this August 2025 so apply ASAP!
Job ad here: tinyurl.com/KindaBaboon
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
📢 2 PhD positions (E13 TV-L, 75%) in our DFG-funded project on great ape communication & the evolution of common ground!
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
June 30, 2025 at 7:39 AM
📢 2 PhD positions (E13 TV-L, 75%) in our DFG-funded project on great ape communication & the evolution of common ground!
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
🧠 Backgrounds in biology, psychology or linguistics welcome.
🗓️ Deadline: Aug 13
🔗 bit.ly/4l8p7hy & bit.ly/46jcfAq
Please share!
@elmanubohn.bsky.social @meanwhileina.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
1/n Hot off the press!
The first empirical chapter of my PhD and the fruit of a hugely collaborative project led with Franziska Wegdell and Johanna Schick is out! We explore if immature-directed vocalisations are present and in what quantity in wild great apes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The first empirical chapter of my PhD and the fruit of a hugely collaborative project led with Franziska Wegdell and Johanna Schick is out! We explore if immature-directed vocalisations are present and in what quantity in wild great apes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes
Human infants receive more directed communication than other great ape infants, indicating that it evolved alongside language.
www.science.org
June 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
1/n Hot off the press!
The first empirical chapter of my PhD and the fruit of a hugely collaborative project led with Franziska Wegdell and Johanna Schick is out! We explore if immature-directed vocalisations are present and in what quantity in wild great apes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The first empirical chapter of my PhD and the fruit of a hugely collaborative project led with Franziska Wegdell and Johanna Schick is out! We explore if immature-directed vocalisations are present and in what quantity in wild great apes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
📰 🐒 These exciting new results from our consortium are also featured in an article from The New York Times, by Carl Zimmer.
👉 www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/s...
👉 www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/s...
June 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
📰 🐒 These exciting new results from our consortium are also featured in an article from The New York Times, by Carl Zimmer.
👉 www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/s...
👉 www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/s...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
One thing that makes humans remarkable is baby talk. And that might be one reason why we have language. Here's my story [Gift link] nyti.ms/4k5duXd
Did Baby Talk Give Rise to Language?
The way that human adults talk to young children is unique among primates, a new study found. That might be one secret to our species’ grasp of language.
nyti.ms
June 25, 2025 at 7:28 PM
One thing that makes humans remarkable is baby talk. And that might be one reason why we have language. Here's my story [Gift link] nyti.ms/4k5duXd
We studied the evolution of infant-directed communication by comparing vocal input rates across great apes!
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
www.science.org
June 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM
We studied the evolution of infant-directed communication by comparing vocal input rates across great apes!
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
A collaborative study led by @carolinefryns.bsky.social, Johanna Schick and me;
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
🌍 Dream of adventure in the heart of Africa? Boost your career in conservation or research as a field researcher on wild bonobos in the DRC! Paid, full training, project management skills & epic experience await.
Apply ASAP & RT to share! 👉 bit.ly/bondiv2025 #conservationjobs #research
Apply ASAP & RT to share! 👉 bit.ly/bondiv2025 #conservationjobs #research
June 24, 2025 at 4:18 PM
🌍 Dream of adventure in the heart of Africa? Boost your career in conservation or research as a field researcher on wild bonobos in the DRC! Paid, full training, project management skills & epic experience await.
Apply ASAP & RT to share! 👉 bit.ly/bondiv2025 #conservationjobs #research
Apply ASAP & RT to share! 👉 bit.ly/bondiv2025 #conservationjobs #research
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
New paper on the role of peers in language acquisition: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
Children Learn Best From Their Peers: The Crucial Role of Input From Other Children in Language Development
direct.mit.edu
June 20, 2025 at 5:17 AM
New paper on the role of peers in language acquisition: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
Working with @wildcognition.bsky.social on this paper was so much fun: drawing from our research with mammals (primates & hyenas) we discuss to what extent the urban niche poses novel cognitive challenges or whether they are exapted to exploit urban resources
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
How cognitively demanding is the urban niche? Reconsidering exaptation and habituation - Animal Cognition
Urbanization is hypothesized to create a myriad of cognitive challenges for animals because it creates novel environmental conditions in evolutionary terms. The consensus is that these novel urban cha...
link.springer.com
June 17, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Working with @wildcognition.bsky.social on this paper was so much fun: drawing from our research with mammals (primates & hyenas) we discuss to what extent the urban niche poses novel cognitive challenges or whether they are exapted to exploit urban resources
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
📢 Fully-funded PhD opportunity!
Explore the links between social & communication networks in ring-tailed lemurs!
Exciting fieldwork, interdisciplinary team, and innovative technologies! Apply now and join @primatenzentrum.bsky.social & @unigoettingen.bsky.social for this cutting-edge research!
Explore the links between social & communication networks in ring-tailed lemurs!
Exciting fieldwork, interdisciplinary team, and innovative technologies! Apply now and join @primatenzentrum.bsky.social & @unigoettingen.bsky.social for this cutting-edge research!
April 29, 2025 at 8:53 AM
📢 Fully-funded PhD opportunity!
Explore the links between social & communication networks in ring-tailed lemurs!
Exciting fieldwork, interdisciplinary team, and innovative technologies! Apply now and join @primatenzentrum.bsky.social & @unigoettingen.bsky.social for this cutting-edge research!
Explore the links between social & communication networks in ring-tailed lemurs!
Exciting fieldwork, interdisciplinary team, and innovative technologies! Apply now and join @primatenzentrum.bsky.social & @unigoettingen.bsky.social for this cutting-edge research!
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
400 people w/ doctorates read the same research abstract where the lead authors name was either male or female. Participants felt the discovery in the abstract was more important when the author was male & spent more time reading it(114s for male authored; 98s female). www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...
Men Get More Patent Credit Than Women, Even For The Same Idea
A new study finds that scientific papers authored by women are cited less often in patented inventions than those by men. Here's the reason and why it matters.
www.forbes.com
April 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
400 people w/ doctorates read the same research abstract where the lead authors name was either male or female. Participants felt the discovery in the abstract was more important when the author was male & spent more time reading it(114s for male authored; 98s female). www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
Many fields use video coding + interrater reliability. But: how reliable are those reliability tests?
No standards exist for sample size, clip choice, or metrics - a blind spot.
We present BRAVO—a first workflow to improve reliability by restricting coders DOF.
[Paper is OA]
#Reproducibility
No standards exist for sample size, clip choice, or metrics - a blind spot.
We present BRAVO—a first workflow to improve reliability by restricting coders DOF.
[Paper is OA]
#Reproducibility
April 20, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Many fields use video coding + interrater reliability. But: how reliable are those reliability tests?
No standards exist for sample size, clip choice, or metrics - a blind spot.
We present BRAVO—a first workflow to improve reliability by restricting coders DOF.
[Paper is OA]
#Reproducibility
No standards exist for sample size, clip choice, or metrics - a blind spot.
We present BRAVO—a first workflow to improve reliability by restricting coders DOF.
[Paper is OA]
#Reproducibility
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
Bonobo Sanctuary, Lola Ya Bonobo, is flooded. Financial help is needed to help them restore their facilities and keep the bonobos safe.
The world's only sanctuary for one of our closest relatives, the endangered bonobo, is experiencing severe flooding. Please consider donating to help them navigate this crisis: savebonobos.org/FloodRelief
April 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Bonobo Sanctuary, Lola Ya Bonobo, is flooded. Financial help is needed to help them restore their facilities and keep the bonobos safe.
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
🚨New in @science.org🚨
With Simon Townsend (@nccrlanguage.bsky.social) and Martin Surbeck, we have investigated whether wild bonobos can combine calls in complex combinations, similar to how humans combine words into sentences 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#ScienceResearch #AnimalCommunication
With Simon Townsend (@nccrlanguage.bsky.social) and Martin Surbeck, we have investigated whether wild bonobos can combine calls in complex combinations, similar to how humans combine words into sentences 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#ScienceResearch #AnimalCommunication
Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos
Compositionality, the capacity to combine meaningful elements into larger meaningful structures, is a hallmark of human language. Compositionality can be trivial (the combination’s meaning is the sum ...
www.science.org
April 4, 2025 at 8:22 AM
🚨New in @science.org🚨
With Simon Townsend (@nccrlanguage.bsky.social) and Martin Surbeck, we have investigated whether wild bonobos can combine calls in complex combinations, similar to how humans combine words into sentences 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#ScienceResearch #AnimalCommunication
With Simon Townsend (@nccrlanguage.bsky.social) and Martin Surbeck, we have investigated whether wild bonobos can combine calls in complex combinations, similar to how humans combine words into sentences 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#ScienceResearch #AnimalCommunication
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
🌿 Become a Field Site Manager for the Moyen Bafing Chimpanzee Project in Guinea! 🌿 We're seeking a dedicated individual to oversee operations and support research starting as early as April 2025. Be part of a team exploring chimpanzee behavioral ecology in the stunning PNMB!
March 4, 2025 at 10:09 AM
🌿 Become a Field Site Manager for the Moyen Bafing Chimpanzee Project in Guinea! 🌿 We're seeking a dedicated individual to oversee operations and support research starting as early as April 2025. Be part of a team exploring chimpanzee behavioral ecology in the stunning PNMB!
Reposted by Dr. Franziska Wegdell
🚨 Preprint alert 🚨 – My first PhD paper is out as a preprint!
Need a break from everything happening in the world? Time to focus on #great #apes 🐵✨.
We investigated whether wild #bonobo infants develop more slowly than #chimpanzee infants, but the answer isn’t so clear-cut!
Need a break from everything happening in the world? Time to focus on #great #apes 🐵✨.
We investigated whether wild #bonobo infants develop more slowly than #chimpanzee infants, but the answer isn’t so clear-cut!
Great Ape Childhoods: Development of infant bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the wild https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.14.643318v1
March 18, 2025 at 9:56 AM
🚨 Preprint alert 🚨 – My first PhD paper is out as a preprint!
Need a break from everything happening in the world? Time to focus on #great #apes 🐵✨.
We investigated whether wild #bonobo infants develop more slowly than #chimpanzee infants, but the answer isn’t so clear-cut!
Need a break from everything happening in the world? Time to focus on #great #apes 🐵✨.
We investigated whether wild #bonobo infants develop more slowly than #chimpanzee infants, but the answer isn’t so clear-cut!