Laura Kelley
@lauraakelley.bsky.social
Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK. Interested in visual ecology, animal behaviour, illusions, and all things bowerbirdy www.laurakelleyresearch.wordpress.com
Found this bower too - probably an immature male(s) learning how to build and display, but will keep an eye to see if it neatens up and some decorations appear
October 9, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Found this bower too - probably an immature male(s) learning how to build and display, but will keep an eye to see if it neatens up and some decorations appear
Also managed to track down some immature male great bowerbirds today, they were displaying at trees to get some practice in (paper on this shorturl.at/jqOQt). Found these two sites due to the birds making a right racket!
October 9, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Also managed to track down some immature male great bowerbirds today, they were displaying at trees to get some practice in (paper on this shorturl.at/jqOQt). Found these two sites due to the birds making a right racket!
One of the risks of bowerbirds sharing space with a university - sometimes scientific equipment (and samples) get pinched! Soy sauce containers also seem to be popular
October 9, 2025 at 5:33 AM
One of the risks of bowerbirds sharing space with a university - sometimes scientific equipment (and samples) get pinched! Soy sauce containers also seem to be popular
This bower was located next to a nursery, something tells me the male bowerbird owner has been pinching from the kids 😆
October 8, 2025 at 7:41 AM
This bower was located next to a nursery, something tells me the male bowerbird owner has been pinching from the kids 😆
Back in the land of bowers this week! Investigating how male courtship signals are affected by urbanisation #greatbowerbirds @uniexecec.bsky.social
October 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Back in the land of bowers this week! Investigating how male courtship signals are affected by urbanisation #greatbowerbirds @uniexecec.bsky.social
Come join us at the @asab.org Winter Conference 2025: how sensory info affects behaviour.
15th & 16th Dec, abstracts due end Aug. More info and registration asabwinter.github.io/2025
Co-hosted with @jtroscianko.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill
15th & 16th Dec, abstracts due end Aug. More info and registration asabwinter.github.io/2025
Co-hosted with @jtroscianko.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill
July 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Come join us at the @asab.org Winter Conference 2025: how sensory info affects behaviour.
15th & 16th Dec, abstracts due end Aug. More info and registration asabwinter.github.io/2025
Co-hosted with @jtroscianko.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill
15th & 16th Dec, abstracts due end Aug. More info and registration asabwinter.github.io/2025
Co-hosted with @jtroscianko.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill
Black margins are important for size discrimination - female green swordtails prefer larger males but preference is lost when black margins on tail are absent. Seems they can't judge which male is bigger without black margin! shorturl.at/6GKA2
@uniexecec.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org
@uniexecec.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org
January 29, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Black margins are important for size discrimination - female green swordtails prefer larger males but preference is lost when black margins on tail are absent. Seems they can't judge which male is bigger without black margin! shorturl.at/6GKA2
@uniexecec.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org
@uniexecec.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org
5) Like your organisms smaller? PhD studentship with @padpadpadpad.bsky.social on understanding how temperature may alter the ecology and evolution of AMR.
December 9, 2024 at 4:23 PM
5) Like your organisms smaller? PhD studentship with @padpadpadpad.bsky.social on understanding how temperature may alter the ecology and evolution of AMR.
3) Badgers! What happens to their immune systems as they age? With @andyyoung.bsky.social and @btschirren.bsky.social
December 5, 2024 at 9:43 AM
3) Badgers! What happens to their immune systems as they age? With @andyyoung.bsky.social and @btschirren.bsky.social
2) Herring gulls! What role do they play in spreading disease and antimicrobial resistance? With @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social and @padpadpadpad.bsky.social
December 5, 2024 at 9:43 AM
2) Herring gulls! What role do they play in spreading disease and antimicrobial resistance? With @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social and @padpadpadpad.bsky.social
Congratulations to Menno van Berkel on passing his PhD viva yesterday! 🐦🪺 Huge thanks to @sjportugal.bsky.social and Neeltje Boogert for being excellent examiners and Alex Thornton for being a fab cosupervisor!
November 15, 2024 at 9:39 AM
Congratulations to Menno van Berkel on passing his PhD viva yesterday! 🐦🪺 Huge thanks to @sjportugal.bsky.social and Neeltje Boogert for being excellent examiners and Alex Thornton for being a fab cosupervisor!
It's nice to be back!
November 21, 2024 at 9:46 PM
It's nice to be back!
New bowerbird paper! Male great bowerbirds build display courts that are linked to mating success, and we found that object availability 🧱 rather than male building ability 👷 explains variation in court quality rb.gy/vznmm7
February 5, 2024 at 1:54 PM
New bowerbird paper! Male great bowerbirds build display courts that are linked to mating success, and we found that object availability 🧱 rather than male building ability 👷 explains variation in court quality rb.gy/vznmm7
I love ordering things from @OrdnanceSurvey as they use mis-printed maps and offcuts as packing paper, which makes me inordinately happy 🗺️
November 21, 2024 at 9:52 PM
I love ordering things from @OrdnanceSurvey as they use mis-printed maps and offcuts as packing paper, which makes me inordinately happy 🗺️
Any gardeners know who the methodical predator might be? Canna lily in Cornwall.
November 21, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Any gardeners know who the methodical predator might be? Canna lily in Cornwall.
Normally our deutzia is absolutely hooching with bees when flowering, it's eerily quiet this year 🥺
November 21, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Normally our deutzia is absolutely hooching with bees when flowering, it's eerily quiet this year 🥺
So why is this study interesting? Well, it extends proportional processing of signals into another sensory modality. It also suggests that benefits of ever-larger signals may diminish as females are less able to discriminate between signal magnitudes = evolution of novel traits?
November 21, 2024 at 10:46 PM
So why is this study interesting? Well, it extends proportional processing of signals into another sensory modality. It also suggests that benefits of ever-larger signals may diminish as females are less able to discriminate between signal magnitudes = evolution of novel traits?
Some stimulus pairs had the same absolute differences between males, but different proportional differences. Females had a stronger preference for the larger male in a pair when the pair were generally smaller (⬇️ left), compared to when the pair were generally larger (⬇️ right)
November 21, 2024 at 10:41 PM
Some stimulus pairs had the same absolute differences between males, but different proportional differences. Females had a stronger preference for the larger male in a pair when the pair were generally smaller (⬇️ left), compared to when the pair were generally larger (⬇️ right)
As we predicted, female preference for the larger male was best explained by the proportional difference between males, rather than the absolute difference. Cool! Proportional processing occurs during assessment of visual signals!
November 21, 2024 at 10:35 PM
As we predicted, female preference for the larger male was best explained by the proportional difference between males, rather than the absolute difference. Cool! Proportional processing occurs during assessment of visual signals!
We presented females with animations of pairs of males (one male at either end of a tank) that differed in size, and quantified mate preference by association time. We tested females on 11 different pairs of males.
November 21, 2024 at 10:30 PM
We presented females with animations of pairs of males (one male at either end of a tank) that differed in size, and quantified mate preference by association time. We tested females on 11 different pairs of males.
Enter the green swordtail (male ⬇️). Females prefer to mate with larger males, and most conveniently they also respond to Powerpoint animations of males as though they were real males.
November 21, 2024 at 10:24 PM
Enter the green swordtail (male ⬇️). Females prefer to mate with larger males, and most conveniently they also respond to Powerpoint animations of males as though they were real males.
What about during signal assessment in mate choice? Túngara frogs proportionally assess vocalisations, but we wanted to know whether visual signals were also assessed proportionally.
November 21, 2024 at 10:19 PM
What about during signal assessment in mate choice? Túngara frogs proportionally assess vocalisations, but we wanted to know whether visual signals were also assessed proportionally.
However, sensory systems often process signals in a non-linear way, e.g. through Weber's Law of proportional processing. Here, discrimination between stimuli is based on proportional (relative), rather than absolute difference in magnitude.
November 21, 2024 at 10:13 PM
However, sensory systems often process signals in a non-linear way, e.g. through Weber's Law of proportional processing. Here, discrimination between stimuli is based on proportional (relative), rather than absolute difference in magnitude.
When considering mate choice where signals of magnitude (eg size of ornament) are assessed, it is often assumed that signals are perceived in a linear way, where an increase in signal magnitude results in a commensurate increase in receiver response.
November 21, 2024 at 10:08 PM
When considering mate choice where signals of magnitude (eg size of ornament) are assessed, it is often assumed that signals are perceived in a linear way, where an increase in signal magnitude results in a commensurate increase in receiver response.
Finally have a moment for a short thread about new @Ecology_Letters paper led by the amazing @EleanorCaves, available here https://bit.ly/3IzkCvH We tested whether female green swordtails assess male body size in absolute or relative terms. Why is this important? Read on…
November 21, 2024 at 10:03 PM
Finally have a moment for a short thread about new @Ecology_Letters paper led by the amazing @EleanorCaves, available here https://bit.ly/3IzkCvH We tested whether female green swordtails assess male body size in absolute or relative terms. Why is this important? Read on…