Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sam Ellis

William O'Hearn

@williamohearn.bsky.social

New paper out in iScience. We found the pattern of Guinea baboon meat transfers follows the shape of their nested multi-level society. Transfers of meat are more tolerant at the lower levels of the society and are more likely to occur along stronger social relationships. www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Meat transfer patterns reflect the multi-level social system of Guinea baboons

Wildlife behavior; Biological sciences; Zoology; Evolutionary biology

www.cell.com

October 31, 2025 at 1:36 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Andy Radford

@andyradford.bsky.social

❓ Want to join us?
📢 Fully funded #PhD for UK-domiciled Black heritage candidates
🐵 Biological market monitoring & manipulation in social animals #mongooses #macaques #fieldwork

👥 With me, #LaurenBrent & #PatrickKennedy
🎓 @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

ℹ️ www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

🙏Share widely

October 16, 2025 at 7:46 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Darren Croft

@darrencroft.bsky.social

MSc by Res opportunity - developing behavioural indicators to inform killer whale conservation with
@exeter.ac.uk @whaleresearch.bsky.social @seadocsociety.bsky.social

People from underrepresented groups in marine science encouraged to apply.

Deadline 19Dec

www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

October 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Delphine De Moor

@delphinedemoor.bsky.social

Social relationships are powerful predictors of fitness across social animals. But *why*?

In our new @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social paper, we outline testable predictions for why relationship quality and quantity adaptively vary across socio-ecological contexts.

tinyurl.com/55dnkeh7

The Adaptive Relationships Framework illustrating how broad socioecological pressures shape the social solutions animals use to meet these challenges, and how these lead to social strategies and emergent structures that help them gain access to those solutions.

October 16, 2025 at 7:07 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Darren Croft

@darrencroft.bsky.social

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

September 23, 2025 at 6:29 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Julia M. Rohrer

@dingdingpeng.the100.ci

Ever stared at a table of regression coefficients & wondered what you're doing with your life?

Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social)
Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...

Models as Prediction Machines: How to Convert Confusing Coefficients into Clear Quantities

Abstract
Psychological researchers usually make sense of regression models by interpreting coefficient estimates directly. This works well enough for simple linear models, but is more challenging for more complex models with, for example, categorical variables, interactions, non-linearities, and hierarchical structures. Here, we introduce an alternative approach to making sense of statistical models. The central idea is to abstract away from the mechanics of estimation, and to treat models as “counterfactual prediction machines,” which are subsequently queried to estimate quantities and conduct tests that matter substantively. This workflow is model-agnostic; it can be applied in a consistent fashion to draw causal or descriptive inference from a wide range of models. We illustrate how to implement this workflow with the marginaleffects package, which supports over 100 different classes of models in R and Python, and present two worked examples. These examples show how the workflow can be applied across designs (e.g., observational study, randomized experiment) to answer different research questions (e.g., associations, causal effects, effect heterogeneity) while facing various challenges (e.g., controlling for confounders in a flexible manner, modelling ordinal outcomes, and interpreting non-linear models).

Figure illustrating model predictions. On the X-axis the predictor, annual gross income in Euro. On the Y-axis the outcome, predicted life satisfaction. A solid line marks the curve of predictions on which individual data points are marked as model-implied outcomes at incomes of interest. Comparing two such predictions gives us a comparison. We can also fit a tangent to the line of predictions, which illustrates the slope at any given point of the curve.

A figure illustrating various ways to include age as a predictor in a model. On the x-axis age (predictor), on the y-axis the outcome (model-implied importance of friends, including confidence intervals).

Illustrated are
1. age as a categorical predictor, resultings in the predictions bouncing around a lot with wide confidence intervals
2. age as a linear predictor, which forces a straight line through the data points that has a very tight confidence band and
3. age splines, which lies somewhere in between as it smoothly follows the data but has more uncertainty than the straight line.

August 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM

Sam Ellis

@samellisq.bsky.social

Pleasure and honour to have the opportunity to discuss some of the work we have been doing on over the last few years.

Thanks to @behaviour2025.bsky.social for the invite (and great conference), @asab.org for the funding and everyone who turned up to listen at 9am on day 5.

ASAB @asab.org · Aug 29

It may be 9am on Day 5, but of course nobody couldn’t miss @samellisq.bsky.social’s fascinating plenary on menopause in whales! 😍👵🐳 #Behaviour2025

Sam in front of a slide reading Social behaviour, and the evolution of menopause in toothed whales

August 29, 2025 at 10:26 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Lauren Brent

@ljnbrent.bsky.social

Animal Behaviour from Exeter and Bristol, plus some of our alumni, went to @behaviour2025.bsky.social in Kolkata and had mountains of rice. @crab-exeter.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

August 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM

Sam Ellis

@samellisq.bsky.social

It was a real pleasure to have accidently been involved in Joe Wilde's (not here) paper published last week: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

It has terrifying Bayesian Hidden Markov Models, important insights about dynamic sexual signalling, and a robot crab called "Wavey Dave"- what's not to love?

August 20, 2025 at 8:54 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Kate Laskowski

@katelaskowski.bsky.social

BEHAVIOR IS THE WAY

Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · Aug 7

Exhilarating to see organismal agency in evolution at such a large scale! Organisms chose where to live and what to eat, and only after tens of thousands of generations and after much later speciation events the efficiency was achieved
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
🧪 ⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio #EvoBio

Testing the three pillars of behavioral drive.

August 7, 2025 at 5:16 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Daniel Redhead

@danielredhead.bsky.social

🐒🕸️ New preprint! Confused about how to model animal social networks?

ASNA can be confusing—but also full of opportunity. We break down 5 common misunderstandings in animal social network analysis and share solutions from behavioural ecology, anthro, stats, & network science. Hope it helps!

A 🧵

Five misunderstandings in animal social network analysis

ecoevorxiv.org

August 4, 2025 at 4:21 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Lauren Brent

@ljnbrent.bsky.social

I learned a lot working on this new paper with this group of network scientists, sociologists, anthropologists and behavioural ecologists. We're hoping it helps anyone who feels (understandably!) lost in the animal social networks weeds.

Daniel Redhead @danielredhead.bsky.social · Aug 4

🐒🕸️ New preprint! Confused about how to model animal social networks?

ASNA can be confusing—but also full of opportunity. We break down 5 common misunderstandings in animal social network analysis and share solutions from behavioural ecology, anthro, stats, & network science. Hope it helps!

A 🧵

Five misunderstandings in animal social network analysis

ecoevorxiv.org

August 6, 2025 at 2:39 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Robin Morrison

@robinmorrison.bsky.social

Loved listening to this discussion, and so pleased our research on the gorillas monitored by @savinggorillas.bsky.social, led by the fantastic Vic Martignac is resonating with so many!

Gilly Forrester @gillyforrester.bsky.social · Aug 6

On the radio this morning #BBC Radio Sussex with Sarah Gorrell chatting about a new study about gorilla female relationships from researchers at University of Zurich: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

You can listen here by rewinding to 10:38

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Dispersed female networks: female gorillas’ inter-group relationships influence dispersal decisions | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Dispersal is a fundamental aspect of many animal societies, impacting gene flow, knowledge transmission, culture and individual fitness. However, little is known about the information individuals use ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

August 6, 2025 at 11:01 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Laura Kelley

@lauraakelley.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

July 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Randall Munroe

@xkcd.com

Geology Murder

xkcd.com/3112/

Comic. [two people in labcoats look at body pierced with blade draped over bench] PERSON 1: We found him lying uncomformably on the lab bench. I wonder if the iron-rich intrusion in his back is related. PERSON 2 with ponytail: It could be clastic. Maybe a rift opened in his body, and the intrusive material later fell into the hole. [caption] The Geology Department Investigates Their First Murder

July 9, 2025 at 1:19 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Dieter Lukas

@dieterlukas.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy

Our #study finds that #male #dominance isn't the norm among #primates, and starts to unravel what shapes flexibility in intersexual power

paper (OA) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500405122

press release https://www.mpg.de/24986976/0630-evan-beyond-the-alpha-male-150495-x?c=2249

July 8, 2025 at 1:56 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Randall Munroe

@xkcd.com

Good Science

xkcd.com/3101/

5-panel comic. (1) [teacher with long hair next to whiteboard] TEACHER: I’m supposed to give you the tools to do good science. (2) [teacher addressing students] But what *are* those tools? Methodology is hard and there are so many ways to get incorrect results. What is the magic ingredient that makes for good science? (3) TEACHER: To figure it out, I ran a regression with all the factors people say are important: [embedded list in sub-panel, cut off at end] Outcome variable: correct scientific results. Predictors: collaboration; skepticism of others’ claims; questioning your own beliefs; trying to falsify hypotheses; checking citations; statistical rigor; blinded analysis; financial disclosure; open data (4) TEACHER: The regression says two ingredients are the most crucial: 1) genuine curiosity about the answer to a question, and 2) ammonium hydroxide. (5) STUDENT: Wait, why did *ammonia* score so high? How did it even get on the list? LONG HAIR: ...And now you’re doing good science!

June 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Stephen Montgomery

@ebablab.bsky.social

🚨Anyone want a job?🚨
We have two #postdocs up for grabs! 🧪
- cell developmental biology/#evodevo/#neuroevodevo
- bioinformatics and molecular biology
Both working on brain evolution in Heliconiini butterflies
Details below! Please repost 🙏 1/n

June 4, 2025 at 9:51 AM

Sam Ellis

@samellisq.bsky.social

Very excited to see our paper using historical data to infer toothed whale lifespans published this week in the Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society (@biojlinnsoc.bsky.social)

doi.org/10.1093/biol...

w. @darrencroft.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social @mialybkaer.bsky.social, Dan Franks

June 6, 2025 at 10:15 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Lauren Brent

@ljnbrent.bsky.social

How good is it to get work with this lovely group of people in @crab-exeter.bsky.social every day? Answer: really really good!

May 13, 2025 at 1:50 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Marie Le Conte

@youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com

it's published! finally! in this week's newsletter: my attempt to go through every single reason why I both dislike and distrust generative AI: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/11-things-... [free to read!]

May 9, 2025 at 9:25 AM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Elva Robinson

@elvarobinson.bsky.social

Did you know about these tiny shiny ants (red arrow) living with wood ants (blue arrow)? They are Shining Guest Ants (Formicoxenus) and we have recently discovered that a wood ant nest can be home to several genetically distinct colonies of these 'guests'! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author... 1/5

A large wood ant, with a dull black gaster and head, and dull brown thorax, is on a pale stone background, and indicated by a blue arrow. Next to it a much smaller ant with a shiny back gaster and shiny brown head and thorax is indicated by a red arrow. The blue arrow at is the wood ant Formica lugubris and the red arrow at is the shining guest ant Formicoxenus nitidulus.

May 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Lauren Brent

@ljnbrent.bsky.social

Postdoc job alert! I'm hiring a 3-yr postdoc to work on our Social Modifiers of Primate Lifespans grant. Job info and how to apply below. Deadline June 1. Pls share! jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

Powered by MHR

jobs.exeter.ac.uk

May 2, 2025 at 3:43 PM

Reposted by Sam Ellis

Robin Morrison

@robinmorrison.bsky.social

Thrilled to have the 1st project in my @snsf-ch.bsky.social Ambizione fellowship in @pnas.org this week. With Vic Martignac, @samellisq.bsky.social and @savinggorillas.bsky.social we asked what is a good social environment for a gorilla? And the answer was complicated... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...