Sharmi Sen
@sharmisen.bsky.social
Behavioral ecologist // evolutionary anthropologist
Interested in all things related to ~~social evolution~~
Postdoc studying behavior, sexual selection & nutrition of wild primates
she/hers
Interested in all things related to ~~social evolution~~
Postdoc studying behavior, sexual selection & nutrition of wild primates
she/hers
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Happy Thanksgiving Week!! 🦃🦃🦃
Here at @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social we are giving thanks to all our wonderful donors 👛 🔃and stellar volunteers 🐝 🐝who keep Team ABC running throughout the year! 💪
Here at @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social we are giving thanks to all our wonderful donors 👛 🔃and stellar volunteers 🐝 🐝who keep Team ABC running throughout the year! 💪
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Happy Thanksgiving Week!! 🦃🦃🦃
Here at @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social we are giving thanks to all our wonderful donors 👛 🔃and stellar volunteers 🐝 🐝who keep Team ABC running throughout the year! 💪
Here at @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social we are giving thanks to all our wonderful donors 👛 🔃and stellar volunteers 🐝 🐝who keep Team ABC running throughout the year! 💪
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Fascinating longitudinal study in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @alicebaniel.bsky.social @jbeehner.bsky.social and colleagues, providing evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate (gelada) 🧪
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate
Baniel et al. show that female geladas deceptively signal fertility when a new dominant
male arrives. Across 14 years of data, lactating females displayed fertility signals
and mated without conceivin...
www.cell.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Fascinating longitudinal study in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @alicebaniel.bsky.social @jbeehner.bsky.social and colleagues, providing evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate (gelada) 🧪
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Our #mentorshipmatching event is two days away now!! 📣
--> Sign up to be a mentor/mentee, join the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social community!! 🐝🐝🐝
--> Share this with interested students and ECRs in your group!
--> Become a monthly donor to help us keep growing!
--> Sign up to be a mentor/mentee, join the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social community!! 🐝🐝🐝
--> Share this with interested students and ECRs in your group!
--> Become a monthly donor to help us keep growing!
We’re thrilled to announce the ABC's fourth mentorship-matching event!! 📣📣
This is a unique opportunity for you to meet and connect with experienced mentors. The mentorship match event - more of an informal "vibe check" - will be on Nov 6 2025 at 14:00 GMT 🐝🐝
Help us spread the word!! #mentorship
This is a unique opportunity for you to meet and connect with experienced mentors. The mentorship match event - more of an informal "vibe check" - will be on Nov 6 2025 at 14:00 GMT 🐝🐝
Help us spread the word!! #mentorship
November 4, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Our #mentorshipmatching event is two days away now!! 📣
--> Sign up to be a mentor/mentee, join the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social community!! 🐝🐝🐝
--> Share this with interested students and ECRs in your group!
--> Become a monthly donor to help us keep growing!
--> Sign up to be a mentor/mentee, join the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social community!! 🐝🐝🐝
--> Share this with interested students and ECRs in your group!
--> Become a monthly donor to help us keep growing!
This is a fantastic opportunity!!
Sign up to be a @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social mentor today!
Share this with other mentees who will benefit from this program 🐝🐝🐝
Sign up to be a @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social mentor today!
Share this with other mentees who will benefit from this program 🐝🐝🐝
We’re thrilled to announce the ABC's fourth mentorship-matching event!! 📣📣
This is a unique opportunity for you to meet and connect with experienced mentors. The mentorship match event - more of an informal "vibe check" - will be on Nov 6 2025 at 14:00 GMT 🐝🐝
Help us spread the word!! #mentorship
This is a unique opportunity for you to meet and connect with experienced mentors. The mentorship match event - more of an informal "vibe check" - will be on Nov 6 2025 at 14:00 GMT 🐝🐝
Help us spread the word!! #mentorship
October 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
This is a fantastic opportunity!!
Sign up to be a @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social mentor today!
Share this with other mentees who will benefit from this program 🐝🐝🐝
Sign up to be a @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social mentor today!
Share this with other mentees who will benefit from this program 🐝🐝🐝
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Interested in a PhD in ornithology? Funding available for projects at the interface of ecology, behaviour & evolution from Oct '26 working on long-term population studies of tits at Wytham, based in @biology.ox.ac.uk in the new Life & Mind Building in Oxford
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
October 20, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Interested in a PhD in ornithology? Funding available for projects at the interface of ecology, behaviour & evolution from Oct '26 working on long-term population studies of tits at Wytham, based in @biology.ox.ac.uk in the new Life & Mind Building in Oxford
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
I've received an 'exclusive' invite to try Nature's new 'research assistant', which will burn down a forest to provide a 'summary of the paper' I'm reading and I have SUCH exciting news for them, that's called an 'abstract' and the actual authors already wrote it for me, no forest-burning required.
October 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I've received an 'exclusive' invite to try Nature's new 'research assistant', which will burn down a forest to provide a 'summary of the paper' I'm reading and I have SUCH exciting news for them, that's called an 'abstract' and the actual authors already wrote it for me, no forest-burning required.
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
As a primatologist, Jane Goodall was a huge inspiration to me. I admired the way she describes chimpanzee behavior with such detail and empathy, and she’s inspired so many people and advocated for chimpanzee conservation and welfare.
However, I'm dismayed at what her narrative leaves out (1/10)
However, I'm dismayed at what her narrative leaves out (1/10)
October 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
As a primatologist, Jane Goodall was a huge inspiration to me. I admired the way she describes chimpanzee behavior with such detail and empathy, and she’s inspired so many people and advocated for chimpanzee conservation and welfare.
However, I'm dismayed at what her narrative leaves out (1/10)
However, I'm dismayed at what her narrative leaves out (1/10)
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
🚨Fully-funded PhD opportunity in my group🚨
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾
Find out by studying meerkats!
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Long-term data
🌍Kalahari fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
Get in touch or APPLY NOW
Please share!
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾
Find out by studying meerkats!
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Long-term data
🌍Kalahari fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
Get in touch or APPLY NOW
Please share!
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
October 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
🚨Fully-funded PhD opportunity in my group🚨
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾
Find out by studying meerkats!
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Long-term data
🌍Kalahari fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
Get in touch or APPLY NOW
Please share!
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾
Find out by studying meerkats!
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Long-term data
🌍Kalahari fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
Get in touch or APPLY NOW
Please share!
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
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
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
October 16, 2025 at 7:07 AM
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
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
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Listen to @ecunningham96.bsky.social explain how this research project idea began - "From pathology to pleasure Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates"
October 15, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Listen to @ecunningham96.bsky.social explain how this research project idea began - "From pathology to pleasure Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates"
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Are you studying animal sociality?
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
A causal framework for the drivers of animal social network structure
Author summary Behavioural ecologists ask mechanistic questions about behaviour—causal questions. When studying animal societies, these questions often concern the drivers of social network structure....
journals.plos.org
September 30, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Are you studying animal sociality?
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
🚨 New paper! 🚨
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
🚨 New paper! 🚨
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)
September 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Folks attending @behaviour2025.bsky.social in the city of joy!! 📣 Visit poster #72 to catch @delphinedemoor.bsky.social & @stotra.bsky.social repping Team @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social
Learn more about our collective 🐝 🐝🐝
Learn more about our collective 🐝 🐝🐝
Want to help make the field of animal behaviour more accessible to help? Visit the @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social at poster 72 to learn about how to apply for microgrants and mentorship, become a mentor or financial contributor. 🐝🐝🐝
@behaviour2025.bsky.social @asab.org
@behaviour2025.bsky.social @asab.org
Folks looking for support/guidance/mentorship in Animal Behaviour, pls come talk to us! We are representing @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social at #Behaviour2025 @asab.org poster session!! What a joy to be able to do this with colleague phenomenal @delphinedemoor.bsky.social and @emmasmcewen.bsky.social 🐝🤝
August 27, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Folks attending @behaviour2025.bsky.social in the city of joy!! 📣 Visit poster #72 to catch @delphinedemoor.bsky.social & @stotra.bsky.social repping Team @abcmicrogrants.bsky.social
Learn more about our collective 🐝 🐝🐝
Learn more about our collective 🐝 🐝🐝
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
May 13, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Grad students: Free training and community-building event this week!! If you are working on anything involving individuals or populations from an ecology or evolutionary perspective (including modeling!) your work probably qualifies as "animal behavior" for our purposes. You can still register!
We're hosting the virtual SIGNAL graduate student professional development program on May 15-16 at 11am -3:00pm ET! Graduate students at all levels, including incoming students and recent graduates, are invited to attend.
Register and learn more here: signal-ab.weebly.com
Register by 5/9!
Register and learn more here: signal-ab.weebly.com
Register by 5/9!
May 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Grad students: Free training and community-building event this week!! If you are working on anything involving individuals or populations from an ecology or evolutionary perspective (including modeling!) your work probably qualifies as "animal behavior" for our purposes. You can still register!
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Join us—mentee or mentor—for our next mentorship matching event! 🐝 We'll briefly introduce the ABC mentorship scheme & then there's plenty of time for mentees & mentors to get to know each other and decide if they'd like to start mentorship!
It is spring and time for a new round of mentorship matching!
This time we are also looking for new mentors, so if you are interested in supporting animal behaviours students do join us!
Mentee sign up here: forms.gle/zPgk4Nwq2znE...
Mentor sign up here: forms.gle/cD3cEqoXHaLT...
This time we are also looking for new mentors, so if you are interested in supporting animal behaviours students do join us!
Mentee sign up here: forms.gle/zPgk4Nwq2znE...
Mentor sign up here: forms.gle/cD3cEqoXHaLT...
March 12, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Join us—mentee or mentor—for our next mentorship matching event! 🐝 We'll briefly introduce the ABC mentorship scheme & then there's plenty of time for mentees & mentors to get to know each other and decide if they'd like to start mentorship!
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
We granted 8 microgrants totalling £1295! 🥳🥳🥳
Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶
Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶
March 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
We granted 8 microgrants totalling £1295! 🥳🥳🥳
Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶
Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
Today my partner Miranda Cosman (not on bsky) found out that her NIH funded post-doc is being cut a year early. If you're looking for an absolutely amazing researcher to join your lab please let me know. Miranda works on skeletal phenotypic plasticity in response to exercise and diet (continued)...
February 11, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Today my partner Miranda Cosman (not on bsky) found out that her NIH funded post-doc is being cut a year early. If you're looking for an absolutely amazing researcher to join your lab please let me know. Miranda works on skeletal phenotypic plasticity in response to exercise and diet (continued)...
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
So exciting to see MacaqueNet out into the world! 🤩
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
MacaqueNet: Advancing comparative behavioural research through large‐scale collaboration
We present MacaqueNet, a global community of macaque researchers who developed the first publicly searchable, standardised database on affiliative and agonistic behaviour. This cross-species database...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 12, 2025 at 10:09 AM
So exciting to see MacaqueNet out into the world! 🤩
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365...
Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
Reposted by Sharmi Sen
🧪 Check out our new paper in Sciences Advances! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
Stress responsiveness in a wild primate predicts survival across an extreme El Niño drought
White-faced capuchins with a stronger stress response to previous droughts were more likely to survive a severe El Niño drought.
www.science.org
January 22, 2025 at 9:34 PM
🧪 Check out our new paper in Sciences Advances! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social
🐒 When a severe drought hit a population of wild monkeys in Costa Rica, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive
@jbeehner.bsky.social @irene-godoy.bsky.social