NEW on #theBOUblog from Malin Klumpp
At EOU2025: Using genomics to study how birds are moving and redistributing behavioural traits across geographic space
bou.org.uk/blog-klum...
#ornithology 🪶
Now with pagination on cowbird vs. host begging muscles www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.... by incoming Asst. Prof. of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo! Congrats @nickantonson.bsky.social
This is so, so well-articulated.
BOU
Antonson et al. show that cowbirds’ neck muscles are unusually fatigue-resistant, suggesting muscular innovation for exaggerated begging as a key driver for how brood parasites outcompete hosts.
Available now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Are you a bachelor's / master's student looking for a thesis project or Erasmus Internship? We’re looking for someone to come and help us collecting data! If you’re interested, feel free to contact me! :)
Paul Ehrlich has died. Most will remember him for "The Population Bomb." But for many of us, Ehrlich and Raven 1964 was a foundational read that influenced our careers. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
“A newly discovered form of deception is more convoluted yet: The larvae of blister beetles emit a mix of volatile scents that resemble a flower, attracting bees. The beetles then latch onto the bee, hitch a ride to its nest, and eat the eggs.”
#scicomm
www.science.org/content/arti...
🧪
Sexier in the city? Urban male great bowerbirds decorate bowers with human-made objects, creating brighter and more varied displays than rural males. Males strongly prefer human-made objects over natural ones, possibly boosting their appeal to females! shorturl.at/lcNY2 @royalsocietypublishing.org
Dr Mark E Hauber
New paper in @journal-evo.bsky.social and I'll be defending my thesis in a few hours!
Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
🥳🥳🥳 another thesis chapter accepted, and very happy it's in @journal-evo.bsky.social
Behavioral traits are thought to be rarely or slowly lost when selection relaxes, but attempts to confirm this are rare. At the same time, behaviors can be
