Simon W. Townsend
@SimonWTownsend
Assoc. Prof. (Evo Anth) @uzh_en; Interested in animal communication. Main question that bothers me: How did language evolve?
Very happy to share our new paper investigating compositionality in the vocal system of wild bonobos in @ScienceMagazine led by @BerthetMelissa w/@kokolopori! @snsf_ch @UZH_Science @NCCR_Language science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
New paper out in eLife! 🎉 Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use elifesciences.org/articles/105411 (including videos of wild elderly chimpanzees using tools! 🪨🌰)
New paper @RSocPublishing investigating the representations underlying bonobo food and alarm calls w/Nicole Lahiff @zannaclay Amanda Epping, Jared Taglialatela and Katie Slocombe. @snsf_ch @UZH_Science @NCCR_Language royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…
We feel very honoured for receiving a commendation in the International Primatological Society (IPS) Ethics, Diversity, Equality & Inclusivity awards for the Nimba Chimpanzee Project 🤩🙏❤️ @APE_Group_UZH @UZH_Science @JGISchweiz @IPS_PrimateNews
📣ATTENTION!!! Two PhD positions on Creativity in Wild Chimpanzees and Bonobos 🤩@snsf_ch @UZH_en @univofstandrews Come join @APE_Group_UZH & Wild Minds Lab @NakedPrimate ✨Please RT✨ @EFPrimatology @PsgbStudent @BiologicalAnth @IPS_PrimateNews @PrimateEducate
Delighted to see our new paper out in @ScienceAdvances investigating the evolution of infant directed communication, led by Franziska Wegdell, Johanna Schick and Caroline Fryns @UZH_Science @cog_comp_Neuch
New research suggests infant-directed communication expanded in humans and likely emerged after diverging from our great ape common ancestor approximately 6 to 8 million years ago. Learn more in this week’s issue of Science Advances: scim.ag/44n6oaT
🚨 Language connection FOUND in chimpanzees? 🧠🗣️ For years, scientists thought the key to human language was a fibre connection, missing in chimp brains. New high-res brain scans just changed the game. 👀🐒 📖 Read the full story: rdcu.be/el857 1/n 🧵👇
TLDR: new paper headed up by @EleuteriVesta & with an awesome team, incl @AndreaRavignani , showing chimps have rhythm in their drumming & differences b/w east & west drum rhythms! But didn’t we know this already you ask? Well… 🧵1/16
Chimpanzee subspecies drum with distinct rhythms; a finding that could shed light on the building blocks of human musicality. 🥁 See an example of drumming below and learn more in @currentbiology: cell.com/current-biolog… @EleuteriVesta Andrea Ravignani, Catherine Hobaiter
📣 PhD position in Statistical Modelling of Language Evolution at our institute, to work with Prof Balthasar Bickel on modelling language diversification, see details here: isle.uzh.ch/en/jobs/phd-st…
Interested in the evolution of human language and in understanding the pressures that shape languages today? Come do a PhD with me! Fully funded PhD position available in my group @MPI_NL, application deadline June 2nd: mpi.nl/career-educati…
Our new paper is out!🐒🔊 Studying two wild chimpanzee populations, we found they flexibly adjust pant hoot acoustics to context (feed vs. travel). Most patterns are shared, but some community differences may suggest a small role for vocal usage learning. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbe…
How did vocal communication come to dominate human language? In our new @PLOSBiology paper @NeuroSLAMlab and I suggest the uterine environment might represent a small but significant piece of the language evolution puzzle! @NCCR_Language @UZH_Science journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…
Fully funded PhD position on Hominin Life History Evolution available in my new lab @UZH_en Please retweet! Link: uzh-my.sharepoint.com/my?id=%2Fperso…
Wild bonobos—our closest living relatives—communicate using vocal calls organized in compositionally complex semantic structures that mirror key features of human language, according to a new Science study. scim.ag/42t71Qm
Exciting new methods and results by Mélissa Berthet, Martin Surbeck and Simon Townsend: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
Bonobos, unsere nächsten lebenden Verwandten, bilden komplexe Lautfolgen, die menschlichen Wortkombinationen ähneln: news.uzh.ch/de/articles/me… @SimonWTownsend @Mael_Lx @ISLE_uzh @NCCR_Language @UZH_Science
The peeps, hoots and grunts of wild bonobos, a species of great ape living in the African rainforest, can convey complex thoughts in a way that mirrors some elements of human language, a new study suggests. nbcnews.com/science/scienc…
We have lost a legend. Yesterday morning, I received the devastating news that Kanzi, the world’s most famous bonobo, died unexpectedly the day before, in the company of his bonobo family @ApeInitiative. I've written here about this tremendous loss. We will miss him dearly.
‼️Save the date‼️The new Max Planck #Postdoc Program kicks off its first call for applications from April 1, 2025; applications can be submitted until May 13, 2025. mpg.de/en/max-planck-… #ScienceCareer
The #BiologyLetters Early Career Researcher Competition is back for 2025! You must be an #ECR to opt-in and submit your research by 30 April 2025 for the chance to win £1000. Two runners-up will also receive £500 each. Find out more: ow.ly/aCgx50UCo2H