Alexis Breen (@alexisjbreen.bsky.social)

New #openaccess paper: Animal culture research should include avian nest construction @RSocPublishing @MPI_EVA_Leipzig @maxplanckpress doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2… Why? (1/4)

🎉NEW PAPER🎉 w/@dominik_deffner out today in @eLife "Risk-sensitive learning is a winning strategy for leading an urban invasion" 🐦‍⬛🏙️ Link: elifesciences.org/articles/89315 Preprint 🧵👇 @MPI_EVA_Leipzig @mpib_berlin @arc_mpib

Hoping to start a PhD next year? Like macroevolution / mammals / morphology? Want to live next to the beach and just outside the Cairngorms? I'm advertising a PhD position at the University of Aberdeen 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Open to international students; deadline Nov 27! findaphd.com/phds/project/e…

Me too... @alexisjbreen.bsky.social 🦋

Amazing team to work with ! 🐦‍⬛

It's that time of year again - #CrowCoG is advertising for 🚨 MULTIPLE PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS (APRIL - SEP 2025) 🚨 to help us conduct field- and aviary-based study of the tool-making and -using New Caledonian crows! Advert: bit.ly/3Ys7O2c PLEASE SHARE!

Proud of my colleagues @alexisjbreen @dominik_deffner who mastered a ton of probabilistic programming & evolutionary algorithms so they could push this work beyond the status quo, connect theory to empirical data in an algorithmic transparent way. Good modest slow cooked science

Animals can live alongside humans if they are risk-analysis experts. This is according to a new study in @eLife by @alexisjbreen @MPI_EVA_Leipzig & @dominik_deffner @mpib_berlin. More: tinyurl.com/yc857kjj & elifesciences.org/articles/89315

Two years ago I was doing fieldwork working with this amazing model system, my Twitter post went viral! Today, the paper on nest architecture in Scaptotrigona depilis is out in @CurrentBiology! You can download the full paper here authors.elsevier.com/c/1inWS3QW8S6D…

Why do we see sex-biases in tool use in some primate groups but not in others? Read my 2nd PhD chapter, #openaccess in @AmJournalPrimat (doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23…) for an exploration of this question in an unique island system where white-faced capuchins use stone tools. A🧵(1/8)

Hermit crabs now use #plastic instead of natural shells for shelter - using iEcology, we show for the first time that this behaviour is widespread across species & geographical locations. Wonderful work by @JagielloZuzanna & @DyluEcology. sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

One week left to apply (Deadline: 08 Dec) - come join the #CrowCoG 2024 field team!

New paper out today! Most (but not all!) birds build nests. But what kind of nests? Where do they put them? How big are those nests? What's in them? Which parent builds, and how long does it take? In GEB, we present a global database of nest traits: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

#CrowCoG is hiring up to six PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS for our 2024 field season (April - Sep) ‼️ Help us observe and conduct behavioural studies on the remarkable tool-making and using New Caledonian crows🏝️🇳🇨 Details: bit.ly/3MCorSg Please share ‼️

Need illustration for your presentations? 🐙🦦🐍Check out our open-source website dedicated to sharing scientific illustrations--> fr.momentoanimalis.com It’s a collaborative project possible thanks to the talented Alice Petzold and @BridgetSquidget More illustrations to come !

Like big-scale evolution and also working with live animals? Think animal behaviour's super neat? Consider this (funded!) PhD position! Based at University of St Andrews, co-supervised by me & Sue Healy, open to international students, deadline Nov 27! findaphd.com/phds/project/e…

In the dry savannah and shrublands, a tiny bird, the Anthoscopus minutus builds its nest from spider silk and plant fibres It builds a false entry and a blind chamber to avoid predation Watch it close the ‘door’ as it leaves, leaving the false one ajar

There’s still time to apply! Deadline: 14 July. Live in New Zealand 🏝️ Science in New Caledonia 🥾Join a supportive and multi-disciplinary global team 🌏

#CrowCoG is seeking qualified applicants for🚨TWO FUNDED PHD POSITIONS🚨 Field and aviary work; international team; and of course, the tool-using New Caledonian crows. Full info here: bit.ly/3Pht46r Please RT!