Chinmay Hemant Joshi

Chinmay Hemant Joshi

@chjoshi.bsky.social

Behavioral ecologist | Currently looking for Postdoc positions | PhD from @uofa-eeb.bsky.social‬ and MS from IISER-Trivandrum | Robustness of collective foraging, animal contest, and evolution of eusociality Website: chinmayhemantjoshi.wordpress.com

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Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Pre-print alert 🚨🐜🐝! Social insect foraging is far from perfect. @dornhaus.bsky.social and I designed an agent-based model to examine how different error types affect collective foraging outcomes and whether communication mitigates or exacerbates these effects. See the thread below! (1/6).

biorxiv.orgFrequent errors are the worst: robustness to individual failures in collective foragingThe collective behavior of complex systems emerges from the actions and interactions of their individual components. But what if these individuals make mistakes, or deviate from behavior tuned to lead...

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Michael Caterino
@mcaterino.bsky.social

Yet more evidence that we're not as different from other organisms as we like to think we are.

Perry Beasley-Hall, PhD@pbeasleyhall.bsky.social

A new study has found a species of #jumpingspider experiences at least two sleep stages, including one resembling REM. 🥹🕷️ #entomology #arachnology www.abc.net.au/news/science...

abc.net.auJumping spiders caught on camera sleeping and leg twitching like humansThe most comprehensive study of its kind confirms that jumping spiders go through two phases of sleep, including a REM-like state that is associated with human dreaming.

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Tomer J. Czaczkes
@tomerczaczkes.bsky.social

Amazing achievement - @curiousant.bsky.social has managed to image an individual ant pheromone dot for the first time. This opens so many new possibilities! arxiv.org/abs/2610.18079

arxiv.orgImaging the building blocks of ant pheromone communicationOrganisms have evolved diverse strategies to communicate. Beyond acoustic and visual signals, many species rely on chemical communication, including pheromones: volatile compounds involved in reproduc...

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Adria LeBoeuf
@adriatica.bsky.social

Ants are incredible

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social

The "glue-gun ant" Lordomyrma azumai uses an adhesive thread secretion to immobilize opponents https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757171v1

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Tomer J. Czaczkes
@tomerczaczkes.bsky.social

3+3 year postdoc position with the lovely Gabriele Uhl! Greifswald is a lovely, cosy city too. A really great opportunity for a behavioural ecologist.

Gabriele Uhl@uhl-lab.bsky.social

Postdoc Alert! New Postdoc Position for 3 years (max 3 more)- offers the freedom to develop your own research projects in close interaction with my group. Research on invertebrates preferred. Apply by October 31. Please RP. zoologie.uni-greifswald.de/en/organizat... 🧪

zoologie.uni-greifswald.deOpen Postdoc position (3 + max 3 years)Universität Greifswald

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Social Transfer Network
@socialtransfernet.bsky.social

Looking for a post doc? You can study the evolution of Socially Transferred Materials in Amsterdam and become part of an international team!

Joris M. Koene@joriskoene.bsky.social

Are you a biologist with experience in and enthusiasm for imaging and -omics techniques? Apply for working in Amsterdam (@vuamsterdam.bsky.social) on the exciting topic of socially transferred materials! 🐌 🐸 🐜🧬🔬 workingat.vu.nl/vacancies/po...

workingat.vu.nlVacancy — Post doc on socially transferred materialsAre you a biologist with experience in and enthusiasm for imaging and -omics techniques? Apply for working on the exciting topic of socially transferred materials!
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

I just gave a talk on how different errors may affect collective foraging outcomes and how communication mitigates the effect of these errors. In case we did not get a chance to chat after the talk, I'm at the conference. So do say hi! Also, check out the pre-print of this work! #IUSSI26

biorxiv.orgFrequent errors are the worst: robustness to individual failures in collective foragingThe collective behavior of complex systems emerges from the actions and interactions of their individual components. But what if these individuals make mistakes, or deviate from behavior tuned to lead...

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

iussi-nas.bsky.social
@iussi-nas.bsky.social

📢 Introducing @uissi-social.bsky.social, the Bluesky home of the XX International Congress of the IUSSI. The Congress runs 16–20 August 2026 in Freiburg, Germany, hosted by the University of Freiburg. Tag your posts, abstracts, and travel plans with #IUSSI26 so we can find each other.

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Avery Russell
@draverbee.bsky.social

How do 🐝 evaluate costs & benefits of foraging w/in 🌸mimicry systems? Turns out 🐝 attend more to costs than to benefits, similar to animals in other contexts! For more, read our new pub in @behavecol.bsky.social ! doi.org/10.1093/behe... therusselllab.net/wp-content/u... @jentomology.bsky.social

track.smtpsendmail.comBees attend primarily to aversive costs, not pollen rewards, to avoid exploitation by floral mimicsWe varied the benefits and costs of flower mimics and models (rewardless flowers and rewarding flowers, respectively) and investigated how bees responded.

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Tim Linksvayer
@tlinksvayer.bsky.social

Heard of the haplodiploid hypothesis (=¾ relatedness hypothesis)? It’s long been a staple of biology textbooks – you may’ve run into it in Intro Biology, Genetics, Evolution, or Behavior. It’s also been very influential on social evolution theory, yet surprisingly, it long remained untested.🧵

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Adria LeBoeuf
@adriatica.bsky.social

Come join the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab in Cambridge to study the evolution of Socially Transferred Materials! Fun new HFSP project btwn UK, NL and Costa Rica! Deadline September 7th #Postdoc #JobAlert #Evolution #Bioinformatics #STM #socialfluids www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... leboeuflab.com

cam.ac.ukResearch Associate (Fixed Term)A Research Associate position is available in the Social Fluids Lab, led by Dr. Adria LeBoeuf, in the Department of Zoology. The post is funded by a new 3-year international Human Frontier Science Pro...
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Pre-print alert 🚨🐜🐝! Social insect foraging is far from perfect. @dornhaus.bsky.social and I designed an agent-based model to examine how different error types affect collective foraging outcomes and whether communication mitigates or exacerbates these effects. See the thread below! (1/6).

biorxiv.orgFrequent errors are the worst: robustness to individual failures in collective foragingThe collective behavior of complex systems emerges from the actions and interactions of their individual components. But what if these individuals make mistakes, or deviate from behavior tuned to lead...
View full thread
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

These results suggest that evolution of social insect communication may have been shaped by selection on efficient exploitation as well as error mitigation. Our study may motivate further empirical and theoretical work on the evolution of errors in complex systems (5/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Moreover, it also demonstrates the power of agent-based models in evaluating various principles that may not be obvious from verbal statements. To learn more about the power of modeling, check this review (6/6).

arxiv.orgWhat good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theoryTheory and empirical science should be in constant dialogue, but often find it hard to understand one another. Here we describe a graduate-level university course we developed to improve matters. The ...
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Pre-print alert 🚨🐜🐝! Social insect foraging is far from perfect. @dornhaus.bsky.social and I designed an agent-based model to examine how different error types affect collective foraging outcomes and whether communication mitigates or exacerbates these effects. See the thread below! (1/6).

biorxiv.orgFrequent errors are the worst: robustness to individual failures in collective foragingThe collective behavior of complex systems emerges from the actions and interactions of their individual components. But what if these individuals make mistakes, or deviate from behavior tuned to lead...
View full thread
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Moreover, these two errors exhibited a steep performance decay even at lower error rates (i.e., a convex performance curve). On the contrary, other errors showed a more ‘graceful’ decline in performance (i.e., a concave performance curve) (3/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Surprisingly, communication mitigated rather than exacerbated the effect of errors! Moreover, the extent of error mitigation differed across communication systems, demonstrating that this mitigating ability is a result of the fundamental design of the communication system (4/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Pre-print alert 🚨🐜🐝! Social insect foraging is far from perfect. @dornhaus.bsky.social and I designed an agent-based model to examine how different error types affect collective foraging outcomes and whether communication mitigates or exacerbates these effects. See the thread below! (1/6).

biorxiv.orgFrequent errors are the worst: robustness to individual failures in collective foragingThe collective behavior of complex systems emerges from the actions and interactions of their individual components. But what if these individuals make mistakes, or deviate from behavior tuned to lead...
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

We found that errors in combination with various communication types differed in their impact on foraging outcomes. The most frequently occurring errors (i.e., false positive and forgetting errors) were most detrimental to exploration and exploitation (2/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Avery Russell
@draverbee.bsky.social

Would love to support a Smith Fellowship #postdoc application for projects on our Southwest #Missouri #Prairies! Incredible #pollinator & flowering #plant diversity, & thus lots of possible topics! Years of experience & collab with conservation agencies on these prairies to help scholars network 😇

Society for Conservation Biology@society4conbio.bsky.social

Applications are open for the 2027 Smith Conservation Research Fellowship! This postdoc supports early-career scientists advancing innovative, applied conservation research across the U.S. & territories. conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/smith-fellows-2027-call-for-proposals-announced

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Daniel Kronauer
@danielkronauer.bsky.social

Our lab at Rockefeller University is looking for a Research Technician to help with our studies of ant social behavior and evolution. 🐜 🧠 🐜 🧬 🐜 Please share and apply here if interested: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...

hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.comResearch Technician I - Kronauer LabPrimary Work Address: 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065 Current HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday account. About the Role: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is seeking ...

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Erica Maul
@ericamaul.bsky.social

My first first-author paper is now published online at Insectes Sociaux! I loved this project and sharing it with y’all at IUSSI-NAS and ABS. Check it out! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.comHoney bees actively process dead mice inside their nests - Insectes SociauxHoney bee nests are warm and resource-rich, making them attractive targets for animal intruders during winter, including mice. Beekeepers often protect their nests from mice, but have also documented ...

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Chelsea Cook
@phdbee.bsky.social

We (me and @njdowdy.bsky.social) are hiring a PhD student! Come work with us! We seek a PhD student to investigate the evolution of acoustic behavior in Lepidoptera within a comparative evolutionary framework... Job closes this week! Apply ASAP! njdowdy.gitlab.io/balogh-fello...

njdowdy.gitlab.ioKenneth F. Balogh Graduate Student FellowshipA PhD position investigating the evolution of acoustic behavior in Lepidoptera, co-advised by Dr. Nicolas J. Dowdy (Milwaukee Public Museum) and Dr. Chelsea Cook (Marquette University). Apply by June ...
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Check out my interview with Insectes Sociaux! This gave me a chance to reflect on my journey, my fascination with ants and the things that keep me going! ICYMI, link to my recent paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

insectessociaux.wordpress.comInterview with a social insect scientist: Chinmay JoshiChinmay Joshi grew up photographing insects in India and never really stopped. Now a fresh PhD from the University of Arizona, he studies how ant colonies hold together when things go wrong. A rese…
Insectes Sociaux@insectessociaux.bsky.social

New interview with a social insect scientist! 🎙️ Chinmay (chjoshi.bsky.social) has spent years figuring out how ant colonies keep it together when everything goes wrong.... 🐜 insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/05/06/i... #SocialInsects #Ants #BehavioralEcology #FieldWork #ScienceLife

insectessociaux.wordpress.cominsectessociauxCommentaries, thoughts and opinions about social insects

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Rebecca Wang 王思寧
@rebeccawang.bsky.social

For Day 1 of #Invertefest - I'm (once again) highlighting the Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum @hkbm.bsky.social! 🏛️ Specifically it's wonderful "Meet Your Neighbors / 左蟲右里" series on BSky (as well as IG and FB) that showcases some of the stunning insects 🇭🇰 has to offer!

Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum@hkbm.bsky.social

Because they process so much sugar, 𝘗𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 excrete a sweet, sticky substance known as honeydew. In the delicate ecosystem of Hong Kong’s village edges, this waste product becomes a sought-after resource, often attracting swarms of ants and even certain species of moths.

Chinmay Hemant Joshi reposted

Rebecca Wang 王思寧
@rebeccawang.bsky.social

Day 2 of #Invertefest! Amplifying some cool insect papers that have crossed my feed recently!📣 ~~ Q: Why do rewardless flowers still exist, rather than being shed? 🌺 A: 🤷‍♀️ We still don't know, but this test with bees & fake flowers show it's probably not "decoy" effects! doi.org/10.1111/een....

bsky.appTomer J. Czaczkes (@tomerczaczkes.bsky.social)Some plants change the colour of flowers which were already pollinated, and are now rewardless. We thought perhaps they were using a behavioural economic trick - the decoy effect - to make the…
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

I took this modeling course in 2022 and really enjoyed it! The course provided me with a great framework to understand modeling papers. So if you are interested in modeling in biology in any capacity, check out the pre-print below!

Anna Dornhaus@dornhaus.bsky.social

Preprint: What good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theory - arxiv.org/abs/2604.13344 - how to teach and think about what modeling contributes to science. How does it fit into the scientific method? This is often misunderstood.

arxiv.orgWhat good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theoryTheory and empirical science should be in constant dialogue, but often find it hard to understand one another. Here we describe a graduate-level university course we developed to improve matters. The ...
Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Check out my latest paper! I have written a 🧵on this paper: bsky.app/profile/chjo...

Insectes Sociaux@insectessociaux.bsky.social

New research article! 📰 Joshi (chjoshi.bsky.social) and Dornhaus (dornhaus.bsky.social) show that fire ants keep pursuing rich food even when their trail is interrupted 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #FireAnts #PheromoneTrails #ForagingBehaviour #Robustness

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

This implies a lack of robustness against pheromone trail disruption. However, colony-level foraging may be modular due to several concurrent pheromone trails. This would allow workers to switch to an intact trail, thereby buffering them against such a perturbation (5/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Future experiments examining how individual abandonment affects colony-level foraging will allow us to disentangle these explanations. Moreover, application of this framework in a comparative context can allow us to understand how and when robustness is prioritized in collective systems (6/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

We found that most ants abandoned the food source in response to trail perturbation! However, ants were more persistent and less likely to abandon a high-quality food source. But this persistence did not translate to successful foraging. Why? (3/6)

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

Most ants continued to make random choices, showing a high reliance on pheromone trail for navigation. Fire ants can easily monopolize a food source with a huge and aggressive workforce, thereby reducing colonies’ investment per forager in being successful at food recovery (4/6).

Chinmay Hemant Joshi
@chjoshi.bsky.social

We removed a small section of the pheromone trail leading to a low or a high-quality food source on a T-maze setup and examined individual ant responses. We utilized the robustness mechanism framework from systems biology to interpret ant responses to this perturbation (2/6).