Will Rogers

Excited to share a new paper doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... We suggest that tradeoffs between infection costs and the benefits of sociality are dynamic, context-dependent, and likely asymmetric within dyads. We then propose hypotheses about how these tradeoffs might shape social responses to parasites...

🔔PhD Position!🔔 Interested in collective behavior and communication? Want to use quantitative approaches to analyze animal behavior? Come join us @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social My group is looking for a PhD student to join our team in 2027, apps due Nov 22! imprs-qbee.mpg.de/132695/analy...

We are offering 3 #PhD positions in our Ecology of Animal Societies Department @livingingroups.bsky.social at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior - check them out! imprs-qbee.mpg.de/66685/current

Why do some animals have many social partners while others invest in a few strong relationships? Our new @royalsocietypublishing.org paper suggests the answer may be: it depends on the weather ☀️🌧️ 🐑 tinyurl.com/mry3mtpf

Same weight, different energy bill. An Andean condor uses 79% less energy per kilometer than a trumpeter swan, even though both weigh roughly the same. Why? Find out in a new study in Science, which rewrites the costs of flight for wild birds and bats: doi.org/10.1126/scie... 1/3

I am recruiting for a 2-year postdoc position with our group at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior! Learn more & apply here: tinyurl.com/3n88uv2p Deadline: 20 Dec 2026 Start date: Flexible in 2027 @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @livingingroups.bsky.social @carlzeissstiftung.bsky.social

“We found no consistent cross-country trends over time in IPV prevalence: five countries showed declines, 15 demonstrated mixed directions or no changes, and one a consistent increase…Progress towards reducing IPV against women and girls cannot be assumed” www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

Please help spread the word: Wilkinson lab at U Maryland, College Park, is hiring a postdoc to join our collaborative ongoing NIH-funded project titled “Social stress, epigenetic and immune function across bat lifespans.” umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UMCP/job/Uni...

Female sperm whales form large groups which usually contain between ten and one hundred members. New research in #BiologyLetters studies the costs and benefits of group size for sperm whales of the open ocean: doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... #ecology

I'm joining Rutgers DEENR in a tenure-track faculty position this fall! I'll be recruiting a quantitative postdoc in climate change wildlife ecology (start fall 26 or jan 27) and PhD student doing bioacoustics to study avian responses to extreme weather (start fall 27). More- www.gcmelab.com/join-us

NEW RESEARCH 🔍 #Aging and early life adversity are associated with increased mortality risk. But how similar are they at the molecular level? We investigated #epigenetic profiles across tissues in macaques and you can find the full story in our @science.org article! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New paper is out! Disease is often seen as a cost of social life. But can it also shape how complex societies evolve? Here, we use mathematical models to study social immunity: collective disease defence in ants, termites, bees and other group-living insects. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

we're hiring for a new research assistant to join our group at OU to manage field studies on migratory and Neotropical bats! please see the linked application on our website: beckerlab.weebly.com/join.html. applications will be reviewed in early August and the position can start in January.

new diamond open-access Journal of Statistical Ecology launched 🎉🎉🎉 jse.centre-mersenne.org @fredbarraquand.bsky.social @oaggimenez.bsky.social @marieaugermethe.bsky.social @vianeylb.bsky.social (apologies to any Bsky editors I missed)

Come be my (remote) work colleague! Dr. Ellen Aikens and Dr. @wyokauffman.bsky.social are hiring a postdoc to lead analyses on a new migration ecology and climate resilience project with 152 mule deer herds and >44 million GPS points! Apply by July 15th! eeik.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Check out this article written by Smith Fellows in support of our federal scientist colleagues, past and present. The letter is framed around the country's 250th anniversary and the role of federal science in supporting the nation's success: esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

📖 New research Integrating infection intensity and aggregation into the dynamics of pathogens with within-host replication🦠 🧪 🖥️ 🔎 buff.ly/bkW5Lm4

Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

While regulations.gov incorrectly lists this action as "closed for comments", you can submit your comments directly here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM... My response is below, but don't feel that you need to draft anything nearly so long-winded. A short statement will also be very helpful.

Immune variation and host ontogeny constrain pathogen virulence and transmission in a helminth parasite https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.27.728195v1

We have a new perspective piece out about incorporating extreme heat in ecological research - academic.oup.com/icb/advance-...

📖 New research Detecting disease progression from animal movement using hidden Markov models Identifying infection before mortality occurs offers a valuable early-warning tool for population managers🦠 📈 🌍 🔎 Read more: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Is bigger always better? For social animals, group size is a dilemma: big groups face more internal competition, yet hold an edge over smaller neighbors. 33 years of data on 12 wild capuchin groups reveals how these forces shape behavior. Out today in *Nat Eco & Evo*: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Activity budgets, social behavior, and fitness outcomes associated with a baboon group fusion https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.30.721977v1

Animals can learn by copying others, which helps them find food and survive. The Great tit, a small passerine is good at social learning. This #RSOS paper tested whether two common parasites affect how quickly the #birds could learn a new feeding task by watching others: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Watch how tracking animal movements gives us an intimate view of their lives (and deaths) and how they connect across one of the world's most intact wildlife corridors. Thanks to the Room2Roam team, @y2y.bsky.social, and #422south for bringing this story to life!

What is the role of social learning in adopting novel food? Study of urban #cockatoos by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social @clevercockierp.bsky.social &co shows that they rapidly adopt novel food via #SocialLearning, with juveniles showing conformist preferences @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4uq6NVq

What is the role of social learning in adopting novel food? Study of urban #cockatoos by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social @clevercockierp.bsky.social &co shows that they rapidly adopt novel food via #SocialLearning, with juveniles showing conformist preferences @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4uq6NVq

ABSTRACTS OPEN! We have an incredible line up for our Avian Disease Ecology conference next year. This is such an exciting field right now - if you’re working on avian pathogens, parasites, AMR, immunity, or non-infectious disease (pollutants, etc) then consider submitting an abstract!

Now accepting applications for our 2027 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution! These awards support students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs to conduct #ecology and #evolution research. Deadline is June 30, 2026: bit.ly/4umYKZd #science

We're recruiting! We're looking for two graduate students to join us at UBC in Vancouver. Fully funded and open to global applicants, with flexible start-date. Topics include theory, bioinformatics, and microbiology. More details: asherleeks.com/apply #socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪

Come see me talk about how we are using desert cacti and mesquite trees to try and understand coinfection dynamics

Join us next Thursday May 7th at 1 U.S. Eastern Time for the EEIDforum seminar: Once infected, twice infected: Understanding synergistic interactions among coinfecting parasites Fletcher Halliday, Oregon State University Register for access to the seminar: www.eeidforum.org?page_id=261

We have some exciting new work pre-printed this week. Read on if you're interested in #behavioural responses to infection and some cool analysis of high-resolution behavioural time-series data in #Drosophila. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Measuring immune function in the wild is key to understanding resilience and disease. New open‑access research presents a practical immune toolkit for wild ungulates, revealing variation across individuals, populations and landscapes in bighorn sheep. vist.ly/4z6gk

🚨✨ JOB OFFERS ✨🚨 🧠 Interested in disgust and human disease avoidance? 🦠🤢 🎓 2 PhD positions (Montpellier 🇫🇷) + 1 postdoc (Stockholm 🇸🇪) now open! 📢 Exciting projects in VR, psychophysiology, psychoneuroimmunology, social behavior, and health 🧵 Details + deadlines in thread below!

📢Fully-funded #PhD opportunity with us: 🐦 Quantifying (social) learning and social behaviour in an urbanised world 🐦 Position at @ceec-research.bsky.social 📆29th May deadline More info: tinyurl.com/yz28s96x Apply: tinyurl.com/2wpkb64y #cognition #socialbehaviour #fieldwork #birds 🙏Please Share

Two PhD positions in ancient pathogen genomics are available through the ERC project EpidemioCene. Interested applicants can apply by May 7th. Details: https://www.eva.mpg.de/press/news/article/reconstructing-the-long-term-dynamics-of-human-infectious-diseases/. #phd

🎉New paper out from the lab, led by @baptistepiqueret.bsky.social: ant larvae chemically suppress the reproduction of their caregivers. bit.ly/4t8uZLG An example of how social interactions are regulated at the molecular level. The work was made possible by the unique environment @mpi-ce.bsky.social

A new phD position in my lab about amphibian, infection diseases in a global changing world. Check it out! And spread the word ;)

Read our perspective piece on a brilliant new piece of work out in @pnas.org studying public goods in an insect. Congratulations to the team! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @caritalindstedt.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social

Join me & @olliepadget.bsky.social at @livuninews.bsky.social! #postdoc #seabird movement & navigation in response to environmental cues @ukri.org. Developing new loggers w/ micro-engineers & computer scientists @yorkuniversity.bsky.social. Job tinyurl.com/2zuzktv5 Press release tinyurl.com/2zuzktv5

Differing effects of parasite-parasite interaction types on the spatial epidemiology of co-circulating parasites https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.02.716128v1

🚨 Hiring a postdoc (2 years)! We’re looking for someone with skills in data science, remote sensing, or computer science: 🛰️ Build next-gen nighttime light products 🦅 Link light spectra to migration & collision risk Apply or reach out! aeroecolab.com/opportunities

New #OpenAccess educational resource: "Teaching Animal Mobilities: (How to) Move Animals into Your Classroom" 🐛🪼 🐘 Modules include historical sources, discussion questions, assignment ideas, and readings to explore key themes in animal mobility. 🔗 animalmobilities.org #HistSci #AnimalMobilities