Ten strikes out

Twitter, or X (ten in Roman numerals - don't credit me for that joke) has been undergoing rapid changes of late. Monetisation seems to be in, checks on rude conduct out. Ever since Musk took over it seems to be going in one direction, and that is downwards. Although it still functions as a useful … Continue reading Ten strikes out →

Temporarily Danish David

The last two months I’ve been working in Aarhus, Denmark, and I thought it might make an interesting post to explain why and what that looked like. Mostly not quite as pretty as this (from the top of the ARoS art museum in Aarhus) The Royal Society of Edinburgh offered Saltire Early Career Fellowships, for … Continue reading Temporarily Danish David →

Moving pictures

I've had the fortune to feature in a couple of videos recently. The first was for one of the "Countdown to COP26" videos that the School of Biological Sciences here at Aberdeen made to build up to the COP26 meeting in Glasgow I talk about what I do at the department, how my work links … Continue reading Moving pictures →

An Interview with Laplace’s Demon

This is a brief attempt at humour. It began as a little writing challenge between my dad and myself based on the idea of whether free will exists in a deterministic universe (using this as a jumping off point). While my dad has started drafting an entire book, I've kept it short and sweet, as … Continue reading An Interview with Laplace’s Demon →

Emma joins the lab

Emma Bleakley has recently joined the lab as a distance PhD student. Her project is "Social Networks Across the Tree of Life", and will involve the analysis of social data across a range of taxa. In this post Emma gives a little insight into the path she followed before joining EEL. As the newest member … Continue reading Emma joins the lab →

Lockdown writings 2: Frequent poster

This is the second of two short fiction pieces I wrote during the first lockdown in the UK. The current restrictions reminded me about them so I am posting them now. The common theme is isolation. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 40..6, 40……7…… 48, 49, fiffffty. I used to be chubby. Yeah I know right? … Continue reading Lockdown writings 2: Frequent poster →

Lockdown writings 1: Talking to the gulls

Lockdown writing 1, the first of two short pieces of writing I am sharing now that were written during the first lockdown in the UK

Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution webinar

Recently I gave an online talk about some of my research for the Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution seminar series. I spoke about my work on the social spider Anelosius eximius in Ecuador with James L. L. Lichtenstein and others. I cover work from two papers, the first estimating selection on collective prey attack for … Continue reading Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution webinar →

Virtual seminar at Bielefeld University

Recently, I was invited by my good friend, and ace ecologist, Dr. Sarah Paul to give a virtual seminar for Bielefeld University. This was part of the NC³ (Niche Choice, Niche Conformance, Niche Construction) seminar series "Individualisation in Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution" It was lovely to be invited, and I really enjoyed talking about my … Continue reading Virtual seminar at Bielefeld University →

Interview by Philip Neilson

I have just been lucky enough to be interviewed by Philip Neilson, a student at the University of Aberdeen, ahead of my department seminar here. Philip conducted a really great interview, he had read several of my papers, and asked really good and insightful questions. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am very pleased to be … Continue reading Interview by Philip Neilson →