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Elli Leadbeater

@ellileadbeater

Professor of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in University College London's People and Nature Lab; interested in anything to do with ecology/evolution but especially pollinators, fruit flies and memory

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14.11.2024
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Latest posts by Elli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater

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How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London, listed on FindAPhD.com

New PhD position available! For applicants keen to combine evolutionary ecology, neuroscience and animal cognition. Based at UCL with me, @maxreuter.bsky.social, @fcamus.bsky.social and Tamara Boto (Bristol). Directly funded, see here for details and eligibility: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

04.12.2025 15:10 πŸ‘ 32 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Resource supplementation later in the colony cycle improves real‐world bumblebee colony survival Our findings suggest that B. terrestris colonies became food-limited towards the end of their colony cycle in early summer. We suggest ecological intensification through planting native wildflower sp....

I am absolutely thrilled to share my first chapter, published today in @jappliedecology.bsky.social! Results are summarised in the thread below, or you can read it OA here doi.org/10.1111/1365... @ellileadbeater.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @ucl-pnl.bsky.social 1/7 πŸ§ͺ

26.11.2025 17:23 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Evolutionary ecology of animal memory | TREES DLA This project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment. Associative memory exists in some form in almost all animal species...

PhD project on the evolution of animal memory now available in my research group, through the TREES DLA: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo.... Come and join us if you're interested in the evolution of animal minds and you want to do some cool experimental evolution!

06.11.2025 15:23 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Sequences and animal intelligence
Sequences and animal intelligence YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Selection Shapes Animal Minds: In our next highlighted talk recording, Johan Lind explores sequences and animal intelligence youtu.be/BnjO7-glLOY @royalsocietypublishing.org

13.10.2025 19:48 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Mutational origins and selection dynamics of cognitive traits in animals
Mutational origins and selection dynamics of cognitive traits in animals YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Selection Shapes Animal Minds: next up in our highlighted talks from last year's Royal Society Discussion Meeting is Michael Sheehan (Cornell) talking about pop gen approaches to the evolution of cognition youtu.be/VIlSj5lwSMQ @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org

26.09.2025 17:12 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The fish challenge to vertebrate cognitive evolution
The fish challenge to vertebrate cognitive evolution YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Selection Shapes Animal Minds: More completely free videos of talks from our Royal Society Discussion meeting last year. Today's highlighted talk: Dr Zegni Triki (Neuchatel) @zegnitriki.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social youtu.be/WQLjnfhSyD4?...

22.09.2025 14:14 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Thank you! And what an honour to be appointed Director of the amazing @zoologymuseum.bsky.social Sad to leave @rhulbiology.bsky.social after a wonderful 16.5 years, but very excited by this new challenge and amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to get started!

13.08.2025 10:40 πŸ‘ 34 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 1
Cognitive evolution: the mechanisms may be simple but their fine-turning may not be
Cognitive evolution: the mechanisms may be simple but their fine-turning may not be YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Today's highlighted talk is a great contribution by Arnon Lotem, discussing the evolution of learning mechanisms and their fine-tuning to fit different species' needs youtu.be/At9uqrPNz5Y @royalsocietypublishing.org @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social

16.07.2025 12:00 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
What is it like to be an octopus?
What is it like to be an octopus? YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

The next in our series of highlighted talks from our @royalsocietypublishing.org discussion meeting on "Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds" is by Rob Barton (University of Durham): youtu.be/tVqgb0PosHw

14.07.2025 07:26 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

We are recruiting for a Research Technician to support our lab's experimental evolution work with Drosophila melanogaster at UCL. Do you have recent insect husbandry experience and want to be a key part of an academic research environment? We'd love to hear from you www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

04.07.2025 06:04 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

And apologies for my terrible spelling! Mauricio’s name should be spelt Mauricio GonzΓ‘lez-Forero. @mauriciogforero.bsky.social

04.07.2025 04:56 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Spandrel brain? Human brain expansion as a means to another end
Spandrel brain? Human brain expansion as a means to another end YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Today's highlighted talk is by Maurico Gonzalez-Ferrero @mauriciogforero.bsky.social, talking about evolutionary expansion of the human brain @royalsocietypublishing.org youtu.be/vhqKSSYMPaQ

03.07.2025 10:38 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Social drivers of cognitive evolution: the importance of strategic decisions
Social drivers of cognitive evolution: the importance of strategic decisions YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Next up is co-organizer Alex Thornton @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social talking about social drivers of cognitive evolution @royalsocietypublishing.org. youtu.be/yb4iSyPPaaI?...

01.07.2025 17:29 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Thanks to @lucyhouliston.bsky.social for all her editing and filming work!

30.06.2025 17:39 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A circuit view of evolving cognition by Dr Stephen Montgomery
A circuit view of evolving cognition by Dr Stephen Montgomery YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

Selection shapes diverse animal minds: We recorded the talks at our @royalsocietypublishing.org discussion meeting last year to share with those who couldn’t be there. Our first speaker is Stephen Montgomery (Bristol University) @ebablab.bsky.social. youtu.be/BzmRZlhTcrc?...

30.06.2025 17:38 πŸ‘ 37 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1

Hello! That would actually be brilliant. I’m travelling right now but if it’s ok I will DM you when back… thanks a lot for the offer!

29.06.2025 18:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929

Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds: our special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B on the diverse evolutionary processes underlying cognitive evolution is out today. Thanks to all our contributors! royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

26.06.2025 07:52 πŸ‘ 50 πŸ” 31 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3

Biology/Geography/Earth Sciences colleagues: can anyone recommend a field centre or similar field course location that works well for students who are wheelchair users? This is a no-fly course so we're trying to find somewhere in the UK or Western Europe

24.06.2025 09:19 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Yeah dancing is fully intact πŸ™‚

09.05.2025 21:10 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We have some exciting new flies! First arrivals for our Ecolligence project focussing on the ecological functions of memory. These mutants, kindly provided by the Sigrist lab, lack specific phases of memory

08.05.2025 16:37 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Very lucky to work with these wonderful researchers! Not only did they give amazing talks and posters at our Annual @rhulbiology.bsky.social PG Symposium, they won *all* the prizes πŸ† So proud 🐝❀️ @leofordham.bsky.social @alexisggk.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social @philstevenson.bsky.social

01.05.2025 17:03 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
Drone in a field Spent a couple of days this week flying the new DJI Matrice 4E in Hampshire. The task was to capture orthomosaic data for the WildPosh Grand Challenge project and involved a fair bit of prep with lots...

Great blog by @djdunc.bsky.social describing drone surveying of flowers for pollinators near oilseed rape fields last week, in association with our pan-European WildPosh project www.iot.io/blog/2025/04...

29.04.2025 08:15 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Wonderful evening celebrating Dr Alberto Linguadoca’s successful PhD viva 🐝 ☠️ Thanks to @darastanley.bsky.social for being an excellent external examiner! You can find Alberto’s papers here: scholar.google.fr/citations?us... @rhulbiology.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social

08.04.2025 14:05 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Well done to MSc student @lucyhouliston.bsky.social, amazing achievement to be featured in the Natural History Museum’s brand new Fixing Our Broken Planet exhibition!

06.04.2025 13:12 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Native bees and crop pollination - Two PhD scholarships available | Western Sydney University

Two PhD Scholarships to study Australian stingless bees 🐝 and crop pollination at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney Uni - deadline March 31. Sounds like a great project - reach out with questions - I did my PhD in this lab!

www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

26.03.2025 13:46 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Postdoc Opportunity in #Pollination Research

The @uni-freiburg.de is hiring a Postdoc for the EU project VALOR, exploring the ecological and economic values of pollinators.

πŸ“… Deadline: March 1, 2025
πŸ“… Start date: June 1, 2025
πŸ’° Salary: TV-L E13 (100%), 3 years

πŸ”— uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb...

25.02.2025 13:19 πŸ‘ 39 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Awards | ZSL ZSL's programme of science and conservation awards recognises outstanding contributions

Do you know of a researcher working in the field of zoology and/or conservation who you think has made an outstanding contribution that deserves recognition? Nominations are due on Feb 25th for the ZSL awards program, which spans all career levels from UG onwards www.zsl.org/about-zsl/aw...

24.02.2025 10:46 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

A new opportunity to work with our expanding #eDNA and #biodiversity lab as a postdoc looking at human impacts across space and time with terrestrial airborne eDNA. UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship funded opportunity based at the @ucl-pnl.bsky.social: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

12.02.2025 12:58 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4

PhD position on the ecology and evolution of animal memory! Please get in touch if you’re interested in joining us

07.01.2025 17:51 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Evolutionary ecology of animal memory | UCL Trees This project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment. Associative memory exists in some form in almost all animal species...

PhD position available! Are you interested in how natural selection shapes the evolution of animal memory? Be part of our experimental evolution plans at UCL @ucl-pnl.bsky.social @treesdla.bsky.social , co-supervised by Flo Camus @fcamus.bsky.social. www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo...

09.12.2024 17:46 πŸ‘ 40 πŸ” 55 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4