ASAB

Screenshot of article Animal Behaviour Volume 232, February 2026, 123426 Chronic fungal infection accelerates age polyethism in ants without altering immune response Michał Kochanowski, Anna Dubiec, Aleksander Juszczak, Igor Siedlecki, Piotr Ślipiński, Marta Wrzosek, Enikő Csata, Magdalena Witek

🐜Ants! 🍄Fungal infections! 🦠Immune responses! 💼Task allocation!

Our #EditorsChoice for the #AnimalBehaviourJournal:
“Chronic fungal infection accelerates age polyethism in ants without altering immune response”

Read here:

doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123426

We strongly encourage students attending #ASABSpring2026 to enter our annual video competition 💰

You don’t need to have anything fancy to put together a video. If you can make an insta reel or tiktok, you already have all the skills you need to make a short video about your research!

📢📢📢Lectureships at Bristol!📢📢📢

We're hiring 3 x lecturers (=assistant professor) in Biological Sciences, across the discipline.

Great department, great colleagues, great building, great city

Details here:
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

🚨Tomorrow (Feb 19) is the LAST chance to join us in Bristol for #ASABSpring2026 🚨

Guidelines for the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals in behavioural research and teaching

The @asab.org animal behavior ethics guidelines now reference our work on humane husbandry and ethical study design for insects and decapods! See the full guidelines:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

ASAB Video Contest - YouTube

Are you a student attending #ASABSpring2026? Don’t forget to put together a 1-2 minute video about your research for our annual contest!

Check out some past entries for inspiration:

youtube.com/playlist?lis...

More details on the conference website:
asab-spring-conference2026.github.io

Half-day break: things to do in Turin

The Local Organizing Committee is happy to provide all delegates free tickets to some of Torino’s top cultural attractions plus a few sporty options. Take the chance to enjoy the city, try something new, and make the most of your time at ISBE26!

Evolution 2025 Registration Evolution 2025 - the joint conference of the SSE, ASN, and SSB

Registration is now open! Early-bird closes April 15. www.evolutionmeetings.org/registration...

A Cuckoo perches on a post. Wording over the image reads: We're hiring. Science Manager. www.bto.org/jobs. BTO logo top right of the image. Image credit bottom left reads: Cuckoo by Edmund Fellowes / BTO.

New role! 📢 We're looking for a dynamic and experienced Science Manager to join us at BTO. Apply now ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs #Ornithology

📆 Full time, Permanent.
📝 £46,344 per annum.
📍 Hybrid working.

Deadline for applications: Monday 9 March.

Blue gloved hands using tweezers to put a sample of tree fungi in a test tube. Text says Apply for a local event grant, applications close on 15 March 2026

There's a month left to apply for a Regional Events Grant!

We're offering grants of up to £1,000 to help our members create inspiring events or activities that celebrate the biosciences and engage diverse audiences.

📆 Applications close 15 Mar

Find out more: www.rsb.org.uk/regional-eve...

Final Call: Only Weeks Left to Apply for SEB Awards at Florence 2026 Submit your application by 6 March 2026 for the YSAS and Irene Manton Awards in Florence.

🚨 Early career researchers, final moments! 🚨

Applications are open for SEB Awards (Young Scientist Award & Irene Manton Prize) at SEB Florence 2026 🇮🇹.

🗓️ Deadline: 6 March 2026

Apply now:
👉 www.sebiology.org/resource/fin...

#SEBconference #Biology #ResearchOpportunities

📣New webinar alert! Our February #ECO.EVO.EDU webinar on Building Trustworthy & Equitable Ecology & Evolutionary Biology using Open Science and Meta-Research takes place on Feb 24th! CSEE Members: check your emails for more information + webinar link. (Please note: English event)

Amplifying global voices: Removing language barriers in academic conferences We invite you to share your experiences with language barriers at academic conferences. Your insights will help shape more inclusive and multilingual events across disciplines and formats. This survey...

Just 🚨TWO WEEKS🚨 until the deadline of our language barriers survey! Don't miss out on the opportunity to share your experiences of language barriers in academic conferences. Take our short survey at: forms.gle/u8ESktcJP8Y6...

JOB ALERT! Lecturer in Biological Sciences Come and join us in the world class Life Sciences Building at the University of Bristol! Closing date: Sunday 8 March

JOB ALERT! Lecturer in Biological Sciences Interested in our research areas? Click the link in our bio to discover more! Closing date: Sunday 8 March

JOB ALERT!

We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!

Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!

We look forward to receiving your applications!

www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Only one week left to register for #ASABSpring2026 !

Communicating research with animals on social networks and in the media requires strategy, consistency and anticipation of public scrutiny. This workshop is dedicated to those who communicate science in public contexts.
#AnimalResearch #Communication #Scicomm #MediaTraining #Training #EARA #Research

Logo featuring bright pink background with red lips and the words "I Came for Science"

Are you an early career ABS member with diverse lived experiences that also studies sex &/or reproduction? Do you want to be interviewed for the "I Came For Science" podcast by fellow ABS member Laura Sirot? I bet you do!

(Contact info on their webpage)
www.icameforscience.org

ABC celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Let’s celebrate women and girls in science on this International Day of Women and Girls in Science!
UNESCO reports that women represent only 35% of STEM graduates, about 1/3 of researchers worldwide, and just 1/10 STEM leaders.

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 👩‍🔬

Last year, our winter meeting had the theme of "Addressing Biases in Animal Behaviour," and we also had an associated special issue in the #AnimalBehaviourJournal that is well worth checking out ⬇️

Follow the special issue: Addressing Biases in Animal Behaviour www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu... @asab.org

The 16th International Congress of the Biology of Fish logo. The circular logo includes a sketch of a salmon (top left), a sketch of a sturgeon (bottom right) with a sketch of Vancouver landmarks across the middle. The text, 'ICBF 2026' is positioned in the middle right of the circular logo.

If you're a JEB author and fish biologist, then the 16th International Congress on the Biology of Fish #ICBF2026 in Vancouver, Canada, 12-16 July 2026, is the perfect meeting for you!

Abstract submission and registration are now open:
icbf2026.com

PhD Position in Evolutionary Ecology PhD Position in Evolutionary Ecology

UCLouvain, Belgium offers a fully funded PhD in Lizard Evolutionary Ecology, focusing on adaptive responses to environmental changes. Apply by 9 March 2026. More info: https://jobs.uclouvain.be/Personnelscientifique/job/PhD-Position-in-Evolutionary-Ecology/1289884901/ #phd

Screenshot of repository of science education and outreach resources

Looking to make your science accessible and meaningful? Need help developing science education & outreach materials or ideas?

Well then do we have the resource for you! The ABS Communications Committee developed this excellent repository of resources, so check it out!

tinyurl.com/4evx8wyx

Melissa in front of a plaque reading "Emily Williamon née Bateson, 1855-1936, RSPB founder, conservationist and pioneer of women’s education was born at Highfield opposite here. RSPB.org.uk." Photo from RSPB

One last little fun fact: Emily Williamson (née Bateson), founder of the RSPB was Melissa’s great, great aunt! It looks like a love of birds may run in families… 😉 🐦 6/6

Melissa and Elisa giving the camera thumbs up at a conference

The last 2 years, Melissa has been working with the other trustees to increase the professionalisation of ASAB operations, as well as advocating for open science practices, such as pre-registration in animal behaviour.

It’s not easy being president & she has done a wonderful job so far 🤗 5/6

A collage of Melissa handing out awards

As president, Melissa also needs to make decisions (but not about foraging). She chairs ASAB council and is also a trustee financially responsible for the charity, the law of which is quite complex.

She also gets the far more fun job of handing out awards!... 4/6

Melissa freeing a starling from a bag

There are also some ecological parallels between humans & starlings: both are invasive, omnivorous and opportunistic.

Looking at foraging decisions & food unpredictability in starlings, including physiological, developmental & cognitive effects, can give us insight into human food insecurity... 3/6

Melissa posing with two books of “Measuring Behaviour: An introductory guide” by Melissa Bateson and Paul Martin

In fact, her 1st published paper was in #AnimalBehaviourJournal! During her postdoc, she also benefited from ASAB to do butterfly research 🦋

Now, she is a professor of Ethology at Newcastle, where she studies European starlings. Starlings are social, robust, fast learners, and long-lived... 2/6

Melissa in a labcoat holding up a starling. ASAB logo is in the corner

This #MeetASAB features Madam President herself: Melissa Bateson (@melissabateson.bsky.social)

Melissa was elected as ASAB president in 2024. In the past, she has also been on council as grants secretary and as an ordinary member. She has been an ASAB member since she was a PhD in the 90s… 1/6

New wadertales blog on how quickly juvenile godwits learn to feed efficiently through their first winter:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/l...
From new @asab.org paper led by Josh Nightingale:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#ornithology