Dear BERGers,
This is your happy reminder that BERG will be meeting at 5:30pm tomorrow (Wednesday), 29 Jan 2020, in the Psychology common room, 3A94.
This week one of the BERG organisers-- yours, truly!-- will be presenting on "Examining Social Influences on Capuchin Associative Learning".
A huge thank-you to everyone who has officially signed up to present this Spring! Last week we saw a large influx of people interested in sharing their research, and our Spring 2020 schedule is nearly full. That being said, we are always gathering intel on who could be potential speakers for us in the future, so carry on sharing those leads with your friendly neighborhood organisers.
A few members have pointed out that the social media presence of BERG could be improved, and the organisers agree! If there are any members who feel like they could do justice for BERG on our twitter and facebook pages, please e-mail organisers Gema and Sarah about spear-heading our social media efforts! This will be more of a priority moving forward.
The iceBERG sign-up link is here: https://stir.box.com/s/6m677eyq85vi1id5dumcl7x3yney5t35
Members may choose any slots and e-mail Sarah Kraemer and/or Gema Martin-Ordas to be put on the schedule.
( s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk; gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk )
The Spring 2020 Schedule for BERG presentations is here: https://stir.box.com/s/2nz26sgrlkwmjl72a5oz7j8uuo1qmdd7
The link to add people to the mailing list or unsubscribe to these e-mails is here: http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
Until tomorrow,
-Sarah and Gema
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Happy Thursday, BERGers!
Special thanks to all who came to the "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" Documentary Day yesterday! We had a great turnout, and an engaging discussion on the ethical issues surrounding the cane toad.
For all who did not attend, do not fret, the documentary can be found on Youtube, Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBLf1tsoaw&t=1458s
During said discussion portion, Sophia Daoudi and Hannah Buchanan-Smith highly recommended this documentary on 'BBC 2: Natural World', titled "The Octopus in My House." The short description reads:
"A professor invites an octopus into his home to learn about its amazing intelligence.The octopus, called Heidi, unravels puzzles, recognises individual humans and even watches TV with the family. The episode also shows remarkable behaviour from around the world - from the day octopus, which can change colour and texture in a split second, to the coconut octopus, which carries around its own coconut shell to hide in. But most fascinating of all is seeing how Professor David Scheel and his daughter Laurel bond with an animal that has nine brains, three hearts and blue blood running through its veins."
Sophia says you will be amazed!
The Episode can be found Here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007snt
Using the above link, there are only 5 days remaining to watch!
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.0zm1LfSIiBO2bK346ISPQAEsCo&pid=Api]<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007snt>
Natural World - 2019-2020: 5. The Octopus in My House - Audio Described<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007snt>
A professor invites an octopus into his home to learn about its amazing intelligence.
www.bbc.co.uk
Happy Viewing,
-Sarah
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers,
This is your friendly reminder that today is Documentary Day! "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History," will be viewed this afternoon at 5:30pm in the Psychology common room, Cottrell 3A94.
Another excerpt from the New York Times review by Janet Maslin:
"Ugly even by toad standards, the cane toad is revealed to be an amazingly resourceful creature. It was imported to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 - to illustrate this, the director, Mark Lewis, shows glimpses of a train trip across Australia from a toad's-eye view - in hopes that it would destroy a grub that threatened the sugar cane crop. But the toads' lack of interest in eating grubs was matched only by their eagerness to multiply. There are now millions of cane toads in Queensland, descended from an original group of only 101."
Fun Fact: The director has since made a follow-up documentary in 2010 called "Cane Toads: The Conquest"! The cane toad is clearly still an ecosystem management issue to this day.
We have attached in this e-mail a discussion guide for your perusing pleasure, with questions we will all be able to selectively discuss after the film.
Some other Reminders:
Liz Williamson has reached out to remind BERGers that the Spring meeting of the Primate Society of Great Britain is meeting from April 23-24 at the Liverpool John Moores University. Theme is: Latest Advances in Primatology.
More information can be found on their website: https://www.psgb-ljmu2020.co.uk/
Hannah Buchanan-Smith reminded us earlier this week that 'The Burn' Spring meeting<http://theburn.goodenough.ac.uk/> of the Scottish Primate Research Group (SPRG) will be held on 24-26 April, 2020.
A General Reminder: These meetings are only possible thanks to members who volunteer their time! Special shout-out to Kristine Gandia for signing up to prepare snacks for the meeting again this week.
A new sign-up for these additional duties has been newly-created, and aptly-titled: "iceBERG": Individual Contributive Efforts to help with BERG!
The iceBERG sign-up link is here: https://stir.box.com/s/6m677eyq85vi1id5dumcl7x3yney5t35
Members may choose any slots and e-mail Sarah Kraemer and/or Gema Martin-Ordas to be put on the schedule!
( s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk; gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk )
The sign-up link for BERG presentations is here: https://stir.box.com/s/2nz26sgrlkwmjl72a5oz7j8uuo1qmdd7
The link to add people to the mailing list or unsubscribe to these e-mails is here: http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
That's all for now, BERGers!
Documentary treasures un-toad await us later today.
Let's have an un-frog-gettable meeting!
Sarah and Gema
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers,
First, some news! 'The Burn' Spring meeting<http://theburn.goodenough.ac.uk/> of the Scottish Primate Research Group (SPRG) will be held on 24-26 April, 2020. Please see the e-mail from Hannah Buchanan-Smith that was just sent out to all BERGers this morning for more information!
From that e-mail: This year we will be joined by Dr Rachel Kendal<https://www.dur.ac.uk/research/directory/staff/?id=5444> who will be giving an extended talk. Rachel is an Associate Professor at the University of Durham, and she has undertaken extensive research looking at social learning in a large number of primate species. Rachel is the current president of the Cultural Evolution Society<https://culturalevolutionsociety.org/> and SPRG Alumni."
Next, A warm, fuzzy, koala-shaped hug to all of those who attended the paper-discussion at last week's meeting! 🐨
Aside from the plight of these endearing creatures, there are a few other endearing creatures who need your help.
They are the BERG coordinators!
Their plight is that... they need you to sign-up for talks!
We cannot do this without voluntary participation. A few of you have gone the extra mile to make suggestions: Sophia Daoudi, Phyllis Lee, Liz Renner, David Pritchard, Craig Roberts, and any others who have suggested papers to discuss or speakers to present. Thank you!
Of course, sometimes hectic schedules prevent these efforts from coming to fruition. Our best chance at filling the schedule with speakers that are interesting and relevant to our group, is to take as many shots as possible. Please notify your friends/colleagues, students, supervisees, collaborators, and anyone else of the opportunity to present past, current, and proposed research for a group of engaging and inquisitive minds like the ones at BERG! Special Thanks to Craig Roberts who is posting a message for us on the MSc's Canvas Page in the name of BERG recruitment!
Current Schedule: https://stir.box.com/s/2nz26sgrlkwmjl72a5oz7j8uuo1qmdd7
Who to e-mail: BERG coordinators Sarah Kraemer, <s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk> and Gema Martin-Ordas, <gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk>
For now, we will continue to provide BERGers with alternative meetings experiences. That is why, for this week, we are having a....
(drumroll, please...)
DOCUMENTARY DAY
[cid:8002c3f8-58ea-473d-9371-3e80661ceccd]
"Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" is a short, ~45min documentary that can be viewed by attending BERG members this Wednesday, 22 Jan 2020.
The film is kooky. It is bizarre. It is polarizing. But the cane toads are as well!
Janet Maslin of The New York Times reviewed the documentary in 1988, and had this to say:
Pet or pest? This is the question posed by ''Cane Toads: An Unnatural History,'' a short Australian documentary that's an absolute delight. It supplies the answers to every conceivable question the viewer may have about the species in question, and a few extras: What can the toad do for tourism? What sort of person goes out of his way to squash cane toads while driving? Who feeds his favorite toads cat food, or thinks they look nice in baby clothes?"
Various academics have also given their opinions on the pesky toads:
“Despite all the fantastic activities that can be undertaken by the human race, the magnificent pieces of equipment that are being developed, our capacity in space, we still haven’t come to find a way to control the cane toad.” -Professor Mike Tyler
“Toads are public enemy number one... They’re like a commando, an invading army.” -Dr. Chris Burns
We hope you will join us in discussing cane toads as best as we *cane* on Wednesday at 5:30pm in the Psychology Common Room.
We *Cane-nae* Do any of this without you, BERGers! We are *toad-ally* grateful for your help!
Kind regards,
-Sarah and Gema
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
BERGers – Scottish Primate Research Group (SPRG) meeting – please respond directly to Lara. The meeting is ALWAYS fantastic!
It's that time when we start chasing you for booking confirmations and asking for deposits for the 2020 Burn meet.
For those of you who are new to SPRG, the meeting is a chance for all members to get together in the beautiful surroundings of The Burn, to discuss research that is going on within our group, and of course to walk, chat, play games, eat, drink, and be merry. You can find more details about the venue on their website (http://theburn.goodenough.ac.uk/).
This year’s meeting takes place from the 24th-26th April 2020. We can arrive from 4:00pm on Friday 24th and leave after lunch on Sunday 26th April, though we will still need to clear our rooms in the morning.
This year Manon, Emma and I will be organising the meeting. There will be a series of talks given throughout the weekend so please also let us know now if you would like a talk slot. These do not need to be particularly formal talks - the Burn is a great place to discuss project plans or analyses in the works. This year we will be joined by Dr Rachel Kendal<https://www.dur.ac.uk/research/directory/staff/?id=5444> who will be giving an extended talk. Rachel is an Associate Professor at the University of Durham, and she has undertaken extensive research looking at social learning in a large number of primate species. Rachel is the current president of the Cultural Evolution Society<https://culturalevolutionsociety.org/> and SPRG Alumni.
The costs of staying at The Burn are heavily subsidised by the Charitable Trust, and so remain very reasonable. The price of attending, which includes room, meals, etc., will be £190 for staff (those in full time employment) who wish to have a single occupancy room. Because single occupancy rooms are limited in number, we will offer these on a first-come first-serve basis. For students, unwaged members, and/or those who share rooms, the price will be £150.
To confirm your place at the Burn, please send a deposit of £75 to me by the second week of February (14/02/19) - see details below. On the bank reference could you please include your name and "Burn" as this will help me keep track of those who have paid. In a change to previous meetings and in line with the Burn's new policy the full balance will be due on Friday 17th April by bank transfer. This will avoid the need for people to bring excessive amounts of cash (although some will still be required for liquid refreshment). Any cancellations after this period will be non-refundable if we are unable to fill your place.
Account number: 41035106
Sort code: 07-01-16
Bank reference: "Burn *your name*"
To help us keep things organised, after paying the deposit, please send me an email at lara.wood(a)abertay.ac.uk<mailto:lara.wood@abertay.ac.uk> and include the following details:
Use the subject header: The SPRG Burn meeting 2019
Give your name:
If you prefer a single room (noting additional cost and no promises):
Affiliation and career stage (e.g., St Andrews, PhD student)
Dietary requirements: (if any)
If you are interested in giving a talk: (yes/no)
Topic of your talk: (title can be decided later but please indicate your/the general topic):
Places are limited, so don't miss your chance. In the first instance, bookings are restricted to members and SPRG associates. However, should places be left unclaimed by the middle of February, invitations will be opened to colleagues from further afield. Reply early to avoid disappointment- last year booked up very quickly.
Please pass this email onto any news members of labs etc. that should be part of SPRG but may not yet be on the mailing list. If you have a non-SPRG colleague whom you know would like to come and give a talk please drop us an email to discuss options.
All the best,
Lara, Emma and Manon
Dr Lara Wood, PhD, PGCert, MA, BA | Lecturer
Psychology Division
Abertay University | Bell Street | DUNDEE | DD1 1HG
Abertay University is a charity registered in Scotland No. SCO16040.
I do not work Thursdays.
Recently published work with children and capuchins here<https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/11463/W…>
Personal Website<https://larawood.wordpress.com/>
E: lara.wood(a)abertay.ac.uk<mailto:lara.wood@abertay.ac.uk>
T: 01382 308583
Abertay University is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC016040
Follow us: www.abertay.ac.uk<http://www.abertay.ac.uk> | @AbertayUni<https://twitter.com/AbertayUni> | AbertayLinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=12685> | AbertayFacebook<https://www.facebook.com/AbertayUni>
Any views or opinions expressed in this email and any attachments are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Abertay University. This email and any attachments may be confidential and are intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you must take no action based on the email or its attachments, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received this email in error.
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers,
It has been brought to the BERG organisers' attentions that the link to the Spring 2020 schedule was only viewable by the owners/creators of the document. A classic kerfuffle, indeed. This has been fixed!
Special thanks to the people who reached out about this issue: Elizabeth Renner, Jade Hooper, Kirsten Blakey, Tzu-Yun Lin, and any others we might have missed!
The new link is: https://stir.box.com/s/2nz26sgrlkwmjl72a5oz7j8uuo1qmdd7
Please do take the time to sign up for talks this semester, by viewing the available dates and e-mailing organisers Gema Martin-Ordas and Sarah Kraemer with your chosen slot and the title of your talk.
gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk
s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk
Urge a colleague with relevant research interests to sign-up! We welcome suggestions for speakers as well.
(Special thanks to David Pritchard for some fantastic suggestions for speakers who are traveling through Scotland!)
We also welcome anyone with interesting news, ideas, or opportunities outside of BERG meetings to forward those along! A great example was Zsuzsa Lugosi making plans for a social BERG movie night soon. That is the spirit!
This e-mail is also a reminder that today's BERG meeting is dedicated to the plight of the Koalas and humans affected by the recent/current bushfires in Australia. BERG members are welcome to read the article(s) attached in the previous update e-mail and discuss them over snacks at 5:30pm today in the Psychology common room.
While we are on the topic,
The department's own Sarah Vick took the theme of this week's discussion to heart, and reached out to Kris Descovich – an Australian former post doc in Animal Welfare at Stirling, and currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland – to see if she could suggest what BERG folk could do to help support those dealing with the wildfires.
This is the message she had for all of us:
"That is so kind of you all to be thinking of us and great that the fires are getting coverage internationally. We had a terrible start to our fire season up here but on the whole have been pretty lucky, but down in some of the southern states the damage is really at a level that is hard to comprehend. There are quite a few places that are collecting and organising donations. New South Wales has had a huge influx of donations through celebrity support, so it would be better to direct donations to Victoria I think. The two that I believe would be best are the Country Fire Authority (www.cfa.vic.gov.au/donate1<http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/donate1>) and Wildlife Victoria (www.wildlifevictoria.org.au<http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/>). Because these are bushfires and not house fires they are largely being tackled by the rural fire brigades (e.g. the CFA) which are pretty much made up of all volunteers. Similarly, with the wildlife rescue and care as these are also almost entirely volunteer run, and carers are usually spending their own money to buy everything they need like milk, blankets, petrol. I think any support will go a long way.
Thanks again for thinking of us all, and all of the people and wildlife affected!
Please say hi to all of the old BERG’ers for me. ☺
Kris"
BERG members are able to click on the links if they feel empowered to donate to Dr. Descovich's two suggested organisations.
One final note: This semester we will be in special need of volunteers to introduce weekly speakers, take on the task of setting up the snack table, and clear up everything afterwards. This is due to organiser-Sarah's fluctuating research schedule at Living Links, and organiser-Gema's long commute to/from England. We will create a sign-up document for this duty, and disseminate that shortly.
This week, Kristine Gandia has kindly volunteered!
If anything, the theme of this e-mail was "The Who's Who of Who e-mails BERG coordinators about Who and What!" Do you want to see your name in bold?
E-mail us!
And let's have a high-Koalaty meeting later today, shall we?
🐨
Sarah and Gema
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Greetings BERGers,
As we are all settling back into our hectic and unpredictable routines, it is only appropriate (and poetic?) that the first BERG meeting reflects that! Our previously-scheduled speaker is unable to present, so this e-mail is to inform you all that the meeting on Wednesday, 15 Jan 2020, will be dedicated to the in-depth discussion of 1 article (with the possibility to bring 2 other articles into the discussion).
As we have all undoubtedly heard on the news, wildfires have been raging in Australia in one of the most severe fire seasons to-date. In the wake of these fires (as with the forest fires in Brazil), it seems appropriate to read-up on the effects they have on human and animal populations.
Article 1 (attached here) discusses the resilience of one of Australia's most charismatic species -Koalas!- against habitat loss. While the article focuses on timber harvesting, it relates its findings back to the threat of wildfires that Koalas face each year.
Articles 2 and 3 (also attached) discuss the impacts wildfires have on human attitudes and behaviours.
I suggest that Article 1 be read in-depth so that BERG members may chat about koala conservation and behaviour, and that articles 2 and 3 be skimmed mainly for their discussion sections/points.
*DO NOT DISMAY at the topic for this meeting. These three articles highlight that there is still hope for human attitudes to change, and koalas to adapt, even in the face of depression and destruction. And not just hope, either -- FACTORS are involved.
Gema Martin-Ordas has agreed to lead this meeting as I will have to be at Edinburgh Zoo that day. If any BERG member would like to volunteer to set up the snacks table and put snacks away after the meeting, please send Gema and me a separate e-mail.
As always, we rely on volunteers from our tight-knit research group to keep the meeting docket full! Please refer to the meetings schedule at this link -->
https://stir.app.box.com/file/588066861916
--> And e-mail Gema and I if you would like to set a date!
( s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk; gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk )
If you have new students who might wish to be on the BERG mailing list, please send them this e-mail. To sign up to the BERG mailing list new folk must complete the form available here:
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
You can also use this link to unsubscribe.
Everyone here is highly Koalafied to present for BERG.
Whether Eucaly-ike it or not.
Kind regards,
-Sarah
Sarah B. Kraemer
PhD Student | Department of Psychology
Behaviour and Evolution Research Group [BERG<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…>]
Scottish Primate Research Group [SPRG<http://living-links.org/about/scottish-primate-research-group/>]
University of Stirling, UK
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers,
We hope your winter holiday has been cozy and relaxing!
We are pleased to say that the Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) seminars are starting again soon. These seminars are held on Wednesdays at 5:30pm in 3A94.
Sarah Kraemer (PhD student in Psychology - me!) and Gema Martin-Ordas (lecturer in Psychology) will be taking over the responsibilities of organising BERG from Jade Hooper and Hannah Buchanan-Smith. Let's hear a virtual round of applause for those two for a successful fall semester of speakers! Thank you Hannah and Jade for that kind e-mail passing the baton to us.
Meetings will start on Wednesday 15th January, so please add these Wednesday dates to your diaries. There will be no meeting on the 19th of February for mid-semester break, and the last meeting will be on the 1st of April.
The first BERG returning meeting is on Wednesday 15th January at 5:30pm in 3A94 (Psychology common room). One of our fall semester speakers had been tentatively re-scheduled for this date, and if this plan changes we will use this first meeting as a catching-up from the holidays, complete with snacks and bubbly to bolster our moods and strengthen our resolves for 2020!
As for the rest of the meetings, SIGN-UPS ARE NOW OPEN! The new schedule can be found at: https://stir.app.box.com/file/588066861916
The success of BERG depends upon you! Please consider signing up for a seminar slot. Presenting at BERG is an excellent way to practice talks, hone your presentation skills, get feedback on grant application ideas, lead a discussion of a controversial/interesting research paper etc. You can also suggest external speakers who we might invite (local speakers only please).
Doodle software is no longer free so please look at the schedule in the Box link – and then email me and Gema and we shall update the schedule. If you can provide a title that also helps! ( s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk; gema.martin-ordas(a)stir.ac.uk )
If you have new students who might wish to be on the BERG mailing list, please send them this e-mail. To sign up to the BERG mailing list new folk must complete the form available here:
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
You can also use this link to unsubscribe.
A Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night!
Many thanks,
Sarah and Gema
________________________________
The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2018
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
