- BERG - University of Stirling Mailing Lists

BERG meeting, Wednesday 27 January, 16:00

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, This is just a quick reminder that we have a meeting this Wednesday (27 January, 16:00) with Dr Patrick Tkaczynski (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Tai Chimpanzee Project) giving a presentation about his work on maternal effects on offspring development in apes (abstract attached). The link to the session is below this email. Below are the other talks taking place this semester: 03-Feb-20, 16:00 Alexander Georgiev (Bangor university) “Zanzibar Red Colobus Project” 10-Feb-20, 16:00 Donna Kean (University of Stirling) TBC 17-Feb-20, 16:00 Stefano Kaburu (University of Wolverhampton) “Human-macaque interactions” (tentative) 03-Mar-20, 16:00 Laetitia Marechal (University of Lincoln) “All about that face: facial features as potential drivers for human-primate interactions” 10-Mar-20, 16:00 Adrian Soldati (University of Neuchatel) “Audience effects of chimpanzee pant hooting” 17-Mar-20, 16:00 Jo Setchell (Durham University) “Decolonising Primatology” 24-Mar-20, 16:00 Drew Enigk (University of New Mexico) “Social relationship formation and competition among adolescent and adult wild chimpanzees”(tentative) 31-Mar-20, 16:00 Maël Leroux (University of Zurich) ”Chimpanzee call combinations”(tentative) 07-Apr-20, 16:00 Maureen McCarthy (University of Southern California) “PanAf project” (tentative) 14-Apr-20, 16:00 TBC 21-Apr-20, 16:00 Guillaume Dezecache (Université Clermont Auvergne) “Social cognition in extremis” 28-Apr-20, 16:00 Erin Wessling (Harvard University) “Ecology and behaviour of the 'savannah' chimpanzees (Fongoli, Senegal)” (tentative) Best wishes, Pawel and Sarah Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 6 months

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BERG meeting today, 16:00

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, This is just a quick reminder that we have a meeting today at 16:00 with Dr Jessica Hartel giving a presentation about her conservation work for the Kibale Chimpanzee Project (abstract attached). The link to the session is below this email. Below are the other talks taking place this semester: 27-Jan-20, 16:00 Patrick Tkaczynski (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) “Maternal effects on offspring development in wild apes” 03-Feb-20, 16:00 Alexander Georgiev (Bangor university) “Zanzibar Red Colobus Project” 10-Feb-20, 16:00 Donna Kean (University of Stirling) TBC 17-Feb-20, 16:00 Stefano Kaburu (University of Wolverhampton) “Human-macaque interactions” (tentative) 03-Mar-20, 16:00 Laetitia Marechal (University of Lincoln) “All about that face: facial features as potential drivers for human-primate interactions” 10-Mar-20, 16:00 Adrian Soldati (University of Neuchatel) “Audience effects of chimpanzee pant hooting” 17-Mar-20, 16:00 Jo Setchell (Durham University) “Decolonising Primatology” 24-Mar-20, 16:00 Drew Enigk (University of New Mexico) “Social relationship formation and competition among adolescent and adult wild chimpanzees”(tentative) 31-Mar-20, 16:00 Maël Leroux (University of Zurich) ”Chimpanzee call combinations”(tentative) 07-Apr-20, 16:00 Maureen McCarthy (University of Southern California) “PanAf project” (tentative) 14-Apr-20, 16:00 TBC 21-Apr-20, 16:00 Guillaume Dezecache (Université Clermont Auvergne) “Social cognition in extremis” 28-Apr-20, 16:00 Erin Wessling (Harvard University) “Ecology and behaviour of the 'savannah' chimpanzees (Fongoli, Senegal)” (tentative) Best wishes, Pawel and Sarah Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 6 months

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Fw: Research Study Interviews - Great Ape Personhood

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, You might be interested in helping out the student with her dissertation project (please see below). Best wishes, Pawel ________________________________ From: Phyllis Lee <phyllis.lee(a)stir.ac.uk> Sent: 19 January 2021 16:07 To: Hannah Buchanan-Smith <h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk>; Pawel Fedurek <pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: Fw: Research Study Interviews - Great Ape Personhood Hi guys, this was sent to me. Do you think we should circulate to BERG members? Best wishes P Phyllis C. Lee Emeritus Professor of Psychology Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK direct line +44 (0) 1786 467656 fax+44 (0) 1786 467641 mobile +44 (0) 7802 427132 ________________________________ From: Charlotte O'Neill <B00338473(a)studentmail.uws.ac.uk> Sent: 19 January 2021 09:22 To: Phyllis Lee <phyllis.lee(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: Research Study Interviews - Great Ape Personhood CAUTION: This email originated from outside University of Stirling. Do not follow links or open attachments if you doubt the authenticity of the sender or the content. ________________________________ To whom it may concern, I am currently studying at the University of the West of Scotland and I am contacting you regarding a research study I am conducting for my 4thyear dissertation. Titled: A Qualitative Study into the Classification of Great Apes as Persons. Results of this study will allow me to draw conclusions as to whether great apes should be granted personhood. I am aware that you have a Primatology department within your university, and I would greatly appreciate it if this email could be distributed among any lecturers, postgraduate or PhD students that may be interested in completing an interview for this study. Please find attached the Participant Information Sheet for this research. The consent form will be sent to any willing participants. I am aiming to complete the interviews by the end of February-beginning of March. Please take time to read the participant information sheet and contact me if you have any questions. Any willing participants can contact me via this email address or through my personal email addressc.s.oneill(a)hotmail.co.uk<mailto:c.s.oneill@hotmail.co.uk>to arrange a consent form and a date and time for the interview. Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you, Kind Regards, Charlotte O’Neill ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 6 months

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Fw: ASAB & ABS Twitter Conference Next Week!

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, This might be of interest to some of you (please see below) Best wishes, Pawel ________________________________ From: Craig Roberts <craig.roberts(a)stir.ac.uk> Sent: 19 January 2021 12:36 To: Pawel Fedurek <pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: FW: ASAB & ABS Twitter Conference Next Week! Hi Pawel This might be of interest to BERG members? C ________________________________ From: ASAB Communications Officer <asabwebeditor(a)gmail.com<mailto:asabwebeditor@gmail.com>> Sent: 19 January 2021 11:54 To: Colin Hendrie <C.A.Hendrie(a)leeds.ac.uk<mailto:C.A.Hendrie@leeds.ac.uk>> Subject: ASAB & ABS Twitter Conference Next Week! More information about the conference, schedule, and how to attend. View this email in your browser<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.m…> Good morning, It's just one week until our first ever Twitter conference on January 26th and 27th! We have partnered with the Animal Behavior Society to put together the Global Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference (#AnimBehav2021)<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>. We have finalised our schedule<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>, which covers two days of amazing animal behaviour research from ~130 presenters around the world and includes plenaries by Dr. Bibiana Rojas<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>, Prof. Bob Wong<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>, Dr. Sheng-Feng Shen<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>, and Prof. Colette St. Mary<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>. You don't need to register for the conference - you just show up on the day, and can either follow the #AnimBehav2021 hashtag<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> on Twitter or watch the tweets through the feed on our website<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>. If you're new to Twitter conferences or to Twitter in general, here's a helpful video explaining how to participate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4onft-L3bg&feature=youtu.be If you have any questions about #AnimBehav2021, we have lots of helpful information on the conference website<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> and you can contact the conference organising team at animaltwitconf(a)gmail.com<mailto:animaltwitconf@gmail.com> Tweet to you soon! Kirsty Graham ASAB Communications Officer asabwebeditor(a)gmail.com<mailto:asabwebeditor@gmail.com> [Twitter]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> [Facebook]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> [Website]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> Copyright © 2021 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, All rights reserved. You are a member of ASAB Our mailing address is: The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Department of Zoology Cambridge, Cam CB1 0 Add us to your address book<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…> or unsubscribe from this list<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasab.us11…>. [Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mailch…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 6 months

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BERG meeting (Wednesday, 20 January, 16:00)

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, This is just a quick reminder that we have our first BERG meeting this Wednesday (20 January) at 4pm with Jessica Hartel (University of North Georgia) giving a talk about chimpanzee conservation (please find the abstract below this email). Please use the below link to join all our meetings this semester (I will resend this link at the start of every week for those who don't have it in their calendar): https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…>  [https://statics.teams.microsoft.com/hashedassets-launcher/favicon/favicon-9…]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Join conversation<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> teams.microsoft.com Abstract of Jess's talk: "Landmines in the forest: Assessing and mitigating the threats of snares to wild chimpanzee conservation in Uganda Uganda’s Kibale National Park is home to one of the largest populations of eastern chimpanzees. Historically, high poaching rates in the park have produced equally high snare injury rates in chimpanzees and other wildlife – approximately one-third of Ugandan chimpanzees have permanent snare injuries. Snares threaten the integrity of a chimpanzee’s daily life and health as well as their conservation as a species. Since 1987, the Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP) has been working in the Kanyawara region of the park to expand our knowledge of chimpanzee behavioral ecology while also implementing and maintaining many successful conservation initiatives that focus on this threat. Since 1997, our Kibale Snare Removal Program (KSRP) has deployed more than 5000 patrols and removed over 10,000 snares throughout the park, leading to a reduced rate of snare-setting in the Kanyawara home range and therefore a decline in the frequency of snare-related chimpanzee injuries. To complement this effort, in January 2020, we established the Chimpanzee Health, Intervention, and Monitoring Program (CHIMP), which is managed by an onsite Ugandan wildlife veterinarian. CHIMP adopts a One-Health approach to 1) improve chimpanzee health monitoring, 2) mitigate (anthropo)zoonotic disease transmission, 3) elevate veterinary emergency response to disease outbreaks and snare injuries, and 4) engage local communities in public awareness campaigns relating to chimp conservation. While CHIMP is still in its infancy, its establishment has been extraordinarily timely given the additional COVID-19 pandemic conservation challenges. All of our conservation efforts are in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Jane Goodall Institute." We very much hope to see you on Wednesday! Best wishes, Pawel and Sarah ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 7 months

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BERG meeting, 20 January

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, Happy New Year! I hope all of you had a nice Xmas break and are ready for 2021! I am writing to let you know that our first BERG meeting will take place on Wednesday the 20th of January. We will be hosting Dr Jessica Hartel (Kibale Chimpanzee Project; University of North Georgia), who will tell us about her conservation work on Kanyawara chimpanzees (please see the abstract attached). We very much hope to see you all during the meeting. We will use MSTeams so you should receive a link to the meeting soon. Below, I also put a list of speakers for January - March. Date Time Speaker Affiliation Presentation topic (tentative) 20-Jan-20 16:00 Jessica Hartel University of North Georgia Landmines in the forest: Assessing and mitigating the threats of snares to wild chimpanzee conservation in Uganda 27-Jan-20 16:00 Patrick Tkaczynski Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Maternal effects on offspring development in wild apes 03-Feb-20 16:00 Alexander Georgiev Bangor University Zanzibar Red Colobus Project (tentative) 10-Feb-20 16:00 TBC 17-Feb-20 16:00 Stefano Kaburu University of Wolverhampton Human-macaque interactions (tentative) 03-Mar-20 16:00 Laetitia Marechal University of Lincoln All about that face: facial features as potential drivers for human-primate interactions 10-Mar-20 16:00 Adrian Soldati University of Neuchatel Audience effects of chimpanzee pant hooting 17-Mar-20 16:00 Jo Setchell Durham University Decolonising Primatology 24-Mar-20 16:00 Drew Enigk University of New Mexico Social relationship formation and competition among adolescent and adult wild chimpanzees (Kanyawara, Uganda) If you would like to give a talk or to invite someone to present for us, just let us know! Best wishes, Pawel and Sarah ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 7 months

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BERG

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

I think you may have sent a message out to folk this morning but I don't think it arrived.....I only heard through BERG bounce notification as a list owner. Did you use berg(a)lists.stir.ac.uk ? Can you try again, or send the message to me to send? I saw the programme and it looks absolutely FANTASTIC! Thank you, Hannah Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk> Home page: <https://rms.stir.ac.uk/converis-stirling/person/11925> https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/257464 http://marmosetcare.com/ http://www.animalconcepts.eu/247animalwelfare/ http://refiningdogcare.com/ ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 7 months

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For Auld Lang Syne, my Dear BERGers

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Message from Sarah Kraemer and Pawel Fedurek Dear BERGers, Pawel and I would love to 🎄thank you all for coming to the holiday party and making it a memorable one! 🎄I've attached the various screenshots and group photos we managed to gather at the end. One of my screenshots did not save, unfortunately, but I believe we are all represented in at least one of these! Special thanks Hannah, Craig, and Sabrina for sharing those screen grabs over e-mail or in the chat. 💚❤️💚 The powerpoint is linked here, for nostalgia and/or posterity. https://youtu.be/LvRBPbaV8XI [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LvRBPbaV8XI/hqdefault.jpg]<https://youtu.be/LvRBPbaV8XI> BERG Holiday Party 2020<https://youtu.be/LvRBPbaV8XI> Sarah Kraemer's amazing BERG PowerPoint - you will need to pause it to play at home for "spot the difference game" etc. youtu.be We are on the BERGe of a new year, and at least we have said good-bye to this one with a proper send-off! Letting 2020 Bygones Be(r)Gone, (these puns are getting more and more convoluted) -Sarah and Pawel* *Official 2020 Holiday Cheermeister* ❄️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA ❄️ [https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.885EEwOGmj95bRIT6TXuLQHgFo&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA> Auld Lang Syne (with lyrics)<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA> Robert Burns - Auld Lang Syne As sung by Dougie MacLean on the album Tribute. www.youtube.com ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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For Auld Lang Syne, my Dear BERGers

by Sarah Kraemer

Sarah Kraemer has shared a OneDrive for Business file with you. To view it, click the link below. <https://stir-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sbk1_stir_ac_uk/Documents/Pictures/…> [https://r1.res.office365.com/owa/prem/images/dc-pptx_20.png]<https://stir-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sbk1_stir_ac_uk/Documents/Pictures/…> BERG Holiday Party 2020.pptx<https://stir-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sbk1_stir_ac_uk/Documents/Pictures/…> Dear BERGers, Pawel and I would love to 🎄thank you all for coming to the holiday party and making it a memorable one! 🎄I've attached the various screenshots and group photos we managed to gather at the end. One of my screenshots did not save, unfortunately, but I believe we are all represented in at least one of these! Special thanks Hannah, Craig, and Sabrina for sharing those screen grabs over e-mail or in the chat. 💚❤️💚 The powerpoint is also attached, for nostalgia and/or posterity. We are on the BERGe of a new year, and at least we have said good-bye to this one with a proper send-off! Letting 2020 Bygones Be(r)Gone, (these puns are getting more and more convoluted) -Sarah and Pawel* *Official 2020 Holiday Cheermeister* ❄️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA ❄️ [https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.885EEwOGmj95bRIT6TXuLQHgFo&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA> Auld Lang Syne (with lyrics)<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA> Robert Burns - Auld Lang Syne As sung by Dougie MacLean on the album Tribute. www.youtube.com ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Bah HumBERG-- Holiday Party Reminder

by Sarah Kraemer

Dear BERGers, This is your friendly reminder that Tomorrow at 6pm (UK time) is the annual holiday party!! The link for the Teams party can be found here: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/channel/19%3aac34448fee7942bdabcc065540ad7841… If you have not already done so, please send in your ice breaker Photo to Sarah Kraemer by 12pm tomorrow! And participate in the pre-party quiz, found here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/skraemer42/berg-christmas-quiz-5fuhalhhnv Come prepared with your own: ✅Holiday sweater / hat / festive get-up ✅Libations / snacks This is the season of giving. If you happen to have a single misgiving, Dump it to Crumpit! See you all tomorrow! Sarah and Pawel E-mail for Pawel [Lecturer in Psychology at Stirling; meetings coordinator of BERG]: pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk E-mail for Sarah [PhD Student at Stirling; occasional coordinator of BERG]: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk 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<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.stir…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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PhD student & technicians post with orangutans

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Possibly of interest to some of you..... From: caroline.schuppli(a)aim.uzh.ch <caroline.schuppli(a)aim.uzh.ch> Sent: 12 December 2020 11:24 Subject: Looking for PhD student & technicians Dear all, I'm advertising the first positions for my Research Group at the MPI AB: 1. Two technicians who will mainly work with our orangutan behavioral database, but also collect data on zoo orangutans and do outreach work for our SUAQ orangutan project. 2. A PhD candidate for a project on the development of ranging skills and learning in juvenile orangutans at Suaq. It would be great, if you could help me spread the word and pass this on to suitable students that might be interested. I hope you are all doing well and are all healthy, Caroline ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Fw: Imagination in Biology survey

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

If you have a spare 15 minutes over the break to help a former BERGer with her research.... The link to the survey is here<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftilburgss…>, and the survey itself should take less than 15 minutes to complete. Participants are entered into a raffle to win a $100 USD gift card, or cash. Further details below. ________________________________ From: Cassandra Gruetzner <cag00051(a)students.stir.ac.uk> Sent: 07 December 2020 11:16 To: Hannah Buchanan-Smith <h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: Imagination in Biology survey Dear Hannah, I was one of your personal students two years ago and was visiting the BERG meetings quite regularly. I've been doing quite well since I graduated from Stirling, and will finish my MSc in social psychology from Tilburg & HSE this summer. I do have a bit of question: I'm involved in a small research team with some philosophers of science, and we are investigating how imagination is used in the sciences. We are conducting a small survey, and we are mainly trying to target ecology, evolution and conservation biologists. Admittedly, though, survey-recruitment has been a bit difficult, and I was wondering if you maybe knew of some listservs/newsletters I could contact to disseminate our survey further? I was also wondering if maybe some of the BERG members would be so kind to fill it out? The link to the survey is here<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftilburgss…>, and the survey itself should take less than 15 minutes to complete. Participants are entered into a raffle to win a $100 USD gift card, or cash. I hope you are doing well, especially in these times, and hope you're having a nice week! Kind regards, Cassandra ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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A BERGy Merry Christmas, it's the BERG time of the year!

by Sarah Kraemer

Dear BERGers, This Christmas Party may very well be the only good thing to happen to any of us all year. A very low bar has been set (as most bars have been closed??) but we think we can surpass it, if just by the long white hairs on our chinny chin-chin. Important Information so that you can Prepare YoursELVES: 1. The party is Next Wednesday, Dec 16, at 6pm. 2. You are fully encouraged to wear your very best Christmas jumper, pyjamas set, or holiday hat! No one will know what is happening from the waist down, so onesies with back-flaps are fair game. * We will try to have a poll set-up during the party so that members can anonymously vote on whose outfit is the best! * The Winner will be crowned "The Holiday Cheermeister", and then nothing else will happen, but they are welcome to add that title to their e-mail signature. 3. Please participate in our Buzzfeed BERG Christmas Party Poll! The link can be found here: * https://www.buzzfeed.com/skraemer42/berg-christmas-quiz-5fuhalhhnv * Poll results will be shared during the party! * There are no wrong answers, unless your favourite holiday movie of all time is Jingle all the Way, in which case I have so many questions. * The poll will never close, but if you could have your answers in by midnight on Tuesday, that would be best! 4. We have prepared two ice breaker ideas, and hope that by stating them now, everyone can come prepared! * The first is to find a photo that represents you-- something you love, something research-related, a fond memory-- and send it to me before the party! I will put them together on a power point so that during introductions we can all see it and learn a bit more about you. * Send to: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:s.b.kraemer@stir.ac.uk> * By midnight on Tuesday * it could be a photo of you at your field site, with a pet, etc. * Alternatively, if you'd rather show us an object that has meaning for you and then tell us about it, feel free! For example, I might show-off my beloved dinosaur bone, or my neat running medal. It could be anything! * This is optional, so no pressure. * The other was a suggestion from Zsuzsa Lugosi!! Thanks, Zsuzsa!! It's called "Two Truths and a Lie" * You come prepared with three "facts" about yourself. Two are true, one is a lie. * Group discussion and consensus will decide the lie. * If you lied convincingly no one in BERG will trust you ever again. I don't make the rules. * This is also optional, so during the party you can just state that you are not a deceitful person and perhaps tell us a fun fact about yourself! * Feel free to prepare for both icebreakers, or just one. We will just go around doing introductions once and the floor will be yours! 5. Bring Your Own Libations!! * BERG has always been wine-friendly at our after-hours meetings, so feel free to concoct yourself something special to sip on during the party. * Munchies are also encouraged, but preferably those that don't crunch too loudly into the microphone! We will send out a Teams Link and a reminder e-mail out next Week! Why say Bah-Humbug, when you can instead say, Bah-HumBERG?! -Sarah and Pawel E-mail for Pawel [Lecturer in Psychology at Stirling; meetings coordinator of BERG]: pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk E-mail for Sarah [PhD Student at Stirling; occasional coordinator of BERG]: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk 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<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.stir…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Ho-Ho-Hope to see you at the BERG Xmas Party!

by Sarah Kraemer

Dear BERGers, We are ever so jolly to announce that BERG will be having a Virtual Christmas Party next week! It will be hosted by myself (Sarah Kraemer) and our incoming BERG meetings co-ordinator, Pawel Fedurek. SAVE THE DATE / TIME: Wednesday, Dec 16 6pm - Who knows, 7:30? on Microsoft Teams. Look out for another e-mail headed your way this week with additional information! Ho - Ho - Hope to see you there, -Sarah and Pawel E-mail for Pawel [Lecturer in Psychology at Stirling; meetings coordinator of BERG]: pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk E-mail for Sarah [PhD Student at Stirling; occasional coordinator of BERG]: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk 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<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.stir…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Invitation: Research Seminar

by Craig Roberts

Dear BERGers I have organised a research seminar for our Evolutionary Psychology MSc students, to which you are all also invited if interested. She will talk for about an hour and then be available for questions and discussion for a further 30min. Monday 30th November, 10 - 11.30am Does personality smell? Dr Agnieszka Sorokowska, Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Poland. Agnieszka Sorokowska works at the Institute of Psychology (University of Wroclaw, Poland), where she is a head of the Smell and Taste Research Lab. Her previous affiliations include Technische Universitaet Dresden (Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine) and Gösta Ekman Laboratory at the Stockholm University. During her career, Agnieszka Sorokowska was a principal investigator in six research grants funded by Polish and international organizations. She is an author or coauthor of 78 publications in international scientific journals (including Nature, Cognition, Hormones and Behavior or Science of the Total Environment). Her multidisciplinary research program relates mostly to evolutionary, cross-cultural and cognitive psychology, although many of her studies combine also other disciplines, like medicine, anthropology or neuroscience. Her scientific interests led her also to many isolated and remote places, like West Papua, Bolivian Amazon or Pacific Islands, where she conducted field research. She received several national and international scientific awards (including the International Society for Human Ethology's Linda Mealey Award). Google scholar page: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=RqNAcx0AAAAJ&hl=en University page: http://www.old.psychologia.uni.wroc.pl/?q=users/asorokowska How to join: Microsoft Teams meeting Join on your computer or mobile app Click here to join the meeting<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e83/?url=https%3A%…> Or call in (audio only) +44 131 460 4091,,776248832#<tel:+441314604091,,776248832#> United Kingdom, Edinburgh Phone Conference ID: 776 248 832# Find a local number<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdialin.te…> | Reset PIN<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmysetting…> Learn More<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2F…> | Meeting options<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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UFAW LINK: Reminders and updates

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Dear BERGers As most of you know, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) support BERG activities, and I am their LINK representative to share information and news. Please see updates below including links to recorded conferences and meetings, funding opportunities, and award nominations. Best, Hannah Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: Stephen Wickens <wickens(a)ufaw.org.uk<mailto:wickens@ufaw.org.uk>> Date: 24 November 2020 at 14:11:36 GMT To: <h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk>> Subject: UFAW LINK: Reminders and updates Reply-To: <wickens(a)ufaw.org.uk<mailto:wickens@ufaw.org.uk>> CAUTION: This email originated from outside University of Stirling. Do not follow links or open attachments if you doubt the authenticity of the sender or the content. ________________________________ Dear Hannah, Just to remind you that, if you missed any, recordings of all the sessions of our 'Recent advances in animal welfare science VII' conference are available to watch on demand by using this link: https://www.gotostage.com/channel/f608fd7ee2944abd81ef1679f825def1<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gotos…>. These sessions will be available to view until at least April 2021. Since this conference, we have hosted a few other meetings, that you may also be interested in viewing. Recordings of the RSPCA/UFAW rodent welfare meeting can be viewed here: https://www.gotostage.com/channel/13b635b7ccf74ebcbf6a7eb3df3f9a7f<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gotos…>. And recordings of our most recent – the FVSO/UFAW/HSA symposium on ‘Humanely ending the life of animals’ - here: https://www.gotostage.com/channel/81bced3dd4314165816dd8ae8b49a9b4<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gotos…> We have also just issued a call for abstracts for our June 2021 meeting ‘Recent advances…VIII’ which will once again be a free online event. Abstract submissions are welcome in any area of animal welfare science and the deadline for their submission is 18 January 2021. Further details on the conference and on how to submit an abstract can be found here: www.ufaw.org.uk/conf2021<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufaw.o…> And don’t forget that we are now seeking applications for: · the UFAW Animal Welfare Student Scholarships<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufaw.o…> (stipend £2400, including funds to cover departmental expenses upto a maximum of £800). Closing date for applications: 28 February 2021 · the UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufaw.…>. Closing date for applications 4 December 2020. · the UFAW Early Career Animal Welfare Researcher of the Year Award<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ufaw.o…> Closing date for applications 4 December 2020. and · the HSA Student/Trainee Scholarships<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsa.or…> (stipend up to a maximum of £2000). Closing date for applications: 28 February 2021 · the HSA Humane Slaughter Award<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsa.or…> for significant advances in humane slaughter, marketing or transport of farmed livestock. Closing date for applications: 4 December 2020. If you have any questions about the LINK scheme and how to ask us to support an activity then please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you and stay safe. Stephen Dr Stephen Wickens UFAW, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Herts AL4 8AN, UK Email: wickens(a)ufaw.org.uk ; Direct Tel: +44(0)1276 500880; Office: +44(0)1582 831818 MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "c:" claiming to be www.ufaw.org.uk<C:\Users\Stephen%20Wickens\AppData\Local\Temp\~ed_sb_3\www.ufaw.org.uk> ---------------------------------------- Hold the date: * Recent advances in animal welfare science VIII Virtual UFAW Animal Welfare Conference, 29-30th June 2021. For further information about UFAW awards, scholarships, meetings and other news follow us on: Facebook: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare - UFAW<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebo…> ; Twitter: @UFAW_1926<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.c…> The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) is an UK charity that works to develop and promote improvements in the welfare of all animals through scientific and educational activity worldwide. Registered Charity No 207996 (Registered in England) and Company Limited by Guarantee No 579991 Science in the service of animal welfare ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Free seminar on Rewilding

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Ellie Berry has kindly highlighted this great opportunity to learn about: Rewilding - Connecting Rewilding Science to Practice It's on 3rd December from 9.30-16.30 (CET) - so this should be UK 8.30-15.30hrs I think! Excellent line up - and all free but you must register https://rewildingeurope.com/connecting-rewilding-science-and-practice/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frewilding…> A one-of-a-kind online rewilding event Rewilding aims to restore degraded ecosystems by creating room for nature to manage itself. There is huge momentum for large-scale nature recovery using a rewilding approach. But how does rewilding work exactly, where can it be done and what does it deliver? During this one-of-a-kind online event, highly-regarded rewilding scientists and experts from Rewilding Europe will address these questions by bringing rewilding science and practice together. ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 8 months

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Dr Daoudi to be

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Dear BERGers and colleagues I am thrilled to let you know that Sophia Daoudi has just passed her viva voce for her thesis on mixed species groups of primates, and will soon be Dr Daoudi! She still uses her Stirling email address if you want to congratulate her personally (please do not "reply to all"!) - s.m.daoudi1(a)stir.ac.uk Thank you to Craig Roberts who was the internal examiner, and Eva Rafetseder the independent chair - as well as her two external examiners: Prof Andrew Whiten and Dr Andrew Smith. Sophia said she enjoyed the discussion! Phyllis Lee, Eoin O'Sullivan and I supervised her thesis. Like many across the globe, I shall be raising a glass to Sophia tonight! Congratulations! Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk> Home page: <https://rms.stir.ac.uk/converis-stirling/person/11925> https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/257464 http://marmosetcare.com/ http://www.animalconcepts.eu/247animalwelfare/ http://refiningdogcare.com/ ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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Funded PhD on buzz-pollinating bees and flies

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Please see attached an advert for a fully funded PhD studentship entitled "Behavioural biology of buzz-pollinating bees and flies" . The funding will be allocated via a highly competitive process including an interview stage for shortlisted candidates across the Doctoral Training Programme. The website has a more detailed description of the project, funding and selection process. https://www.iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships/behavioural-biology-of-buzz-pollina…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iapet…> Any questions to Mario Vallejo-Marin - mario.vallejo(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:mario.vallejo@stir.ac.uk> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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Vacancy - RA post -Evolution of Caregiving

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

This is an exciting opportunity for someone to study chimpanzees and the evolution of careging! Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences is offering a part-time, fixed-term Research Assistant position to work with Dr Sharon Kessler on a Carnegie Trust funded project ‘HumansCare: Evolution of Care-Giving for Sick People’. Please read the further particulars here: https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/work-at-stirling/list/details/?jobId=2406&jobT… The project seeks to understand how the cognitive and emotional foundations for providing care to the sick evolved in humans. It is a cross-species study of how humans and chimpanzees respond cognitively and emotionally to sickness cues in members of their own species. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are currently recruiting for someone to conduct the first half of the project in collaboration with the Budongo Research Unit (BRU), a University of St Andrews research facility based at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo. The postholder will conduct experiments in which we will measure the responses of chimpanzees when they view images of healthy and sick individuals. Training on site at Edinburgh Zoo will be provided by staff at the BRU. Depending on COVID-19 restrictions, there is the potential for this post to be extended to allow the postholder to conduct a similar study on humans. Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Sharon Kessler, email: sharon.kessler(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:sharon.kessler@stir.ac.uk>. Please read the further particulars here: https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/work-at-stirling/list/details/?jobId=2406&jobT… ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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Fwd: Webinar Tomorrow: The Value of Nature to Our Economic Well-Being

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Dear BERGers Possibly of interest - 2pm Wednesday 11th November, joining link below. From: Ape Alliance Coordinator <coordinator(a)4apes.com<mailto:coordinator@4apes.com>> Date: 10 November 2020 at 20:13:12 GMT To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: Webinar Tomorrow: The Value of Nature to Our Economic Well-Being CAUTION: This email originated from outside University of Stirling. Do not follow links or open attachments if you doubt the authenticity of the sender or the content. ________________________________ Dear Ape Allies, Below is an invitation to watch a webinar with Ralph Chami, an economist who is working on valuing nature alongside our chairman Ian Redmond. Currently the work is based on whales and elephants, but there is exciting scope to expand this thinking into other species. It will be about 40 minutes, and includes a Q&A. Suggested Readings/Podcast/Videos for the participants: Elephant article: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Podcasts/All-Podcasts/2020/09/21/Elephants<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.o…> Elephant Podcast: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2020/09/how-african-elephants-fi…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.o…> Whale article: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/12/natures-solution-to-clim…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.o…> Whale Podcast : https://www.imf.org/en/News/Podcasts/All-Podcasts/2019/09/15/value-of-whales<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.o…> Whale Movie: https://youtu.be/rYBwHnz-yZE<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%…> Abstract: The sustainability of our economic system and our own well-being are very much dependent on the sustainability of our ecosystems. For the longest time, humans have assumed that they are separate from the natural world and that nature provides infinite commodities. These two assumptions helped fuel the industrial revolution, but at the same time, resulted in the abuse of nature and in the climate crisis. We need a new paradigm, a new way of thinking which recognizes that humans are part of the natural world and that nature is a finite input into our lives and livelihood. This realization—of the value of nature—allows us to develop a framework for natural capital valuation that also directly addresses the fundamental collective action problem in environmental protection. In this webinar, I will highlight how our valuation framework uses the lessons of financial and behavioral economics to create values that individual decision makers find credible and relatable, in addition to stimulating excitement or concern that is essential to prompting action around environmental issues. I will provide examples of ecosystem services valuation which include carbon sequestration services provided by whales, non-cetaceans, and forest elephants of Africa. The values of carbon sequestration flow for individual members of these species are significant: $1.75 million per forest elephant, and an average of $2 million per whale. I will then discuss how to apply this financial framework to create markets for living forest elephants in Gabon, which will attract private sector in partnership with the public one, and help create employment opportunities for local communities. Finally, I will sketch how we can build a new economy that has a living nature at its core, which will ensure a sustainable, inclusive and nature-friendly economic growth. All the best, Iona Haines Ape Alliance Coordinator Website<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.4apes…> | Facebook<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.faceb…> | Instagram<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insta…> | Twitter<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.c…> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The iLab would like to invite you to: The Value of Nature to Our Economic Well-Being with ICD’s Ralph Chami and Connel Fullenkamp<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscholars.…>, Professor of the Practice of Economics and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Duke University, Economics Department Wednesday, November 11 @ 2:00 PM When it's time, join your Webex meeting here. Meeting number (access code): 146 922 1003 Meeting password: zPjSEW8dB83 Join meeting<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimf.webex…> Tap to join from a mobile device (attendees only) +1-202-860-2110,,1469221003##<tel:%2B1-202-860-2110,,*01*1469221003%23%23*01*> United States Toll (Washington D.C.) +1-415-655-0002,,1469221003##<tel:%2B1-415-655-0002,,*01*1469221003%23%23*01*> United States Toll In this session ICD’s Ralph Chami and Duke’s Professor Connel Fullenkamp will share their work around how valuing and investing in the protection of nature can generate a more sustainable blue-green economy, help mitigate climate change, and realign economies toward inclusive and nature-friendly economic growth. Read the paper: On Valuing Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change: A Framework with Application to Elephants and Whales<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpapers.ss…>. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The iLab’s “Campfire Series,” a new series of events for staff to Gather, Learn and Explore. The events will feature external speakers to share enlightening ideas. Campfires are credited<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror…> with advancing human culture 40,000 years ago. It was how our ancestors bonded, discussed, and entertained each other. They sang, danced, and told stories around the fire—which we still do to this day. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ [Description: cid:image002.jpg@01D6B6E6.112C5660] ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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BERGers, if you've Got It, Haunt It!

by Sarah Kraemer

Happy Halloween, BERGers! 🎃👻 (Or should we say, All Hallows Eve-olution?) We hope you and your pump-kin *selected* a fun disguise, and had a weekend filled with as many treats and as few tricks as possible. If anyone has any animal-related costumes to share with the group, please forward them along! Taxonomically-confused monsters may also apply. The world spins madly on, and today is particularly scary for all the wrong reasons. But we do have a few beacons of good news to share to light-up your lanterns this week! Scientists Have Made the First Large Coral Reef Discovery in 120 Years, and it is taller than the tallest skyscraper in New York City! "Marine scientists have discovered a coral tower in Australia's Great Barrier Reef that stands more than 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall, exceeding the height of the Empire State Building. It’s the first time in 120 years that a reef so large has been found in this famous ocean region, according to scientists at Schmidt Ocean Institute, who spotted and filmed the giant living structure. ... And as if this news wasn’t delightful enough, the vehicles used to find and explore the new reef appear to be named after characters from The Neverending Story. Beaman and her colleagues spotted the structure while onboard research vessel Falkor, and the team remotely operated a camera-carrying dive vehicle called SuBastian." -Excerpt from article https://www.vice.com/en/article/epddda/scientists-discover-coral-reef-talle…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vice.…> You can read more about this immense discovery on the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Website dedicated to the exploratory project!! https://schmidtocean.org/cruise/northern-depths-of-the-great-barrier-reef#n…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fschmidtoc…> Also, for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of some of the scientists collecting specimens of the reef!* (*please note that the sound is cut-out until roughly 2 minutes into the video, and then commentary can be heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnUVnNX7yrw<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtu…> A Record number of baby Olive Ridley Sea Turtles hatched in one Mexican town and traveled into the Gulf of California! This year 2,250 turtle babes made the journey, compared to the regular 1,000, and this is probably due to lessened human disturbance. "This year, an Indigenous conservation group in Sonora released a record number of sea turtle hatchlings in its community on the Sea of Cortez. And it’s probably a result of the pandemic. The group Tortugueros del Desemboque has released more than 2,250 Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchlings on the Mancha Blanca beach in the tiny seaside town El Desemboque. ... In a normal year, the group might release 1,000 hatchlings, if they're lucky, said turtle conservation group coordinator Mayra Estrella Astorga, adding that in the coming weeks even more turtles may still hatch and make their way back to the sea. ... 'This year has been one of the hardest for our community. The pandemic brought sickness and death to our people and complicated the economic situation here," she said. "And that’s why we are so happy that, in the middle of this tragedy this miracle of nature happened as a result of fewer fishing boats and tourists. But also through the efforts of the community.' " Excerpt from article: https://www.azpm.org/p/home-articles-news/2020/10/28/182961-indigenous-comm…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azpm.…> You can learn more about the mass-nesting rituals of these turtles from National Geographic, with an informative video clip found here!!: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/o/olive-ridley-sea-turt…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natio…> After a Super Typhoon, and numerous landslides, one critically endangered primate species got their own rope bridge to Safety! 🌴🐒🐒🌴 "Hainan gibbons are the world’s most critically endangered primates. They are endemic to the Hainan island of China and only about 30 of them remain on the planet. In July 2014, when the Super Typhoon Rammasun hit Hainan Island, landslides created forest gaps up to 30m wide. This fragmented the habitat of the Gibbons forcing them to dangerously leap across the passage. To avoid accidental injuries or deaths, a team from Hong Kong constructed a canopy rope bridge across the damaged way in 2015." -Excerpt from article https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/how-a-rope-bridge-…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehi…> The team just published their findings on the effectiveness of the bridge in Nature and noted that they never recorded or observed the bridge being used by the alpha male in the group, only by females and juveniles. The alpha male preferred to rely on his long-jump skills! Click on the link ^^above^^ to enjoy a video and explanation of the Bridge project, and click the following link for the peer-reviewed article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72641-z<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natur…> That's all for now, BERGoblins, BERGhouls, and BERGuisers. Good fright, and Good luck this week! -Sarah and Hannah E-mail for Hannah [Professor of Psychology at Stirling; Organiser of BERG]: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk E-mail for Sarah [PhD Student at Stirling; occasional coordinator of BERG]: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk 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<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.stir…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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Fw: Saints Talk: Professor Christian Rutz

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Professor Christian Rutz is giving a presentation on Studying wildlife responses to reduced human activity during COVID-19 lockdown. Tuesday 3rd November 5pm - please see teams link below. [https://sparc.st-andrews.ac.uk/image/uosa-email-template-images/founded-log…] [https://sparc.st-andrews.ac.uk/image/Christian_Social_Media_Email.png] We are delighted to welcome you to our next Saints Talk lecture by Professor Christian Rutz, taking place live on Tuesday 3 November at 5pm GMT via Microsoft Teams<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsparc.st-…>* Studying wildlife responses to reduced human activity during COVID-19 lockdown. Earlier this year, many countries around the world were forced to go into lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. Brought about by the most tragic circumstances, this period of unusually reduced human mobility — which Professor Rutz’s team recently coined “anthropause” — provides an unprecedented opportunity to study human–wildlife interactions. How do animals behave when there are fewer humans out and about? Do they “reclaim” habitats they would normally avoid? Do terrestrial and marine animals respond in the same manner? In this talk, Professor Rutz will explain how the International Bio-Logging Society, which he is serving as Founding President, recently launched a global research initiative to investigate wildlife behaviour before, during and after COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically, the team is using data collected by so-called “bio-loggers” — miniature animal-attached tracking devices that record detailed information about an animal’s movements and activity patterns. The scientific insights gained during this devastating crisis will allow us to develop innovative strategies for sharing space on this increasingly crowded planet, with benefits for both wildlife and humans. We hope that to see you on Tuesday at the online event. With best wishes [https://sparc.st-andrews.ac.uk/image/signatures/Robert-Signature-100pxl.png] Robert Fleming Director of Development *Please note you can join a Teams event, whether or not you have a Teams account. [http://sparc.st-andrews.ac.uk/smtp.mailopen?id=10944101] ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 9 months

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A Little BERG Update, & a Call for More

by Sarah Kraemer

Dear BERGers, A new semester is upon us, and we persist. We soldier on. We will not go gentle into that good night. As we say in America, We Keep on Truckin'. Perhaps in Scotland it might be, "Keep on Lorrying," but that sounds too much like "Keep on Worrying", which nobody needs any reminders to do. BERG as a group is adjusting to this strange new world, the same way its members are individually adjusting. We want to check-in with you before we proceed with any meetings this semester! So, if any BERG members would like to share any ideas for meetings, inspirations, stories from their summers, or general words of encouragement, [better than these recycled old phrases] please e-mail them to us! Now is a unique time to be in Academia-- we stand at the crossroads of science and politics, and we are equally scared and hopeful for the future. That is okay. That is to be expected. Normalise it! Time for some Positive News in the Animal Kingdom BERGers, We want to know what you know! What have you/ your labmates been working on, what are your collaborators publishing, etc. In the meantime, here are some intriguing findings from around the world in the animal kingdom. Male Flamboyant Cuttlefish mostly pretend to be rocks all day long, but when they get to courting the ladies, it is a sight to behold. In a new article for Science News, Hanlon & McManus (2020) described studying the courtship displays of these colourful creatures: 'After spotting a female in the distance, a male will flaunt bright colors and undulate their mantle stripes in a move called “the passing cloud.” Researchers also observed two types of gestures during this colorful routine: arm waving (reminiscent of a human bowing) and kissing (a tap on the female’s arm with his arms). “These displays are really elaborate and dynamic,” says Hanlon. “And they’re comparable to what some of the most sophisticated birds do and even some primates.”' -Quote from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/flamboyant-cuttlefish-video-mating-defe… Published paper in Science Direct: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098120300642 Watch a video of their flashy flirtations here!! You will not be disappointed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AwFr5lmhcw African Grey Parrots are just as fed up as you are, and they have some choice words to share. In an amusing news story for the BBC, Chief executive Steve Nichols the of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park described how five of their African grey parrots would cuss at guests, and then feed off of the energies of guests, whose reactions they took as encouragement to continue swearing. The parrots "swear to trigger reaction or a response" so if people look shocked or laugh, it just encourages them to do it more, he said. "With the five, one would swear and another would laugh and that would carry on," he said. -Quote from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-54340425 In a further interview for The Guardian, Steve went on: The parrots – named Billy, Elsie, Eric, Jade and Tyson – joined Lincolnshire Wildlife<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/wildlife> Park’s colony of 200 grey parrots in August. But soon after, they started encouraging each other to swear. “We saw it very quickly – we are quite used to parrots swearing but we’ve never had five at the same time,” Steve Nichols, CEO of the wildlife park, told PA. “Most parrots clam up outside, but for some reason these five relish it.” Now the parrots are in quarantine together, in the hopes that they don't distribute their naughty behaviours to the other grey parrots at the park. Lincolnshire already had a famous parrot, "Chico", who can sing Beyonce's "If I were a Boy." Click here to enjoy an interview with the Steve Nichols who not only manages Chico's singing talents, but also shares why the wildlife park has so many parrots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ04mXbCgC4 One Hundred and Ten Pilot Whales have been Rescued from a recent mass stranding in Australia-- the largest on record. The Guardian has been covering the mass stranding of the whales since last week, when they were discovered. 'Some 270 long-finned pilot whales were discovered stranded on sandbars on Monday morning and another 200 were found dead further inside the harbour two days later. The stranding surpasses a beaching event in 1996 involving about 320 pilot whales in Western Australia. [Incident Controller Robert] Buck praised rescuers for their tireless work in icy waters and rough weather.' -Quote from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/27/tasmania-rescuers-guide… You can follow along with the story, and listen to a short 30-minute podcast on the rescue missions HERE: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2020/sep/28/inside-the-res… A Whale of a Tale... The Grey Parrots' Regale... And the Seductive Displays of the Cuttlefish Male! [While the female awaits to judge pass-or-fail ✔️] We hope that these stories give YOU hope to prevail. Stay Safe and Sane out there, BERGers, and we are eager to receive any updates and/or ideas you might have to share with us, on a rolling basis. -Sarah and Hannah E-mail for Hannah [Professor of Psychology at Stirling; Organiser of BERG]: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk E-mail for Sarah [PhD Student at Stirling; occasional coordinator of BERG]: s.b.kraemer(a)stir.ac.uk 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 ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

4 years, 10 months

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New Platform Launched

by Mark Kingston Jones

Dear all, I really missed the Wednesday meeting yesterday, but I hope you are all well! I just wanted to share something we have just launched as it might be of interest to some of you, plus it might make a unique last minute Father’s Day gift! After the amazing feedback we received from the funders of our recent work at Lakeview Monkey Sanctuary, it was suggested we should take it further and allow people to contribute monthly. So that is exactly what we are doing with a Patreon account, where each month we will use the subscription to build a new feeder, new enclosure furniture, or do a whole enclosure renovation, for different animals at different locations, in order to progress our mission of assisting keepers to continually improve the lives of animals at zoos and sanctuaries. It will mean we can prototype devices and conduct builds that may not be suitable for our Team Building events, and we will be creating our very own Team who will share in the highs and lows of developing enrichment! In exchange our Team Members will get exclusive videos of the process, and of course the results, to provide that genuine feel good factor as they see what they have made possible! As an extra bonus, our first 15 subscribers will receive an exclusive invite to a private Open Day at Lakeview Monkey Sanctuary (in Ascot) to see first-hand the work they have funded at this private facility. To find out more or just to see our new design for Kinkajous we used to kick things off, visit: https://www.patreon.com/TeamBuildingwithBITE Any help spreading the word would be sincerely appreciated and if anyone is interested I also have an idea for a new ‘Institutional’ tier, which might be useful for those teaching students about enrichment and welfare. Many thanks and best wishes, Mark Mark Kingston Jones, Co-Founder - Team Building with BITE Workshop Coordinator - The Shape of Enrichment www.teambuildingwithbite.com 2nd highest rated provider two years running on Coursecheck for 2015 and 2016, and highest rated for 2017 and 2018. Vanarama Customer Service Hero 2017! See our latest reviews from course and workshop participants at: http://www.coursecheck.com/provider/39/team-building-with-bite

5 years, 1 month

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