- BERG - University of Stirling Mailing Lists

BERG/SHAIR talk this week: Dr Faye Whiley on human-lynx coexistence
by Clare Andrews 08 Dec '25

08 Dec '25

Dear BERGers and SHAIRers, Excited to have Dr Faye Whiley from the The Missing Lynx Project and University of Kent coming (virtually) to speak to us this week: Dr Faye Whiley The Missing Lynx Project: Exploring the return of lynx The conservation social science of human-carnivore coexistence. Wednesday 10 Dec 4-5pm for the Psychology Common Room live ‘watch party’ in Cottrell 3A94 or join on Teams: tinyurl.com/SHAIRlynx<http://tinyurl.com/SHAIRlynx> [cid:d646117c-17cc-4900-ab52-694ad122004e] ________________________________ Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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FW: Fully-funded PhD opportunity
by Christine Anna Caldwell 02 Dec '25

02 Dec '25

Please see below for details of a funded PhD opportunity which may be of interest to some in this group. Christine. From: Kavanagh, Eithne <eithne.kavanagh(a)ntu.ac.uk> Sent: 02 December 2025 16:40 To: Christine Anna Caldwell <c.a.caldwell(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: Fully-funded PhD opportunity You don't often get email from eithne.kavanagh(a)ntu.ac.uk<mailto:eithne.kavanagh@ntu.ac.uk>. Learn why this is important<https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> 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. ________________________________ Hi Christine, I hope you're well! I was wondering if you might be kind enough to circulate the following advertisement for a fully-funded PhD studentship to any relevant students in your Behaviour and Evolution Research group, or anyone who might be interested please? A fully-funded PhD opportunity is available at the Psychology department at Nottingham Trent University, supervised by Dr. Eithne Kavanagh, Professor Bridget Waller and Dr. Ella McLoughlin (link here<https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/postgraduate/phd/phd-opportunities/…>; deadline 13th February). We are seeking a student with a keen interest in the evolution of social behaviour. The project will focus on social hierarchies and their associated nonverbal behaviour and health outcomes. Informal enquiries are encouraged and can be directed to eithne.kavanagh(a)ntu.ac.uk<mailto:eithne.kavanagh@ntu.ac.uk>. <Link again: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/postgraduate/phd/phd-opportunities/…> If you could pass this on to anyone interested it would be much appreciated! Many thanks, Eithne Dr. Eithne Kavanagh // staff profile<https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/social-sciences/eithne-kavanagh> // ERC FACEDIFF<https://www.facediff.co.uk/> Senior Lecturer and Research fellow E: eithne.kavanagh(a)ntu.ac.uk<mailto:eithne.kavanagh@ntu.ac.uk> // Twitter: @eithnekavanagh // Bluesky: @eithnekavanagh.bsky.social Evolution and Social Interaction Research Group<https://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/groups-and-centres/groups/evolution-and-soci…> Nottingham Trent University [cid:590c75cf-2e24-4d0e-81bc-4d3d84dce934] [cid:f172f5db-47a2-4626-90f4-093d27ef0308] DISCLAIMER: This email is intended solely for the addressee. It may contain private and confidential information. If you are not the intended addressee, please take no action based on it nor show a copy to anyone. In this case, please reply to this email to highlight the error. Opinions and information in this email that do not relate to the official business of Nottingham Trent University shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by the University. Nottingham Trent University has taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are virus-free, but we do advise that the recipient should check that the email and its attachments are actually virus free. This is in keeping with good computing practice. ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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No BERG seminar this week
by Pawel Fedurek 01 Dec '25

01 Dec '25

Dear All, Apologies but we had to reschedule Floriane's seminar to the 25th of February 2026. The next BERG seminar is next week and will be led by Faye Whiley from the Missing Lynx Project. Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK @pawel-fedurek<https://bsky.app/profile/pawel-fedurek.bsky.social> @berg-stirling<https://bsky.app/profile/berg-stirling.bsky.social> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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Hannah’s books
by Hannah Buchanan-Smith 26 Nov '25

26 Nov '25

Dear BERGers and SHAIRers I’ll be taking a lot of my old primate, animal behaviour, ecology, welfare, evolutionary psychology etc books to charity next week so if anyone wants to come and have a look and select any I’ll be in office (3A79) from 3-4 pm on Friday 28th Nov and you’re welcome to pop by and take your pick! Best, Hannah Sent from Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> ________________________________ Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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No BERG/SHAIR seminar this week
by Pawel Fedurek 24 Nov '25

24 Nov '25

Dear All, Just to let you know that there is no seminar this week. Next week we have Floriane Fournier (Université Jean Monnet) talking about her research on bonobo communiction. Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK @pawel-fedurek<https://bsky.app/profile/pawel-fedurek.bsky.social> @berg-stirling<https://bsky.app/profile/berg-stirling.bsky.social> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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job announcement for Hannover, Institute of Zoology
by Sharon Kessler 20 Nov '25

20 Nov '25

See attached postdoctoral position -------------------------- Sharon Kessler (she/her), PhD Lecturer in Psychology Cottrell Building Room 3B92, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, SCOTLAND Tel: +44(0)1786 467 651 Email: sharon.kessler(a)stir.ac.uk Website: https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1104622#research; https://www.sharonekessler.com/ Book review editor: International Journal of Primatology If I am your personal tutor, here’s how I can help<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/professional-services/student-academic-and-cor…>. You can also get support from the Student Services Hub<https://www.stir.ac.uk/student-life/support-wellbeing/>. [cid:9c954831-303f-40b4-8d46-d7da8e07e846]<https://www.stir.ac.uk/student-life/support-wellbeing/student-support-servi…> ________________________________ From: Radespiel, Ute <ute.radespiel(a)tiho-hannover.de> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2025 12:17 PM To: Kiene, Frederik <frederik.kiene(a)tiho-hannover.de>; Tobias van Elst <tob.velst(a)posteo.de>; Anne Yoder, Ph.D. <anne.yoder(a)duke.edu>; Nina Farwig <farwig(a)staff.uni-marburg.de>; Lounes Chikhi CNRS <lounas.chikhi(a)cnrs.fr>; Jordi SALMONA - IRD -EDB <jordi.salmona(a)ird.fr>; helena-marisa osorio-teixeira <helena-marisa.osorio-teixeira(a)ird.fr>; 'Pablo Orozco Ter Wengel (Orozco-terWengelPA(a)cardiff.ac.uk)' <Orozco-terWengelPA(a)cardiff.ac.uk>; Katerina Guschanski <Katerina.Guschanski(a)ed.ac.uk>; brooke.crowley(a)uc.edu <brooke.crowley(a)uc.edu>; Chris Barratt <c.d.barratt(a)gmail.com>; Gabriele Sgarlata <gabriele.sgarlata(a)gmail.com>; george.tiley(a)gmail.com <george.tiley(a)gmail.com>; Ganzhorn, Prof. Dr. Jörg <joerg.ganzhorn(a)uni-hamburg.de>; Nicholas Mundy <nim21(a)cam.ac.uk>; Fichtel, Claudia <claudia.fichtel(a)gwdg.de>; Shawn Lehman <shawn.lehman(a)utoronto.ca>; Dominik Schüßler (dominik.schuessler(a)posteo.de) <dominik.schuessler(a)posteo.de>; Travis Steffens <tsteffen(a)uoguelph.ca>; Sharon Kessler <sharon.kessler(a)stir.ac.uk> Cc: Pröhl, Heike <Heike.Proehl(a)tiho-hannover.de> Subject: job announcement for Hannover, Institute of Zoology 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. ________________________________ Hi all, We have a postdoctoral position opening up in our Institute and I would like to ask you to circulate the attached announcement within your academic network to whoever you may think could be suitable for it. You will see that it is kept rather broad, and applications may therefore come from different research fields. However, there is one critical aspect: Part of the teaching will need to be done in German to undergrad students – so some knowledge of the German language is a partial requirement for the job ! Many thanks for your help, and I hope that you are well! Best wishes, Ute Prof. Ute Radespiel Institute of Zoology University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation Buenteweg 17 30559 Hannover Germany Tel. +49-511-9538430 and Associate Professor (status only) University of Toronto Canada https://gtoe2026-passau.de/call-for-sessions.html [cid:image001.jpg@01DC5A1D.5B4A2710] ________________________________ Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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BERG seminar today, 16:00
by Pawel Fedurek 19 Nov '25

19 Nov '25

Dear BERGers, A reminder that today we have a seminar with Dr Eleonore Rolland (CNRS, Bron, France) giving a talk entitled "Evidence of organized but not disorganized attachment in wild Western chimpanzee offspring (Pan troglodytes verus)" (abstract below). The meeting will be held online (link below). Abstract: Human attachment theory outlines three organized types: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant, all considered adaptive responses to maternal care for offspring survival. In contrast, disorganized attachment is hypothesized to be maladaptive and therefore uncommon in wild mammals, though this remains untested. We assessed attachment types in 50 wild chimpanzees (ages 0–10 years) in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. Using 3,795 h of mother and offspring focal observations, we found no behaviours indicative of disorganized attachment. To explore organized attachment, we analysed a subset of 18 immature chimpanzees and their behavioural responses to 309 natural threatening events. Their responses showed organized attachment patterns: some sought maternal closeness (secure-like), while others displayed independence (insecure-avoidant-like). Our study supports the hypothesis that organized attachment types are adaptive and have a long evolutionary history. Link to the meeting: BERG research seminars | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3816460052135?p=xsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0>> BERG seminar schedule (Fall 2025) Date Speaker Affiliation Title Chair Format 19-Nov-25 Eleonore Rolland Eleonore Rolland tbc: mother-infant attachment in wild chimpanzees Pawel Online 26-Nov-25 TBC - Offered to Roxanne Hawkins Clare 03-Dec-25 Floriane Fournier Université Jean Monnet "tbc: The role of nonlinear phenomena in vocal emotional expression and perception in bonobos " Pawel Online 10-Dec-25 Faye Whiley The Missing Lynx Project tbc: Social science in stakeholder engagement for lynx co-existence Clare Online Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK @pawel-fedurek<https://bsky.app/profile/pawel-fedurek.bsky.social> @berg-stirling<https://bsky.app/profile/berg-stirling.bsky.social> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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FW: recruiting a PhD student (funded) for 2026-2027
by Christine Anna Caldwell 17 Nov '25

17 Nov '25

This PhD opportunity may be of interest to some (particularly our current Masters students). From: Elizabeth Renner <elizabeth.renner(a)northumbria.ac.uk> Sent: 17 November 2025 10:58 To: Elizabeth Renner <elizabeth.renner(a)northumbria.ac.uk> Cc: Lee Shepherd <lee.shepherd(a)northumbria.ac.uk>; Merryn Constable <merryn.constable(a)northumbria.ac.uk> Subject: recruiting a PhD student (funded) for 2026-2027 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 colleagues and friends, I am recruiting a PhD student! I would be grateful if you could share the advert with suitable candidates (ideally with a Masters degree in progress or in hand): https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bridging-the-species-divide-animal-mi… The project is entitled "Bridging the species divide: Animal minds and the human-animal relationship". The student will ultimately work with pet owners, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, to understand their experiences of mind perception with their pets. (n.b., this is not an animal cognition project.) The PhD is competitively funded, and open to both UK and international students: funding covers both stipend and tuition. The closing date for applications is 23 January 2026. Northumbria is a great place to do a PhD: we have a supportive department with an active community of PhD students, postdocs, and ECRs. The vibrant city of Newcastle offers access to both cultural and natural attractions (and of course, lots of potential participants). If prospective students have any questions, they can feel free to reach out to me via this email address. Thanks very much! Liz Dr Elizabeth Renner (she/her) Assistant Professor [Northumbria University Logo] E: elizabeth.renner(a)northumbria.ac.uk<mailto:elizabeth.renner@northumbria.ac.uk> This message is intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. Any use, disclosure or reproduction without the sender's explicit consent is unauthorised and may be unlawful. If you have received this message in error, please notify Northumbria University immediately and permanently delete it. Any views or opinions expressed in this message are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the University. Northumbria University email is provided by Microsoft Office365 and is hosted within the EEA, although some information may be replicated globally for backup purposes. The University cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and/or amended. ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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BERG seminar this Wednesday, 16:00
by Pawel Fedurek 17 Nov '25

17 Nov '25

Dear BERGers, This Wednesday (4pm) we have a seminar with Dr Eleonore Rolland (CNRS, Bron, France) giving a talk entitled "Evidence of organized but not disorganized attachment in wild Western chimpanzee offspring (Pan troglodytes verus)" (abstract below). The meeting will be held online (link below). Abstract: Human attachment theory outlines three organized types: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant, all considered adaptive responses to maternal care for offspring survival. In contrast, disorganized attachment is hypothesized to be maladaptive and therefore uncommon in wild mammals, though this remains untested. We assessed attachment types in 50 wild chimpanzees (ages 0–10 years) in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. Using 3,795 h of mother and offspring focal observations, we found no behaviours indicative of disorganized attachment. To explore organized attachment, we analysed a subset of 18 immature chimpanzees and their behavioural responses to 309 natural threatening events. Their responses showed organized attachment patterns: some sought maternal closeness (secure-like), while others displayed independence (insecure-avoidant-like). Our study supports the hypothesis that organized attachment types are adaptive and have a long evolutionary history. Link to the meeting: BERG research seminars | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3816460052135?p=xsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0>> BERG seminar schedule (Fall 2025) Date Speaker Affiliation Title Chair Format 19-Nov-25 Eleonore Rolland Eleonore Rolland tbc: mother-infant attachment in wild chimpanzees Pawel Online 26-Nov-25 TBC - Offered to Roxanne Hawkins Clare 03-Dec-25 Floriane Fournier Université Jean Monnet "tbc: The role of nonlinear phenomena in vocal emotional expression and perception in bonobos " Pawel Online 10-Dec-25 Faye Whiley The Missing Lynx Project tbc: Social science in stakeholder engagement for lynx co-existence Clare Online Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK @pawel-fedurek<https://bsky.app/profile/pawel-fedurek.bsky.social> @berg-stirling<https://bsky.app/profile/berg-stirling.bsky.social> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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BERG seminar this Wednesday, 16:00
by Pawel Fedurek 12 Nov '25

12 Nov '25

Dear BERGers, This Wednesday (4pm) we have a seminar with Dr Melissa Berthet (University of Rennes) giving a talk entitled "Bonobo vocal communication and the evolution of compositionality" (abstract below). The meeting will be held online (link below). Abstract: Compositionality- the capacity to combine meaningful elements into larger structures whose meaning depends on the meanings of the parts and the way they are combined- is a hallmark of human language. In this talk, I will present new findings on the compositional capacities of wild bonobos. Specifically, by conducting a comprehensive investigation of meaning and adapting methods from linguistics, I will show that bonobo vocal communication extensively relies on compositionality. This suggests that the ability to construct complex meanings from smaller vocal units was already present in our ancestors at least 7 million years ago. Link to the meeting: BERG research seminars | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3816460052135?p=xsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0>> BERG seminar schedule (Fall 2025) Date Speaker Affiliation Title Chair Format 12-Nov-25 Mélissa Berthet University of Rennes tbc: vocal behaviour in bonobos Pawel Online 19-Nov-25 Eleonore Rolland Eleonore Rolland tbc: mother-infant attachment in wild chimpanzees Pawel Online 26-Nov-25 TBC Clare 03-Dec-25 Floriane Fournier Université Jean Monnet "tbc: The role of nonlinear phenomena in vocal emotional expression and perception in bonobos " Pawel Online 10-Dec-25 Faye Whiley The Missing Lynx Project tbc: Social science in stakeholder engagement for lynx co-existence Clare Online ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159

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