@GabsDavidson

Behavioural ecologist / comparative psychologist / molecular biologist. Cognition and microbiome in wild birds. Lecturer at the University of East Anglia

 United Kingdom
drgldavidson.github.io/ACMEresearch/
Joined August 2013
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Types of animal behaviour and cognition paper #animalsbehaviour #animalcognition #AcademicChatter
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Throwback to one of my first studies showing individual recognition in wild jackdaws, birds of the crow family. dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/…

Not bird-brained at all! Jackdaws can recognise different faces

In an experiment, researchers at Cambridge University discovered jackdaws were able to distinguish between two masks worn by a person.

dailymail.com
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🚨 🪺🐦🦠 PhD opportunity in my lab for UK home fee students. Feel free to contact me for informal enquiries. Please share! Application details here: shorturl.at/wUo8r. Lab website: drgldavidson.github.io/ACMEr…
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Okay I’ve signed up, come find me
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Does the gut microbiome affect wildlife fitness? Our latest study, led by @ShaneE_Somers & JL Quinn shows that supplementing great tits with a natural gut microbe, Lactobacillus kimchicus, shifts the gut microbiome & alters nestling weight, a key survival trait. 🧵#ScienceThread
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We propose that high gut microbial diversity aids weight gain, but only when food is plentiful. In food-limited situations, high diversity may come at a cost. Microbial supplementation may counteract this trade-off.
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Experimental evidence linking gut microbes to fitness in wild systems has been scarce. We hope our work sparks more experiments into how gut microbiomes shape wildlife fitness. #GutHealth #WildlifeBiology @bioUEA @uccBEES @teagasc. See paper & authors: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.24…
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Five years ago I met @Snail_memory at a conference. "I love your study system, can we do microbiome cognition work together?" Supported by an @asab_org research grant that funded an undergrad summer intern Ignacio A Cienfuegos, our paper is now out! 🧵👇doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae0…
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These results are supported by inferred metabolic function of the gut microbiome - tryptophan , phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism - many catecholamine neurotransmitters that are neuroactive in pond snails brains and involved in locomotion and respiration
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Overall the gut microbiome may influence the emergence & maintenance of phenotypic variation in wildlife. We hope our study prompts greater emphasis on the importance of healthy gut microbiomes for wildlife and increases efforts to reduce the chemicals entering our environment
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The wonderful @NickyClayton22's master lecture given at this year's #CO3_2024 is now available on our YouTube channel . Deeply inspiring to anyone interested in animal behaviour🐦‍⬛Watch "Adventures in Comparative Cognition" here: youtube.com/watch?v=mNf3CFWM…
Professor Nicky Clayton at podium giving master lecture at CO3

ALT Professor Nicky Clayton at podium giving master lecture at CO3

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