Will Oestreich
Group Leader, University of Zurich (www.woestreich.com)
I also work w the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Behavioral ecology, collective behavior, oceanography, pelagic ecosystems...
Posts about ecology, evolution, waves, music, etc.
- Reposted by Will OestreichVery happy to see our ice-fishing paper on the cover of @science.org this week! 🎣🎉 We tracked large groups of Finnish competitive ice-fishers to study how social foragers use social information when searching for resources. 🐟 Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (contact me for open access)
- The High Seas Treaty enters into force tomorrow! What does this mean for our planet's largest living space? The influence of this agreement depends on humanity's collective capacity to observe, understand, and steward the open and deep ocean. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Looking forward to reading this! I'm lucky to be making a small contribution to the volume: a piece discussing the unique perspectives bio-logging has provided on blue whales' lives. Can't wait to learn from the rest of the articles as well!
- 🧪New preprint! tinyurl.com/mr7km2pv When & why do predators share social information? Blue whales produce foraging calls when prey (krill) are abundant & dense, conditions arising from physical oceanographic forcing across temporal scales. Variation in ocean physics shapes blue whale communication!
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- big ol' blue
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich🧵1/9 There are 35,000+ fish species, but we have formal social-behaviour classifications for a tiny fraction. Most knowledge lives in the experience of researchers, fishers, divers, aquarists, naturalists, and Indigenous communities, but almost none of it is centralised. So we built ShoalBase.org.
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Final version is now online and open access! "Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice" w/ Dawn Barlow & @taylorhersh.bsky.social 🧪
- What role(s) can non-human animal culture play in conservation? Much has been written on this topic in recent years, but Dawn Barlow, Taylor Hersh, & I offer some new perspectives: "Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice" @behavecol.bsky.social tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will OestreichLet me use this as an opportunity to talk about Jordi et al's very cool paper, now out in PNAS 🧪: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... You can read our news and views here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- @sacrozhangt.bsky.social and I wrote a commentary on Jordi van Gestel and Carol Gross's latest paper, check it out! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Sadly, the Editors at PNAS rejected our initial introduction, which was a David Attenborough style voice over of the microbial Serengeti (included below)
- Reposted by Will OestreichVocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- What role(s) can non-human animal culture play in conservation? Much has been written on this topic in recent years, but Dawn Barlow, Taylor Hersh, & I offer some new perspectives: "Integrating space, time, and culture in animal conservation practice" @behavecol.bsky.social tinyurl.com/bdfe9k3j
- Lucky to have spent a couple of hours with this Tamandua the other day. They have a unique grace in moving through dense foliage, fascinating to watch
- This was a fascinating, uncomfortable episode!
- Many fear that AI companions will lead to widespread social "deskilling," particularly in young people. But could we harness these bots for "upskilling" instead? Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ Dr. Henry Shevlin! Listen: disi.org/the-age-of-s...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- I dislike using social media to dunk on science, but it's appropriate to call out deeply misguided opinions published in our most-read journals. "human ingenuity is expressed through the machines we create." An incredibly & disturbingly narrow perception of humanity's collective ingenuity.
- Very interesting paper and a very informative thread
- Reposted by Will Oestreich🦅PhD position 🦅 in my new group at @fbm-unil.bsky.social in Switzerland, studying how the social and resource landscapes shape the learning process for soaring flight. Deadline: Oct 30. Pls repost! career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich⭐PhD position available!⭐ Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will OestreichTake note, repost far and wide. The Dechmann Lab are hiring ✨
- PhD Alert! 😍 Our lab is hiring a PhD student to study how shrews shrink in winter and grow in spring. Yes, you read that right! tinyurl.com/shrinkingshr... Join us at the @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social, study a super cool animal, and join the @imprs-qbee.bsky.social community! DM me for questions!
- Reposted by Will Oestreichthis matters because 'AI', like any technology, is designed, owned, operated by companies that make choices. In other tech - iPhones, TikTok - we quickly attribute design choices to specific companies. But we still discuss "AI" as if it was some disembodied discovery, more uranium than software.
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will OestreichI get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
- Sperm whale echolocation loud & clear on the @mbarinews.bsky.social hydrophone live stream right now! www.mbari.org/project/soun... Amazing to have live audio from the deep sea streaming online... & this long-term data enabling discoveries about these cryptic animals' lives tinyurl.com/58a5jefp
- Reposted by Will OestreichWe're hiring! My lab is seeking a 2-yr Postdoc in 🌊 marine ecology + 🛰️ remote sensing. You'll work with a big team (including @albertruhi.bsky.social @cgerleinsafdi.bsky.social) to study the impacts of changing rainfall on marine freshwater plumes + coastal organisms. aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05114
- Reposted by Will OestreichHistory made for the ocean: #BBNJ Agreement enters into force, protecting high seas & deep seabed, safeguarding life under water. “Our ocean is the foundation of our very existence. Today we took an important step forward to save our ocean, & to save our future” - ED @ingerandersen.bsky.social
- "Oceanography in the age of intelligent robots and a changing climate" tos.org/oceanography... @mbarinews.bsky.social
- first light
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Huge thanks to Akanksha Rathore and her research group for generously hosting me at BITS-Pilani after #Behaviour2025! A fun end to an inspiring week-plus of behavioural ecology discussions in India
- Reposted by Will Oestreich🚨 Junior Research Fellow position (+possible PhD conversion) studying Emergent Collective Intelligence for Ephemeral Resource Tracking. Based with Akanksha Rathore at BITS Pilani (India) and including visits to Konstanz (Germany) to collaborate with us! Apply by 12 September. More info 👇
- This is wild! Feels like part of an @aptshadow.bsky.social novel...
- A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species go.nature.com/4mOb5T9
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Lucky to be a part of an inspiring symposium on mechanisms of collective behaviour in Kolkata! Shared our work on oceanic collective behaviour, including specific work on collective behaviour in blue whales and krill across nested oceanic scales @asab.org @behaviour2025.bsky.social
- Absolutely. And there is a critical role for similar global cooperation among ocean scientists in the implementation of protections under the High Seas Treaty: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will OestreichMELA — a short documentary on the Mating Ecology of Lek Breeding Antelope — takes you behind the scenes of an interdisciplinary #UniKonstanz @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social research journey. This film reveals how science is done, shared, and lived: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i4d...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- The High Seas Treaty is poised to be ratified, creating a legal instrument for protected areas in the high seas. We see a crucial role for "Collective Science" to provide robust biodiversity data and to help inform protection of this vast 3D space. Read more in Ecology Letters: tinyurl.com/33637jax
- Reposted by Will OestreichNew paper out! We found that in pipistrelle bats, social vocalizations carry a stronger phylogenetic signal than echolocation calls, suggesting the former evolve more slowly, while the latter remains flexible and shaped by the environment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich
[Not loaded yet] - Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- falling in love with Scotland while attending @divintelligence.bsky.social
- Having a blast in St Andrews, collectively foraging for new ideas with the many minds of @divintelligence.bsky.social ! Image 1: tide pool creations Image 2: several of thousands of baby squid found at the tide line Image 3: fog rolls in on the coastal cliffs
- Important ideas here, even as LLMs improve & are useful for many tasks. If you agree to review, why would you want to hand the work over to an LLM? This work is uncompensated, except for what you gain (& give) by deeply engaging. If it's to save unpaid time... why are you agreeing to review?
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 Excited to share our new review in @royalsocietypublishing.org Proceedings B! 🎉 We synthesize research on social factors influencing animal migration and offer guidelines for future research. Check it out here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #OpenAccess #Migration #MovementEcology
- Reposted by Will OestreichHave you ever cited or come across a mention of the 'human shield hypothesis' and wondered: what is the evidence for this hypothesis, and what is the quality of that evidence? Wonder no more! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Ice-pillow nap time Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Feb 2020
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- With the One Ocean Science Congress happening this week & the UN Ocean Conference next week, check out our preprint about the role of accessible, open biodiversity data to enhance protections under the High Seas Treaty: tinyurl.com/3fejy2ms And keep an eye out for the full peer-reviewed paper soon!
- @milliechapman.bsky.social is getting into film... to me, these images really encapsulate the feeling of a cold Monterey Peninsula surf in rhythm with the kelp, waves, and wildlife
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Will OestreichMother Bats Shape Their Pups’ Voices Vocal learning isn’t just about listening—it’s about interactions! Mother bats play a key role in shaping how their pups learn to communicate, showing how important early-life interactions are. doi.org/10.7554/eLif... @eLife.bsky.social @ahanaaurora.bsky.social
- "Range contraction of the Yangtze finless porpoise inferred from classic Chinese poems" www.cell.com/current-biol... Super fun methods, super fascinating creature, and super beautiful cover art
- Reposted by Will OestreichOur new work led by @milliechapman.bsky.social on the NRR is out in @natureecoevo.bsky.social 🎉 Integrated spatial planning can identify opportunities for restoration, while considering future land demand and burden sharing. Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415... @iiasa.ac.at @naturaconnect.bsky.social
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
- Sumatra's mind-bending reef breaks and landscapes @milliechapman.bsky.social
- With the 2025 UN Ocean Conference approaching & the High Seas Treaty poised for ratification, there is a need & opportunity for collective science action to inform global ocean protections. Our preprint explores collective science for ocean biodiversity data & conservation: tinyurl.com/4cu987ea
- Reposted by Will OestreichWe're looking for a PhD candidate who will characterise what echolocating agents do in groups using a multi-sensor rigs in the field. Wouldn't it be cool to finally figure out how bats manage their calling and flying - and even reconstruct what they may be hearing to make these decisions? 5/n
- Reposted by Will OestreichHello World! After almost a month of starting a research group - finally the announcement :) We are the 'Active Sensing Collectives' group (tinyurl.com/yckehxys) at the CASCB in the University of Konstanz. We're still growing, see PhD position ad below. @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de z.de
- Tofino, British Columbia, Nov 2024 @milliechapman.bsky.social
- Reposted by Will Oestreich[Not loaded yet]
