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HIGHLIGHTS

PLOS BIOLOGY
The smell of hunger: Norway rats provision social partners based on odour cues of need
K. Schneeberger & M. Taborsky

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Link
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FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
Sensory ecology and cognition in social decisions
Special feature edited by K. Schneeberger & M. Taborsky

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Link
Link

 

SCIENCE ADVANCES Alternative male morphs solve sperm performance/longevity trade-off in opposite directions M. Taborsky, D. Schütz, O. Goffinet & G.S.van Doorn

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Media release, University of Bern

 

CURRENT BIOLOGY
Reciprocal trading of different commodities in Norway rats. M.K. Schweinfurth & M. Taborsky

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Nature research highlight
Current Biology dispatch

PNAS - Divergence of developmental trajectories is triggered interactively by early social and ecological experience in a cooperative breeder. Fischer, Bohn, Oberhummer, Nyman & B. Taborsky

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commentary on Fischer et al

PNAS - Predation risk drives social complexity in cooperative breeders. Groenewoud, Frommen, Josi, Tanaka, Jungwirth & Taborsky

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The evolution of cooperation based on direct fitness benefits. Phil Trans theme issue compiled and edited by Taborsky M., Frommen JG & Riehl C. (2016)

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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Kinship reduces alloparental care in cooperative cichlids where helpers pay-to-stay
Zoettl M., Heg D., Chervet N. & Taborsky M. (2013)

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Social competence: an evolutionary approach
Taborsky, B. & Oliveira, R.F.

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Larval helpers and age polyethism in ambrosia beetles
Biedermann P.H.W. & Taborsky M.

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Animal personality due to social niche specialisation
Bergmueller R. & Taborsky M.

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Environmental Change Enhances Cognitive Abilities in Fish
Kotrschal, A. & Taborsky, B.

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Extended phenotypes as signals
Franziska C. Schaedelin and Michael Taborsky

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On the Origin of Species by Natural and Sexual Selection
G. Sander van Doorn, Pim Edelaar, Franz J. Weissing

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Cambridge University Press
Alternative Reproductive Tactics: An Integrative
Approach
Oliveira R., Taborsky M. & Brockmann H.J.

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The Evolution of Social Behaviour

Symposium, 3 - 5 September 2020, Bern, Switzerland

About the Symposium

The evolution of social behaviour has been a core research topic of Michael Taborsky throughout his scientific career. On occasion of his retirement in August 2020 we bring together leading experts in this field and many of Michael’s former PhD-students and postdocs, on the one hand to take stock of the subject and on the other hand to highlight the diversity of research themes former collaborators have meanwhile adopted.

Program

On the evening of the arrival day, Thursday 3 September, Michael will submit his own view of the topic, which will be followed by a reception in town. On Friday 4 September the invited keynote speakers and former collaborators will present their research, with ample time and opportunity for discussion. In the evening we shall have a BBQ at the Hasli, which will provide possibilities to learn about current projects and to dip in the river Aare, weather allowing. On Saturday 5 September we shall move to the nearby mountains for a stimulating hike, lively discussions and staggering views.

Keynote Speakers

• Prof. Gerry Carter, Ohio State University, USA

• Prof. Jan Komdeur, University of Groningen, Netherlands

• Prof. Rui Oliveira, ISPA and Gulbekian Institute, Portugal

• Prof. Geoff Parker, University of Liverpool, UK

• Prof. Christina Riehl, Princeton University, USA

• Prof. Dustin Rubenstein, Columbia University, USA

Preliminary Program

Thursday, 3 September

18:00	Michael Taborsky	The evolution of social behaviour
19:30	Reception
Friday, 4 September
08:30-08:50	Coffee and Welcome Reception
08:50-09:00	Welcome address
09:00-09:30	Cristina Riehl	Cooperative and manipulative behaviors as alternative reproductive tactics: evolutionary dynamics and modes of selection
09:30-10:00	Dustin Rubenstein	Climate and Cooperative Breeding: From Individuals to Groups
10:00-10:15	Ian Hamilton	Conflict management and complexity
10:15-10:30	Manon Schweinfurth	Reciprocal help in non-human primates?
10:30-10:45	Markus Zöttl	Cooperative breeding in African mole-rats
10:45:11:00	Frank Groenewoud	To be confirmed
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break
11:30-12:00	Rui Oliveira	Of fish and flies: using model organisms to uncover the mechanisms of sociality
12:00-12:30	Gerry Carter	Development of new cooperative relationships among non-kin vampire bats: from first encounters to social bonds
12:30-14:00	Lunch Break
14:00-14:30	Jan Komdeur	Cooperation and parental senescence
14:30-15:00	Geoff Parker	The evolution of the two sexes
15:00-15:15	Dolores Schütz	Extreme and reversed sexual dimorphisms in spiders and fish
15:05-15:30	Jo Frommen	Same same, but different: Cooperative breeding in lamprologine cichlids
15:30-15:45	Franziska Schaedelin	Is learning performance in Neolamprologus pulcher  influenced by early social experience with heterospecifics?"
15:45-16:00	Peter Biedermann	Evolutionary feedbacks between insect sociality and microbial management
16:00-16:30	Coffee Break
16:30-17:00	Mike Cant	To be confirmed
17:00-17:15	Arne Jungwirth	Life history evolution in wolpertingers and cichlids
17:15-17:30	Karin Schneeberger	TBA
17:30-17:45	Dik Heg	TBA
17:45-18:00	Nicole Bender	The evolution of human nutrition
18:00-18:15	Sabine Tebbich	Behavioural changes in a recently established host parasite interaction
18:15-18:30	Sacha Engelhardt	TBA
18:30-18:45	Barbara Taborsky	Developmental plasticity of social behaviour
18:45-19:00	Concluding remarks
19:30	BBQ at the Hasli
Saturday, 5 September
Mountain Excursion

Contact

For questions please contact the organizer Barbara Taborsky at barbara.taborsky@iee.unibe.ch