NIOO-KNAWNew publication: A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of #neophobia. #ManyBirdsProject #birds #animalmigration
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003394
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003394
PLOS BiologyFear of novelty varies across species & individuals, impacting adaptability & survival. @TheManyBirds &co assess #neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 #bird species, identifying phylogenetic influences & broad ecological drivers @PLOSBiology plos.io/4haLEsN
Scientific FrontlineThe largest-ever study on #neophobia , or fear of novelty, has discovered the key reasons why some #bird species are more fearful of new things than others.
#Zoology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/10/zoo10152501.html
#Zoology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/10/zoo10152501.html
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Chickening out: Why some #birds fear novelty https://phys.org/news/2025-10-chickening-birds-novelty.html
A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003394
"#Grebes and #flamingos exhibited the highest #neophobia while #falcons and #pheasants were among the least neophobic species, approaching food quickly regardless of the unfamiliar item... the study found that two ecological drivers strongly predicted neophobia: dietary specialization and migratory behavior."
Alexander J. SteinIncreasing familiarity with plant-based meals—not focusing on ingredients or individual dishes—may be a promising strategy to boost #plantbased meal consumption. Reducing food #neophobia may also be important, esp. in countries where dietary norms are less diverse: doi.org/10.1016/j.ap... #diets
Redirecting
Redirecting
GastroHistory'Disgust and food neophobia – a fear of new foods – are often cited as obstacles to adopting new, more sustainable food choices, but I believe that recent history offers a more complicated picture.' https://theconversation.com/safe-route-or-sushi-route-2-strategies-to-turn-yuck-to-yum-and-convince-people-to-eat-unusual-foods-225419 #foodstudies #disgust #neophobia #sustainability #food
GastroHistory'Disgust and food neophobia – a fear of new foods – are often cited as obstacles to adopting new, more sustainable food choices, but I believe that recent history offers a more complicated picture.' https://theconversation.com/safe-route-or-sushi-route-2-strategies-to-turn-yuck-to-yum-and-convince-people-to-eat-unusual-foods-225419 #foodstudies #disgust #neophobia #sustainability #food
Alexander J. SteinBlind taste test shows that despite prejudices #consumers cannot distinguish between greens grown without soil in vertical faming and #organic veggies & herbs. Vertical cultivation saves space, allowing #rewilding of agriculture land: https://science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2023/a-delicious-surprise-vertically-farmed-greens-taste-as-good-as-organic-ones/ #neophobia #landuse
Chad M. BaumMany other factors (e.g. preference for deliberation vs. intuition below) proved to have a significant impact for some groups but not others
Key takeaways:
1) Linear regression provides a misleading picture of factors that matter, especially how much they matter
2) Explanatory power is much greater for those rejecting versus positive towards #cultivatedmeat
3) Food technology #neophobia consistently mattered but much more for those rejecting
/FIN
For the first time on #cultivatedmeat, we employed a (logistic) quantile regression to consider how the relevance of different factors varied by consumer #evaluations.
Just because a factor is influential for those negative does not mean it matters for those more positive.
The only factor that was important across all groups was food technology #neophobia.
Even then, the (negative) influence of this factor decreases as consumers became more positive about #cultivatedmeat 3/
