Mastodawn

Very excited and delighted for new paper by my #UoN colleague Tom Reader, exploring the mechanisms behind Batesian mimicry using 3D printed insects: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09216-3. There's a N&V, a podcast and a blog to accompany it!
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01766-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02103-x
https://communities.springernature.com/posts/how-3d-printed-insects-curious-birds-and-clever-spiders-helped-us-map-the-limits-of-mimicry. And then this also just published:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02775-8 #mimicry #batesian #hoverfly #wasp

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Angus Davison 2d ago

There is much that is remarkable about this work. I’d highlight the fact that it emerged from an exceptionally broad collaboration - spanning multiple staff members and students, including several current undergraduates - and involving close work with staff in engineering. The authors also deserve strong recognition for not taking the safe route - as this work represents over ten years of planning and research, the results could easily have been published separately and much earlier. #UoN

Angus Davison 3d ago

Anyone know of any studies that test why Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) frequently have this red mark in the centre the flower? Presumably pollinator related? #pollinator #wildcarrit #umbellifer

Angus Davison Jun 27

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Sally Lowell Jun 26

@snailman great song! Proteger la Polymita!

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Angus Davison Jun 26

We celebrated the publication while visiting the Centre for Cuban studies archive. There are six shelves entirely filled with books about Che Guevara. 😲. In comparison, Castro only has four shelves. #cheguevara #castro #UoN

Angus Davison Jun 26

🥂 🐌 First paper out from our Cuba-UK collaboration 🐌🥂. We used mtDNA and rRNA sequences to place beautiful Polymita snails in a phylogeny. Basically, they are basal to a whole bunch of other important and diverse snail groups. https://academic.oup.com/mollus/article/91/2/eyaf006/8173425

There's an obvious #paperthemetune, the "Polymita song", by collaborator Norvis Hernandez and others. https://youtu.be/1srl4_JI_Fs?si=G3Z5bVLCDWR554nl #snails #mtDNA #phylogenetics #UoN

Angus Davison Jun 26

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Stephen Royle Jun 25

@snailman I appreciate why you’re conflicted - I'm also in total dismay over their inaction. It would hurt the authors and if you did decline, even with a strongly worded statement, I'm not sure that message would make it's way to the oak desk of the President and make him exclaim "by jove he's right!”.
There again, it's your free labour and if you're not happy donating it to RS, then you should decline.

Angus Davison Jun 26

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Warren Currie 🦠🦐Jun 25

@snailman @steveroyle you could also make the argument that the authors also made a decision to submit to a RS journal, and they should be prepared for fallout from the reviewing process. There are a few journals on my egregious "naughty list" that I always provide an extra reply when I turn them down for review. As you say, it is freely given labour and you can choose what you like to do with it.

Angus Davison Jun 26

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Dave Lunt Jun 25

@snailman decline. Write to the editor and explain why you are declining, and why also they should resign their position as editor and start contributing to a more fair scientific society. Pull no punches, they are complicit in the problem, tell them it’s their moral duty!

Angus Davison Jun 25

I have been asked to review a paper for a Royal Society journal. Feeling conflicted about whether I should accept, because of their poor stance re Elon Musk. Not reviewing the paper would mainly hurt the authors. Opinions anyone? #RoyalSociety #Musk

Orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2554-8585
Google scholar	https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=WG74WtgAAAAJ&hl=en
Key paper	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.071
Work	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/Life-Sciences/index.aspx