Sarah L. Dobney | Lightnews

Sarah Dobney

@sdobney.bsky.social

180 followers 200 following 8 posts

I am a PhD candidate at the University of Windsor studying vocal communication and vocal learning in songbirds.

Videos

Biology 36%

Environmental science 36%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Samuele Ramellini, Sarah L. Dobney

Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 8d

New research from #BiologyLetters: Why do birds construct nest tails? A test of disruptive camouflage in the blue manakin royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article... | #Behaviour #Evolution

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 8d

Accepted! "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird." A playback-and-model experiment coming to Animal Behaviour. Led by Molly Hill & @liamtaylor.bsky.social w/ Lily Fanburg @sdobney.bsky.social & me.

Now that's what I call #GullOfTheDay!

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · 8d

Excited that our paper is headed for publication at Animal Behaviour! - "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird."

Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.

In the foreground, a young American Herring Gull with a drab, worn, brown, "predefinitive" plumage. This bird is probably ~12 months old. Behind, an older, breeding adult in a "definitive" gray and white plumage, which is probably 4 or more years old. We have little information about the ecology and evolution of delayed plumage maturation in seabirds.

A breeding gull attacks a plastic model as part of behavioral experiments at the breeding colony on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada.

Coco and Tracey Faber start painting raw plastic models for stimulus experiments, using photo references and museum specimens at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill, Rebecca Sear, Luke Rendell , and 1 more Simon J. Greenhill, Rebecca Sear, Luke Rendell, Sarah L. Dobney

Jaclyn Aubin @jaclynaubin.bsky.social · 20d

Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org

A white beluga surfacing in greenish-brown waters. Overlaid is the title of a new review published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Beluga Societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete.

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Zach G Gayk @zachgayk.bsky.social · Dec 17

"Bioacoustic Monitoring Reveals Patterns of Landscape Use by Migrating Birds at a Great Lakes Barrier Crossing." Using acoustic recorders along Lake Superior’s south shore, we recorded nearly 3 million songbird flight calls, uncovering a major migratory pathway. doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#ornithology

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Dec 15

Do birds have feelings? 🦉🦚🦅🦜
I'm a guest on The Warblers today, the podcast of Birds Canada. I answer a question about chickadee song. Nelsy Niño @nelsyninor.bsky.social answers a question about mimicry. Thanks for having us @birdscanada.bsky.social!
Listen here: www.birdscanada.org/warblerspodc...

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Janet Hill @saskajanet.bsky.social · Dec 12

Looking for some inspiration? Stu Mackenzie is celebrating 20 yrs at Birds Canada. Truly one of a kind. Absolute legend @birdscanada.bsky.social #birds 🌿

Celebrating 20 years of Canada’s Ambassador to Long Point – Stu Mackenzie

For two decades, Stu Mackenzie has helped shape Long Point Bird Observatory into a world-class hub for migration science, training and global collaboration. From pioneering Motus to inspiring countles...

www.birdscanada.org

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Dec 12

Inter-brood interval affects offspring survival and fitness, and reflects timing of breeding and female quality. Our new paper on inter-brood interval appears in the new issue of Ibis, led by Hayley Spina and our collaborative Savannah Sparrow research team. @bou.org.uk @ryannorrissci.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Nov 19

"Grad student takes flight to map invasive plant." Sarika Sharma, an alum of our lab, is profiled in our campus newspaper for her research to map Phragmites in the Healthy Headwaters Lab. Congratulations Sarika!
www.uwindsor.ca/news/2025-11...
@ecofebria.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Nov 13

BIRDS & BEERS V is one week from tonight, Thurs Nov 20, in Windsor! 🐦🍺🐦🍺 An evening of fun with UWindsor researchers including bird trivia, ornithology talks, student posters, and a short film screening. All are welcome! @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
Tickets: tinyurl.com/BirdsBeers5

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Oct 15

I launched our latest Motus Audio recorder just outside Algonquin Park, with a generous assist from Motus collaborator @ryannorrissci.bsky.social. Let's see how many sparrows and thrushes are still on-the-move in mid-October.

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Oct 14

Double brooding improves lifetime fitness. Our paper "Multigenerational fitness outcomes of double-brooding: a 30-year study of a migratory songbird" appears in the latest Behavioral Ecology: tinyurl.com/3hsyd42m. By @hayleyspina.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and our collaborative team.

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Yousif Attia @biophylia.bsky.social · Oct 10

Tomorrow is #OctoberBigDay! The simple act of volunteer scientists birding and submitting their lists to eBird all at the same time, produces a powerful dataset that helps us learn about bird migration timing and more! Here's a late migrating Oct #NorthernYellowWarbler that is heading to C. America.

A small all yellow-green slings to an Oak tree branch

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Oct 9

Dr. Natalie Sánchez has just been appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in our Department of Integrative Biology at University of Windsor. Congratulations @natingui.bsky.social! I am so excited about the collaborations and research projects that lie ahead. @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social

Dr. Natalie Sánchez at a bird banding station in Costa Rica, holding a migratory thrush.

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Oct 3

Motus Audio recorders are now set up at Birds Canada headquarters in Port Rowan and at Old Cut Research Station at Longpoint Bird Observatory. Which bird species will we record flying southwards this fall? @birdscanada.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social [📷 N. Emerick & M. Bygrove]

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Sep 22

It's "Birds and Reptiles Week" in the International Master's of Bioacoustics program. This week we're on campus at Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne. Today we had great lectures and workshops from Profs. Nicolas Mathevon, Ole Larsen, and Magnus Wahlberg. @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Sep 20

Our week of field-based learning has finished with a beautiful sunset, a campfire lecture, and a starry night. And a shockingly hard acoustic quiz. Can you differentiate a screaming deer, a creaking door, and a shrieking Nazgul? Next week: bird & reptile week on campus. @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social

Reposted by Márk E. Hauber, Sarah L. Dobney

Behavioral Ecology and Endocrinology Lab @behavecol-lab.bsky.social · Sep 19

Please share!🙏
🚨 PhD Oportunity in Avian Behavioural Ecology in Spain
The BirdBond Project (MNCN & IREC) studies how pair bonds form, change & affect reproduction/survival in the spotless starling 🐦

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Sep 15

Sarah Dobney presented her doctoral studies at the International Bioacoustics Congress #ibac2025 in Kerteminde, Denmark. Way to go @sdobney.bsky.social!

Sarah Dobney @sdobney.bsky.social · Sep 11

Thank you so much!

Sarah Dobney @sdobney.bsky.social · Sep 11

I've been loving the talks and posters being presented at #IBAC2025! Come see my poster today to learn about the "Songs of the studs" 🎤🐦🪺 @dmennill.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Sep 10

We've launched a Motus Audio Recorder on Pelee Island! Natalie, Madison, and Nelsy launched our 10th recorder, which will survey migratory birds passing over Pelee Island this fall.
@ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @birdscanada.bsky.social @peleeislandbird.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Anna N Osiecka 🍉 @aosiecka.bsky.social · Sep 8

Yay bioacousticians all around! <3 Come see me at the #IBAC session tomorrow - or anytime for coffee/bikes!

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Jul 30

"UWindsor students co-author scientific paper after immersive Paris field course." Today's campus newsletter has a write-up about our new paper, arising from our field course on Bird Song and Anthropogenic Noise. 🇫🇷🎶🐦 Check it out: www.uwindsor.ca/news/2025-07...

UWindsor students co-author scientific paper after immersive Paris field course

By Sara Elliott “The field course was a pivotal point in my academic journey because if not for my study abroad experience, I genuinely would not be in this lab and I wouldn’t be d...

www.uwindsor.ca

Reposted by Luke Rendell, Sarah L. Dobney

Jaclyn Aubin @jaclynaubin.bsky.social · Apr 17

Very pleased to announce that I have successfully defended my doctoral dissertation! Huge thanks to my supervisory committee, @dmennill.bsky.social, @marine-valeria.bsky.social, @lrendell.bsky.social, Robert Michaud, Christina Semeniuk, Nigel Hussey, and Aaron Fisk! @uwindsor.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Birds Canada @birdscanada.bsky.social · Jul 21

The latest issue of Avian Conservation and Ecology (ACE) is out now!

Volume 20, Issue 1 features a variety of captivating bird research papers, including a new study co-authored by Danielle Ethier, Senior Scientist at Birds Canada.

Dive into this study and more at avianconservationecology.org

A landscape photo of a boreal forest. Overlay text reads "The challenge: We don’t know how birds are doing in much of the boreal forest because it’s too hard to survey in these remote regions."

A Blackpoll Warbler perches on a branch. Overlay text reads "A new window: Because monitoring programs rarely reach the far north, boreal bird migration in the spring and fall offers a way to track their populations using migration data from bird observatory counts."

A Blackpoll Warbler sings from a tree. Overlay text reads "An innovative method: Using the Blackpoll Warbler as a case study, researchers combined migration counts with feather isotopes. The feather chemistry helped reveal the origins of the birds, while migration counts provided insights into the changes in their populations."

A landscape shot of the Blackpoll Warbler's habitat. Overlay text reads: "The big picture: This approach will help us protect more species by identifying where conservation is most urgently needed."

Reposted by Anne Peters, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Samuele Ramellini , and 1 more Anne Peters, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Samuele Ramellini, Sarah L. Dobney

ANU Superb Fairywren Project @fairywrensanu.bsky.social · Jun 24

Earlier this season we said goodbye to GBB. Born in 2014, she was one of the oldest and most productive females in our population:
35 nests, 80 eggs, 47 chicks fledged, 35 reached independence, 24 grandkids. This female below has now taken over her territory. Big 🐾 to fill!
#SFW_ANU #birds #ecology

Reposted by Márk E. Hauber, Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Jul 15

Our new paper is out: "Avian biodiversity in the urban green spaces of Paris: higher bird species richness in larger parks and park centers". Co-authored with 14 UWindsor students from a Study Abroad field course. In Avian Conservation & Ecology: ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
Here's our story...
🧵1/8

Photograph of a group of University of Windsor students on a Study Abroad field course in Paris, France. We're giving the "thumbs up" next to a Song Meter we used to record birds in urban parks. Superimposed over the photo: the title of our new paper in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology: "Avian biodiversity in the urban green spaces of Paris: higher bird species richness in larger parks and park centers."

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Jul 9

Savannah Sparrow song and Ovenbird song is the focus from our team today at #CSEE2025:
At 8:45 "Song of the Studs" by Sarah Dobney in Behav Ecol 1.
At 11:30 "Clamorous and Amorous" by Connor Acorn in Behav Ecol 2.
@csee-scee.bsky.social @csee-sceemtgs.bsky.social @sdobney.bsky.social

Reposted by Sarah L. Dobney

Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · Jul 8

What's all the buzz about? Today at 10:30 in the Avian Ecology session of #CSEE2025, our newest team member, Natalie Emerick, will present her research on bat and aerial insectivore acoustics (coauthors Hannah ter Hofstede and Liam O'Leary).
@csee-scee.bsky.social @csee-sceemtgs.bsky.social

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