2/2. This year, we're excited to have Mark Blaxter, of the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, talking about sequencing the genomes of all life - and the insights this can offer us in a changing world...

*Thurs 27th, 6-8pm*

Sign up now, for free, in person or online! 👇
tinyurl.com/edin-linnsoc...

In summer, when insects are most abundant, they are a dominant part of the diet of G. moholi.

Understanding the kinds of insects eaten by bushbabies and how they find them is key for their #conservation, and for unpicking their functional role in tropical/sub-tropical forest food-webs.

🧵 8/8

Sound may act as an important proxy for prey size in nocturnal feeding behaviour.

Bushbaby vocalisations are usually confined to social contexts, but I also made novel observations of vocalisations associated with solo foraging 🗣️👇

🧵 7/8

Furthermore, manipulative experiments using Male Driver Ants 🐜 -- a popular prey item -- suggested that while visual movement was a key driver of prey-finding behaviour in G. moholi, sound made prey items particularly attractive and increased the incidence of targeting for feeding.

🧵 6/8

Previous evidence is mixed, with some reports emphasising a primary role for Lepidoptera in the diet, others suggesting Coleoptera and Orthoptera are most important (e.g. Harcourt, 1986).

I observed G. moholi easily catch Lepidoptera mid-flight, including strong fliers such as hawk-moths.

🧵 5/8

Observing/testing predation of different prey items, I found that:

• Moths were always consumed
• Insects with distasteful or noxious secretions (Shield/Stink Bugs) were avoided
• Beetles were closely examined before consumption, and only some eaten

--> clear, species-level prey choice 🐒🐞🦋

🧵 4/8

While recording moths at a UV light trap in South Africa during Oct/Nov 2024, I was able to closely observe the Southern Lesser Bushbaby (G. moholi) foraging and predating insects drawn to the light.

The fieldwork was generously supported by @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social Davis Expedition Fund.

🧵 3/8

Much remains unknown about our #primate relatives.

E.g./ Though #insects are a key dietary component for many #nocturnal species, we still have little idea of:

• which taxa are eaten, and why
• individual/population/seasonal variation in preferences
• the #sensory stimuli used to find them

🧵 2/8

Excellent! When are we bringing pith helmets back to fieldwork? ⛏️

Read more about my work in @uk.theconversation.com: theconversation.com/will-food-ch...

Or, have a look at our recent perspective piece in @globalchangebio.bsky.social: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

2/2 🧵

3. Hear the fantastic talk from this year's John C. Marsden Medal Winner, @jamiecweir.bsky.social gave us on timing and spring-feeding caterpillars. #insectweek www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7mh...

You can find many of the key ideas discussed in my recent @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper:

'Buffering and phenological mismatch: a change of perspective'

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...