🐵💥 After 2000+ hours of observing aggression across 189 zoo-housed bonobos and chimpanzees in 22 groups, we found that the two species are equally aggressive, yet differ in the distribution of aggression across the sexes ♂️♀️
Our study is out now, read more below ⬇️
Cool! I just taught undergrads this week about the overly simplistic + unhelpful chimp-bonobo dichotomy & why the “hippie / make love not war” media portrayal of bonobos is not super accurate… except for the sex part- bonobos need to tone it down with the sociosexual behaviours 😂
Data from large number of captive groups support findings from studies of wild bonobos and chimpanzees: bonobos are more aggressive than we thought.
I'm grateful to have been leading this project which started as my master's research. Nothing would have been possible without the support of co-authors in Utrecht (Edwin van Leeuwen, Tom Roth) and Antwerp (Jonas Torfs, Marcel Eens, Nicky Staes), and the zoos that open their doors to researchers ✨
Yet, that doesn't mean these sister species distribute aggression equally... 👀
Read to find out more as we discuss the significance of these results in light of evolutionary explanations of aggression in the Pan species and our own! ⬇️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Photo credit: Jake S. Brooker
New publication, and first one as a first author for me! 🥳
Have you heard of the brutal chimpanzee and "hippie" bonobo dichotomy? ☠️🕊️
Today, we report similar aggression magnitudes in 22 captive chimpanzees and bonobos groups - be it all aggression or restricted to contact.
That's a wrap on the Culture Conference 2026! 🎉
Three days packed with fascinating ideas and research, and the kind of conversations you don't want to end.
Thank you to every speaker—talks and posters alike—and to every attendee who joined us in Utrecht or online. You made it unforgettable! 🤩
What a pre-conference workshop on Bayesian statistical methods—a powerful toolkit for our community! 📊
Many thanks to Daniel Redhead and Ramona Roller for guiding us through STRAND and to Michael Chimento for the introduction to STbayes.
And thank you to all participants for their energy! 🙌
Want to socialise ahead of the conference? Join the Early Career Researchers drinks on the evening of 25th/02! 🍻 An excellent opportunity to meet fellow researchers in a relaxed way. Contact us to join.
Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎
🎄Early Christmas present: we still have a few presentation spots available!
If you’d like to share your research at the Culture Conference but haven’t submitted yet, you can send us your abstract until this Friday, 19 December.
Submission details are on our website (link in bio).
Registrations are now open 📢 Want to join the conference and/or the workshop? Head to our website: culture-conference.com/registration/
As every year, attendance at the conference is free 🎉 (the workshop has a small fee).
Reminder: Abstract submission closes soon—submit yours before Monday!
course schedule as a table. Available at the link in the post.
I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students.
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
The Culture Conference is (once again) indulging in that grand old tradition of EXTENDING the submission deadline‼️
The new deadline for abstract submissions is December 15th.
Registration will open very soon—stay tuned!
culture-conference.com/abstract-sub...
Are you working on a project where you need to infer whether individuals are socially learning? pathways, correlates of, and individual variation in sensitivity to social transmission? Consider joining the hand-on STbayes workshop to learn about the latest update to the NBDA framework
Come join this exciting workshop on social network analysis and social transmission, all within a Bayesian framework!! 💻
And many thanks to @danielredhead.bsky.social and @mchimento.bsky.social for conducting it, I'm looking forward 🤩
More information below 👇
⏰ Reminder: 10 days left to submit your abstract for Culture Conference 2026!
🧠 Workshop details are now live! Join us for a hands-on day on cutting-edge tools for analysing social networks & social transmission (registration opens soon).
Find all details here: culture-conference.com/workshop/
Last keynote announcement: Dr. Taylor Hersh!
She explores how animal communication varies over space and time, with a particular focus on cetacean social communication and the cultural processes that shape group-specific vocal traditions.
Discover her research here 👉 taylorhersh.weebly.com
Meet our 3rd keynote: Dr. Erin Wessling!
Her work connects research on Pan behavioural ecology with conservation practice, with a focus on understanding and protecting chimpanzee cultures.
Learn more about Erin’s work 👉 erinwessling.com
🎤 The lineup is here!
We are delighted to introduce the keynote speakers for Culture Conference 2026 (26–27 Feb, Utrecht) - to be revealed over the coming days.
Explore the growing list on our website: culture-conference.com/keynote-spea...
🧵And meet them below...
📢 The Call for Abstracts for Culture Conference 2026 is officially OPEN! 📢
🗓️ Deadline: 8 Dec 2025
We welcome submissions from all career stages and relevant disciplines.
🔎Details & submission info: culture-conference.com/abstract-sub...
Keynote speakers & workshop details coming soon!
‼️SAVE THE DATE‼️
We are excited to welcome you again in Utrecht, NL for the next Culture Conference on the 26th & 27th of February 2026!
And surprise! We will also host a hands-on workshop on the 25th/02 🙌💻
So stay tuned for future announcements here & on the website 🔎
culture-conference.com
I'm proud and grateful to be part of this exciting team diving to the bottom of social learning - Edwin van Leeuwen, Alex Rogers, Aurora Balaran, Peggy Motsch, Jake Brooker, and collaborators from Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, Utrecht University, Durham University, and University of Southampton.
Read it to find out more about culture and its surprising non-instrumental expressions in chimpanzees. 🎉
brill.com/view/journal...
We are now reporting more of that tendency! Chimpanzees within the same sanctuary started engaging in grass-related behaviours, with strong signatures of social diffusion. Not only that, but grass fashion is reaching new highs (or lows? 👀) with a brand new variant of grass insertion.
You may have heard of chimpanzees inserting grass in their ear for no specific reason. These occurences may foster social bonds, but may also simply reflect a latent inclination to copy each other (and perhaps some aesthetic appreciation? 🙈)
First publication for me! 🥳
A large part of cultural studies in animals focus on instrumental behaviours such as chimpanzee nut-cracking 🥜. However there is much to learn about the evolution of culture from socially transmitted behaviours with no apparent benefits (non-instrumental culture). 🔎
🎉Welcome to the official Bluesky account for EFP 2026 !!! 🎉
Join us in sunny Montpellier from 29 June to 3 July 2026 for an unforgettable conference.
Follow us for updates, sneak peeks, and all things EFP! ☀️📅🌿
I also want to give a special shout-out to our very own students Connor Proudfoot and Johanna Bellue, who respectively won the much deserved lightning talk and poster student prizes!
Looking forward to seeing many of you again at the Culture Conference 2026!
In February, I had the incredible opportunity to be part of the Culture Conference 2025 organising team! A heartfelt thank you to my fellow organisers, the amazing student volunteers, all the brilliant speakers, and every attendee who created a vibrant and memorable atmosphere.
Laura Simone Lewis at @cultconf.bsky.social talking about curiosity, particularly cultural curiosity in children 👧👦🎁 @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social #cultureconference2025
