Visit the conference website

When: 16th-19th July 2024

Where: Zurich, Switzerland

Conference attendance grants more than £500 (only Developing Country applicants): 1st April 2024 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Conference attendance grants up to £500: 1st June 2024 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Abstracts submission deadline: 29th March 2024 (23:59, CET)

Registration deadline: Early Bird registration will be available until 10th May

Join us for ECBB 2024, a joint meeting with the 2024 Summer Meeting of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB).

The theme of this conference is 'Long-term studies in animal behaviour'. Come hear more about these and many other topics in behavioural biology.

Visit the conference website

When? Apri 23-25, 2024

Where? University of Exeter

Hosts: Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour - Lauren Brent, Sam Ellis, Andy Higginson, Lisa Leaver

Conference attendance grants more than £500 (only Developing Country applicants): 1st December 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)1

Conference attendance grants up to £500: 1st February 2024 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Registration and abstracts open: Dec 18, 2023

Abstract submission deadline: Feb 9, 2024

Registration deadline: Mar 15, 2024

ASAB's Spring meeting is aimed at postgraduate students and postdocs but is open to anyone interested in animal behaviour. There will be three plenaries by leading researchers and the presentation by the winner of the Christopher Barnard award 2024.

Exeter is set amongst spectacular scenery on the Devon Coast, between the wilds of Dartmoor and the Exe estuary, and is easy to get to using public transport.

Animal Cognition: Pure to Applied

Visit the conference website

When: 13th & 14th December 2023 

Where: Edinburgh, Scotland

Conference attendance grants more than £500 (only Developing Country applicants): 1st August 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Conference attendance grants up to £500: 1st October 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Abstracts submission deadline: August 30th 2023

Registration deadline: August 30th 2023

This year's Winter Meeting of the Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) will be held in Edinburgh on 13th and 14th December 2023, with the theme: Animal Cognition: Pure to Applied.

What an animal knows impacts all aspects of its behaviour. This conference will focus on both the fundamental mechanisms underlying cognition and its application to real-world problems such as conservation, ecosystem services, and welfare.

Venue: Swansea University Singelton Campus

This workshop will explore the implications and use of novel technologies (robots, UAVs, etc.) in animal behaviour from three perspectives: [1] cooperation, [2] control, and [3] coexistence. For ‘cooperation’, we will discuss technology for advancing understanding fundamental topics such as mate choice, social learning, and collective behaviours. Under ‘control’ we will discuss the use of robots and UAVs for wildlife management and conservation. Under ‘coexistence’ we will discuss possibilities for augmenting physical or mental capabilities of humans and other animals.

Visit the workshop website for more information.

If you would like to be kept up to date about this workshop, please contact the organisers, Marina Papadopoulou (marina.papadopoulou@swansea.ac.uk) and Andrew King (a.j.king@swansea.ac.uk)

Visit the conference website for information and registration.

When: 14th to 20th August 2023 

Where: Bielefeld, Germany

Conference attendance grants more than £500 (only Developing Country applicants): 1st April 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Conference attendance grants up to £500: 1st June 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Abstracts submission deadline: April 30th 2023

Early bird price: Until April 30th 2023

Registration deadline: June 30th 2023

Bielefeld hosted the International Ethologicial Congress, as it was known back then, once before in 1977 and we are thrilled to try our best to make 2023 an equally exciting and stimulating event. To make this conference as integrative as possible, we aim to offer comparatively low conference fees. Please make sure to regularly check for updates on plenary speakers, symposia and other information.

We are looking forward to meeting you in Bielefeld!

Where: in Cambridge and online

This workshop will bring together behavioural ecologists, anthropologists, linguists, researchers into human-wildlife cooperation and conservationists to compare non-human interspecific cooperation and human-wildlife cooperation. Topics to be included behavioural mechanisms, ecological drivers, population vulnerability and conservation strategies.

In principle, workshop attendance (either in person or online) is by invitation only, but if you work in this area and want to explore the possibility of attending, please contact the organiser, Jessica van der Wal at jessicavanderwal1(at)gmail(dot)com 

Visit the conference website for more information and registration.

When: 28th-30th March 2023 

Where: Bangor University, Wales

Conference attendance grants up to £500: 1st Feb 2023 (see also childcare & accessibility grants)

Abstracts submission deadline: 3rd February 2023 

Registration deadline: 14th March 2023

The meeting will begin with a 1-day workshop focusing on employability for researchers in animal behaviour. The following two days will feature contributed talks and poster sessions, as well as invited plenaries. Limited accommodation will be available in student halls on a first come first served basis. Further information will follow in due course when the conference website becomes active.

Bangor University has a long history of animal behaviour research dating back to Professor Francis Brambell who led the committee that authored the Five Freedoms, and continues to this day with a variety of staff focusing on fundamental and applied aspects of animal behaviour. 

Come and join us between the mountains and the sea next Easter in North Wales! 

The second global animal behaviour Twitter conference, organised by ASAB, ABS, and animal behaviour researchers around the world.

WEBSITE: animbehav2023.com

HASHTAG: #AnimBehav2023

VENUE: Twitter! Follow @asab_tweets and @AnimBehSociety to participate

What is a Twitter conference?

Unlike a virtual conference, Twitter conferences consist of scheduled tweet threads (presentations) that are uploaded on Twitter and directly followed by Q&A sessions. Presenters deliver their study in a thread of 5-6 tweets to discuss the different components of their research. Visuals are encouraged!!

Anybody can attend the Twitter conference by following the conference hashtag (#AnimBehav2023) on Twitter. Right after a presentation is uploaded, attendees are encouraged to tweet at the presenter their questions or comments during the slotted  time (10 mins) for that presentation. There will be a timetable of the conference tweet ‘talks’ so you know when to be online for the presentations that you would like to engage with. You can also keep up with the conference hashtag through this website’s twitter feed.

6 and 7 December 2022 @ Edinburgh

WEBSITE: asabwinter.org

THEME: Animal Movement

PLENARY SPEAKERS:
Prof. Lucy Hawkes, University of Exeter
Prof. Rosie Woodroffe, Zoological Society of London
Prof. Ran Nathan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Tinbergen Lecture: Prof. Nicola Clayton, University of Cambridge

VENUE:
This year the ASAB Winter meeting will be moving from London to Edinburgh, both to reduce costs to the Society and to make it more accessible to members outside London for a change. We will be meeting in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, an excellent venue right in the centre of Edinburgh, 5 minutes walk from Edinburgh Waverley train station and historic Princes Street. There are plenty of cafes/pubs/food outlets close to us and many cultural sights (museums/theatres/galleries all within walking distance. Accommodation in Edinburgh is typically cheaper than in London. We’re very excited about trying this new venue and look forward to seeing you there.

ECBB 2022 will take place in Groningen (Netherlands), July 20-23rd 2022.

We are pleased to announce that the European Congress for Behavioural Biology (ECBB) will take place in Groningen, Netherlands. The ECBB 2022 meeting will start Wednesday July 20th and end on Saturday July 23rd 2022.

Visit the conference website here

The conference theme is “All of life is social”. Seven plenary speakers will explore the diverse facets of social behaviours in a wide range of animals, as well as micro-organisms.

We plan a physical meeting but will be in close contact with the venue and our local health board to ensure we meet all safety regulations concerning covid-19 - whether still in place, or newly installed.

This meeting is being organised by Dr. Alan McElligott, Dr Elodie Briefer, Dr. Kate Flay, Dr. Xin Huo, Dr. Hannah Mumby, Dr. Matthew Parker, and Dr. Tamara Tadich.

This two-day workshop will be held online on the 21st and 22nd June 2022. All times are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The workshop will feature examples from across various fields that reflect upon the ethical and animal welfare dimensions of research. We also aim to examine some examples from animal and veterinary sciences that use human data (e.g. surveys of human attitudes, or human-animal interactions), in which human ethical oversight is a key concern. 

This workshop will be of interest to animal behaviour, conservation, and welfare scientists (at all career stages) as well as any researchers working with animals or collecting data related to animals. Whilst held online, there will be plenty of opportunities to network with speakers and other delegates.

If you feel that your interests lie in this area then please put the date in your diary. 

As with all ASAB meetings, researchers of any aspect of animal behaviour are very welcome to attend.

Visit the workshop website here

Key dates for your diary:

• Registration opens – 10th January 2022

• Deadline for submission of abstracts for talks and posters – 21st March 2022

• Notification of abstract acceptance for talks and posters – by 28th April 2022

The ASAB Easter meeting 2022 will be held at Newcastle University.

Date/Time: 6-8 April 2022

Venue: Herschel Building, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU

Visit the conference website here

Join us in the ‘Toon’ for the 2022 ASAB Easter Meeting. This meeting is aimed at research students and early career researchers but is open to anyone who is interested in animal behaviour.

Day one will be a day of workshops themed around Measuring Behaviour and Communicating Science Creatively.

Days 2 and 3 will feature plenary and student/early career researcher talks. As always, there will be plenty of opportunities for relaxed discussions with wine & poster sessions, networking activities and a pub quiz!

Key Dates

• Abstract Submission Deadline: 13 February 2022

• Conference Attendance, Childcare and Accessibility Grants Deadline: 1st March 2022

• Registration Deadline: 13 March 2022

• Conference: 6-8 April 2022

This year the meeting is being organised by Hansjoerg Kunc, Claudia Wascher, Sophie Nedelec, Natasha McGowan, and Matthew Bell.

The theme of the ASAB Winter meeting is "Animal behaviour in a changing world". If you feel that your interests lie in this area then please put the date in your diary. More information is coming soon.

​As with all ASAB meetings, researchers of any aspect of animal behaviour are very welcome to attend.

​

Key dates for your diary:

Registration is NOW OPEN!

Abstract deadline is 24th October 2021

Registration closes on the 30th of November 2021

As well as the normal online presence, there will also be the possibility to attend the conference in-person at ‘hublets’. More information can be found here

For further information, see the conference website www.asabvirtual.org

This year the ASAB Summer meeting is being organised by Domhnall Jennings, Gareth Arnott and Hansjoerg Kunc at the School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, with help from other PIs and post-graduates in the department working on animal behaviour.

Visit the website for the ASAB Summer Meeting 2021 here!

ASAB Summer meetings generally have a broad subject theme as a guide. This year we have settled on Co-operation and Competition as our theme as it reflects some of the interests of the staff here at QUB.

If you feel that your interests lie in these areas then please submit an abstract for a talk or poster.

As with all ASAB meetings, researchers of any aspect of animal behaviour are very welcome to attend.

Key dates for your diary:
Abstract deadline is 25th June 2021
Registration closes on the 15th of August 2021

Venue: Virtual (online)

Anthropogenic noise has significant negative effects on wildlife and biodiversity but is also a source of stress for captive and managed animals. This 3-day workshop aims to bring together researchers with expertise on animal acoustics – from animal conservation, animal behaviour, and animal welfare – to catalyse developments in our understanding of the impact of human-generated sounds on animals, and how animals perceive these sounds. In doing so, this workshop will facilitate knowledge exchange between animal conservation, animal behavior, and animal welfare, identify key points of disparity in the assessment of human-generated sounds, and allow us to brainstorm ways to benefit animals both in natural and in captive situations as well as further our basic understanding of animal needs.

For more details and to register your interest: https://tinyurl.com/y4424lmb

For questions or queries, please contact Pralle Kriengwatana (pralle.kriengwatana@glasgow.ac.uk)

ASAB‘s Easter meeting is aimed at research students and early career researchers, and is hosted by a different UK institution each year. After it was unfortunately cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19, it's going virtual this year! It is being organised by Christos Ioannou and Bex Pike at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, with help from the many PIs in the department working on animal behaviour (come and see who we are).

Abstract Submission deadline: 1st March 2021

Registration deadline: 7th April 2021

Visit the conference website here


ASAB Easter meetings do not have a subject theme and we want a varied programme of student talks and posters, so any aspect of animal behaviour research is welcome!

As is traditional at the Easter ASAB, the first day (14th April) will consist of workshops on professional development. In the morning we will have talks on preparing and reviewing papers for scientific journals, and preparing grant applications. In the afternoon, we have an exciting group activity planned for students working in similar research areas to get to know one another by working collaboratively to create a plan for a public engagement video on a topic of shared interest.

Plenary and student talks will take place on the 15th and 16th. We will be piloting a new 'meet the PIs' scheme to encourage students to interact with research group leaders, something that is often lost from meetings not being in person.

We will also be running social events (with an animal theme of course) that you’re welcome to join in with.

As with all ASAB meetings, researchers of any aspect of animal behaviour are very welcome.

We have two fantastic plenaries lined up:

Prof. Jens Krause, Humboldt University and the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin

Dr Josefin Sundin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm

The Animal Behavior Society (ABS) and the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) have joined forces to host the first Global Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference (#AnimBehav2021)!

Click here to visit the conference website: https://www.animbehav2021.org/

What is a Twitter conference?

Unlike a virtual conference, Twitter conferences consist of scheduled tweet threads (presentations) that are uploaded on Twitter and directly followed by Q&A sessions. Presenters deliver their study in a thread of 5-6 tweets to discuss the different components of their research. Visuals are encouraged!!

Anybody can attend the Twitter conference by following the conference hashtag (#AnimBehav2021) on Twitter. Right after a presentation is uploaded, attendees are encouraged to tweet at the presenter their questions or comments during the slotted  time (10 mins) for that presentation. There will be a timetable of the conference tweet ‘talks’ so you know when to be online for the presentations that you would like to engage with. Both the Twitter accounts for the Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) and the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (@asab_tweets) will be retweeting the presentations. You can also keep up with the conference hashtag through this website’s twitter feed.

This year’s ASAB Winter Meeting will now be held virtually on 3-4 December 2020!

Click here to visit the conference website: https://www.asabvirtual.org/

The meeting will not have a specific theme, but instead it will provide an opportunity particularly targeted at students and ECRs to present their work on any aspect of animal behaviour research. We are aware that opportunities to showcase findings and establish professional networks is critical for such researchers we wish to make up for the cancelled Easter 2020 meeting where ASAB traditionally supports such work.

The meeting will include a series of plenary speakers from across the field of animal behaviour, including the various award winners and invited plenaries whose talks have been disrupted by cancelled events. There will be a series of submitted talks and a virtual poster session where delegates can chat with presenters. There will be a series of professional development events including a meeting with the ASAB Grants Secretary to discuss how to obtain research funding and mentoring opportunities. We will facilitate micro-seminars in which delegates can meet with fellow researchers in their particular fields and discuss shared interests. We will also be running a few social events (with an animal theme of course) that you’re welcome to join in with.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the cancellation of the ASAB Easter Conference at Swansea University (15th – 17th April 2020). Given the rapidly changing situation with COVID-19 this is the only sensible option.

We will refund registration fees in full and will be in touch after speaking to our finance team. Given the difficult situation worldwide, please note that this may take some time.

For those with ASAB Conference Attendance Grants, Kate Lessells (Secretary of ASAB Grants Committee; klessells.science@gmail.com) will be getting in touch with you shortly.

@ASABEaster2020

Updated 16.03.2020

Head to the heart of Europe for the ASAB 2019 summer conference in the lakeside town of Konstanz, 26-28 August 2019. Hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and the University of Konstanz the theme of the meeting is “New Frontiers in the Study of Animal Behaviour” the conference will be exploring new technologies and approaches that are pushing the boundaries of animal behaviour science. Plenary speakers are: Jason Kerr (Max Planck), Emily Shepard (Swansea University), Mary Stoddard (Princeton University), and Nachum Ulanovsky (Weizmann Institute).

The preliminary TALK schedule for the 2019 Summer Conference is now available here.

Support for childcare at ASAB Summer 2019 is available via an onsite babysitting service. If you would like to make use of this service, please email us: asab.konstanz@ab.mpg.de.

Register here: https://www.uni-konstanz.de/asab-summer-2019/registration-and-abstract-submission/

Please note that payment can be delayed until 14 August, but to qualify for Early Bird Rates, payment must be received by May 1 (23:59 ECT)

For the latest information, follow the conference details on Twitter and visit the conference website: https://www.uni-konstanz.de/asab-summer-2019/

Updated 20.08.19

Behavioural biology in animal welfare science

Organised by Professor Mike Mendl and Dr Suzanne Held

Final programme and abstract booklet

Meeting website: https://asabwinter2018.weebly.com/

Enquiries: asab-winter18@bristol.ac.uk

Understanding why animals behave in the ways they do is fundamental to our efforts to assess and improve their welfare. The scientific study of animal welfare therefore employs all of Niko Tinbergen’s ‘Four Whys’ and touches on some of the most exciting and challenging questions in behavioural biology, psychology and neuroscience. How is behaviour motivated and controlled, how does the captive environment interfere with these processes to generate puzzling phenomena such as abnormal repetitive behaviour, and can we use changes in behaviour to detect and predict welfare problems? If welfare is primarily determined by an animal’s emotional state, how can we conceptualise and measure such states, and are they consciously experienced? How do cognitive abilities and personality differences influence an animal’s ability to cope with challenge, and how are they affected by gene-environment interplay during the process of development? Can principles of adaptation and optimality be used to predict how animals behave in captivity and how such behaviour can be controlled to improve welfare, and what aspects of species’ evolutionary history and current niche influence how they adjust to life in captivity? This meeting will explore these and other questions and showcase the range of exciting work that is going on in modern animal welfare science.

The meeting will be held at the Zoological Society of London, Huxley Lecture Theatre, London Zoo on 6-7 December 2018. As is traditional for the winter meeting, there is no registration and delegates will need to organise their own accommodation and main meals. Tea and coffee will be provided both days, along with a wine reception on the first evening. 

The meeting's invited speakers include: Liesbeth Bolhuis, Per Jensen, and Georgia Mason.

We are also delighted to host Bart Kempenaers as the 2018 Tinbergen Lecturer. He is a behavioural ecologist at The Max Planck Institute for Ornithology with a research focus on mating behaviour of birds. His talk will be: " Always on the move - how sexual selection shapes activity patterns"

Updated 28/11/18

**REGISTRATION AND ABSTRACT SUBMISSION NOW OPEN***

Interdisciplinary workshop: ‘Broader perspectives on animal contests’

Wednesday 29th August – Thursday 30th August 2018

Queen’s University Belfast

We are very excited to announce this ASAB-funded two-day workshop which is aimed at anyone studying contests and aggression, as well as those interested in bringing their disciplinary expertise to this area. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers from a range of disciplines in order to facilitate knowledge sharing and encourage future interdisciplinary collaborations.

We encourage anybody with an interest in contests, from economists to psychologists and biologists, everyone is welcome.

The workshop will include the opportunity for delegates to give short research talks (15-20 min) within themed sessions, as well as a chance for structured discussion concerning timely topics in the contests field.

There will also be the opportunity to listen to plenary speakers talk on a broad range of subjects.

Confirmed plenary speakers:

-          Professor Yuying Hsu | National Taiwan Normal University

-          Professor Mike Mesterton-Gibbons | Florida State University

-          Dr Dayu Lin | New York University

Please visit our website for details on how to register.

If you have any questions, please contact us at asab.workshop@qub.ac.uk

We hope to see you there!

Dr Sarah Lane and Dr Gareth Arnott

Dr Sarah Lane and Dr Gareth Arnott

We warmly invite you to the next European Conference on Behavioural Biology (ECBB) taking place from 9th – 12th August 2018 in Liverpool, UK. For more information about plenary speakers and to register and submit an abstract please visit the conference website: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/conferences/ecbb .

Please check back again soon. We plan to set up a mailing list which you can join to receive updates on the conference. For enquiries email ecbb@ljmu.ac.uk or twitter us https://twitter.com/ecbb2018 .
 

The ASAB Easter Meeting 2018, will be held at the University of Plymouth on 4th-6th April, and is being organised by

The confirmed plenaries are Lynne Sneddon and Audrey Dussutour. Damien Farine will receive the ASAB Christopher Barnard Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Investigator. The first day will be a day of postgrad workshops (including anti-CV, small grant writing and an informative talk on what robotics can tell us about behaviour). 

More details can be found on the conference website here. Abstract submission deadline 16th of February 2018

(last edited 22/01/18)

Sexual selection: do we still need to test the alternatives?

Organised by Professor Nina Wedell and Dr David Shuker

The 30 years since the publication of Bradbury and Andersson’s landmark “Sexual selection: testing the alternatives” has seen a wealth of new empirical data on the mechanisms and patterns of sexual selection, alongside major theoretical advances. However, some key concerns remain, including what drives the evolution of mate choice and how sexual selection and natural selection interact. Moreover, the very definition of sexual selection remains contested. In this meeting, we will explore the latest findings in sexual selection, in terms of both theory and experiment, to chart our progress in understanding this most beguiling of evolutionary mechanisms, and to map the way forward for the next generation of sexual selection researchers.

Our invited speakers are Suzanne Alonzo, David Hosken, and Hope Klug, and we are also delighted that Christine Nicol will be presenting the 2017 Tinbergen Lecture during the meeting. We invite spoken and poster presentations encompassing the widest range of current work on sexual selection. Please note that due to space constraints, poster space will unfortunately be limited.

The meeting will be held at the Zoological Society of London, Huxley Lecture Theatre, London Zoo. As is traditional for the winter meeting, there is no registration and delegates need to organise their own accommodation and main meals. Tea and coffee will be provided both days, along with a wine reception on the evening of the 7th. We welcome those wishing to indicate their likely attendance however, and we are very pleased to announce that abstract submissions for spoken and poster presentations is now open (deadline 1st October 2017). An abstract submission form is available on our website, and only submissions using this form will be accepted. Presentations will be chosen blind to author(s) and host institution(s). 

For further details, please visit our website (http://asabwinter2017.weebly.com/) or contact us on our dedicated conference email: asab2017@st-andrews.ac.uk