Wendel van der Sluis
@wendelvandersluis
Associate Editor, De Gruyter Brill Life Sciences: animal/human behaviour, cognition, anthropology, primatology, amphibians, crustacean research, zoology, sensory perception, insects and related fields.
Using #DNA metabarcoding, the researchers found that eelgrass leaves were dominated by #Diatoms with similar communities across sites. Roots hosted a more diverse microbiome, led by ciliates alongside #GreenAlgae, diatoms and #Fungi. 2/3
#Seagrass meadows are biodiversity hotspots that also help store carbon and stabilise sediments. Yet the tiny #Microeukaryotes living on and around them remain poorly understood. 🌱🌊 A new #OpenAccess study explores these communities in #ZosteraMarina (#Eelgrass) from Denmark's Limfjord. 1/3
A new narrative historical review by Antonella Mazzone and Charles Spence explores how humidity shapes thermal comfort, why it has received little attention in sensory research, and how its perception differs between individuals and cultures. 2/3 @ox.ac.uk
💧 #Humidity is more complex than it seems. Rather than being sensed directly, it is perceived through a combination of touch and other sensory cues, making it an important part of how we experience our environment. 1/3
Although both groups occupy similar habitats, they differ in how they disperse. Bombina bombina has a greater capacity for long-distance and river dispersal, resulting in distinct hybrid zone patterns. 2/3
🌿 What determines where hybrid zones form? New research on #AmphibiaReptilia shows that hybrid zones between closely related newts and fire-bellied toads in central Croatia are shaped more by forest cover than by elevation. 1/3 @carodittrich.bsky.social @seh-herpetology.bsky.social
While Nematology EiCs Roland Perry and @andreaskantar.bsky.social are welcoming delegates at their stand during the 65th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nematologists (#SON2026), I can say that the latest issue of #Nematology has just been published online: brill.com/view/journal... 1/2
Like to let you know that the latest publication of Crustaceana is online. This issue features seven original research articles exploring #Crustacean #Biodiversity, #Taxonomy, #Ecology, #Fisheries and #Nomenclature. 1/2
A new study by Uriel T. Ruíz-García, María Luisa Núñez Resendiz, Yuri Okolodkov & María Eugenia Zamudio-Resendiz describes Dodgeum nauticum gen. et sp. nov., a new heterotrophic dinoflagellate from Acapulco Bay, Mexico. 2/3
Classification of athecate #Dinoflagellates has long relied on #Morphology, but molecular evidence has shown that many groups are not closely related. This highlights important gaps in our understanding of their diversity and evolutionary relationships. 1/3
🚨 Animal cognition researchers: this one's for you! We're inviting submissions for a special issue on "Unravelling the Animal Mind through Innovative Use of Technology." If you're using established tools in creative ways or exploring emerging technologies, we'd love to hear from you. 1/2
The results suggest flying is about much more than getting about. When given the choice, galahs almost always flew, showed more positive behaviours afterwards, and became more optimistic after several consecutive days of flight. 2/3
Many of us have dreamed of soaring through the sky like a bird. But do birds actually enjoy flying? 🦜 That’s what Jorg Massen, Katie Malone, Roos de Vries, Mandy Beekmans, Yvonne van Zeeland & Christine Oei (@utrechtuniversity.bsky.social) set out to investigate with galahs. 1/3
The species showed nocturnal, bimodal activity, while observations of adults and juveniles suggest a single annual breeding event. These findings expand its known ecological range into Andean temperate ecosystems and inform future #Conservation. 2/3
The @multisensoryres.bsky.social Associate Editors enjoyed an Italian dinner after another eventful day @imrf.bsky.social 2026 in Genua. Thank you all for the voluntary work you do for the journal besides your research work! 🫶 @laurence-harris.bsky.social
The timber included 46 wood types, but one stood out: China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata). As it grows naturally in #China but not Japan or Korea, its abundance strongly suggests many of the ships were built in China.
Could #Wood reveal where the Mongol invasion fleet came from? Researchers analysed 606 wooden artefacts recovered from #Shipwrecks off Takashima Island, linked to the failed #Mongol invasions of #Japan in 1274 and 1281.
📢 New online: Folia Primatologica. New research on #OwlMonkeys, #MouseLemurs, #SportiveLemurs, #Macaques, #Gorillas and #SpiderMonkeys, covering topics such as #BehaviouralSynchronisation, #HabitatFragmentation, #SocialStyles, #SleepArchitecture and #socialInteractions. brill.com/view/journal...
What can a Polynesian club collected during Captain Cook’s voyage, a Ming Dynasty shipyard, Ancient Egyptian statuary, Hungarian historic timber, Amazonian forest products and African talking drums teach us about wood culture? The answer can be found here: brill.com/view/journal...
It extends known distribution within Gujarat and adding to the sanctuary’s documented biodiversity. Continued monitoring is needed to improve understanding of the species’ ecology and conservation status in the region.
A camera-trap survey in and around Mitiyala Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, provided the first photographic evidence of the Vulnerable Four-horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) in the area. The species was recorded during monitoring for the Indian Pangolin and Ratel.
Nematology’s Editors-in-Chief, Roland N. Perry and Andrea Skantar, are looking forward to attending the 65th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nematologists in Baltimore, Maryland, from 6–10 July 2026 on behalf of De Gruyter Brill Life Sciences. @andreaskantar.bsky.social
De Gruyter Brill Life Sciences will attend the 24th International Multisensory Research Forum (#IMRF2026), which will take place in Genova, Italy, from June 24–27, 2026. Come to our stand for our books, journal copies of Multisensory Research or publishers goodies.
Sebastián García-Restrepo, Andrés Link and Jessica W. Lynch also uncovered similar labelling #Mismatches in other specimens collected during the same 1898 expedition, highlighting long-standing curation issues in historic collections.
A review of museum specimens has revealed that the holotype of Cebus malitiosus, a #CapuchinMonkey from #Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is actually a composite of two individuals: the skin of a female and the skull of a male.
Researchers identified a mounted female canid from Senegal in a French museum as the likely long-lost original specimen of C. anthus. Because this name was published first, it may be the valid name for the African wolf.
The African wolf was only recently recognised as distinct from the golden jackal, but what is its correct scientific name? While many researchers use Canis lupaster, an older name, Canis anthus, may actually have priority.
Genetic analyses reveal that Spalax istricus is most closely related to Spalax antiquus, with very low divergence between them. The findings support treating it as a subspecies rather than a distinct species: Spalax antiquus istricus.
The Oltenia #BlindMoleRat is among Europe’s least-known #Rodents and may already be #Extinct. Only seven museum specimens are known, collected in #Romania between 1901 and 1983. DNA from two specimens provided the first genetic data for this enigmatic taxon.