Hublet at SCIoI: Winter Conference of the Association For the Study of Animal Behavior (ASAB)

How does sensory information shape animal behaviour?

This year’s Winter Conference of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) takes on one of the most intriguing questions in behavioural biology: how animals perceive, interpret, and act on information from their environment. From camouflage to communication, from primate foraging to the “linguistics” of animals, the meeting brings together cutting-edge research on sensory worlds across species.

For everyone in Berlin who cannot attend the conference in person but would still like to follow the talks and discuss them with others, the IGB and SCIoI is hosting a Hublet.
A Hublet is a local satellite gathering where the conference is streamed live, creating a shared space for learning, exchange, and spontaneous discussion. It’s an informal, community-driven way to experience the conference together, and a chance to connect with others interested in animal behavior, sensory systems, cognition, and beyond.

Attendance is free and open to all.
(Participation follows the ASAB Code of Conduct.)

For the whole program, please visit the conference website.

Programme Highlights (streamed at the Hublet)

Monday
09:30 – Public Lecture: Innes Cuthill
Animal camouflage: evolutionary biology meets neuroscience, art and war
14:30 – Plenary 1: Amanda Melin
Multimodal foraging in wild sympatric primates

Tuesday
09:30 – Tinbergen Lecture: Toshitaka Suzuki
Animal linguistics
11:15 – Plenary 2: Barbara Caspers
Family affairs – the impact of chemical cues on bird social communication

About This Year’s Theme
“How sensory information affects behaviour”
The 2025 meeting explores how animals perceive their world, a topic famously challenged by philosopher Thomas Nagel’s question: What is it like to be a bat?
While we may never fully inhabit another species’ sensory perspective, understanding these sensory modalities is essential for interpreting behaviour. In an increasingly human-altered world, sensory systems face new challenges from noise, light pollution, artificial scents, and shifting magnetic environments. The conference investigates how these pressures shape decision-making, adaptation, and sometimes maladaptive outcomes.

Join the Berlin Hublet
Come watch the conference with fellow researchers, students, and anyone curious about animal behaviour. Whether you work in biology, robotics, psychology, philosophy, or simply enjoy learning about the natural world, you are warmly invited.