What geese teach us about leadership and followers

Courage and curiosity shape the flock's collective behavior

University of Vienna

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Influencer goose is leading a group of followers.

view more 

Credit: Josef Hemetsberger, KLF

A new study led by the Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition at the University of Vienna sheds light on a long-standing mystery in animal behavior: why do certain individuals gain more influence than others within a group? The research shows that bold geese – but not aggressive ones – are more likely to be accepted as leaders, while exploratory individuals tend to follow them – revealing a nuanced interplay of personality and social roles in collective movement decisions. The results of the study have just been published in the journal iScience.

While simple interaction rules can explain how animal groups move together, we still know little about the long-term consistency of social roles in the wild – and why certain animals succeed in exerting more influence over collective decisions than others. To better understand these dynamics, the new study investigated whether individual greylag geese (Anser anser) show stable tendencies to lead or follow, and whether these behavioral patterns can be predicted by traits such as boldness, aggressiveness, and exploration. The researchers observed a marked flock at the Konrad Lorenz Research Station in Grünau im Almtal, Austria – a population originally introduced by Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz in the 1970s. Over a period of four years, they documented hundreds of collective departures, noting who initiated flight, who responded, and how large the departing parties were. In parallel, they assessed personality through standardized tests: flight initiation distance for boldness, mirror response for aggressiveness, and novel-object interaction for curiosity. The goal was to understand how individual variation shapes movement decisions and the flow of information through the flock.

Bold leaders and curious followers

The study offers two key insights: individual geese exhibit stable personality traits – boldness, aggressiveness, and exploration – that persist over years, and they move daily in collective subgroups to forage and roost across various valley locations. Results show that bolder individuals are more likely to be followed when they give a departure call and take flight. Those who follow tend to be exploratory, preferring bold over aggressive or dominant leaders.

Each day, the flock faces a tradeoff when moving to new foraging grounds or sleeping sites: balancing the safety of familiar, secure locations with the potential benefits of exploring unknown areas. Geese with bold personalities help manage this tradeoff by offering protection during risky movements, while curious individuals promote discovery and spread innovation.

Contrary to expectations, aggressiveness did not predict leadership during group departures, even though more aggressive geese often occupy higher social ranks. The most influential initiators were bold but not aggressive – a pattern that suggests a protective rather than dominant leadership style. These bold individuals offer safety in uncertain situations, while exploratory followers contribute by identifying new opportunities and transmitting information through social learning.

Rethinking influence and Leadership

"This research helps to explain why individuals with specific traits consistently wield more influence," says lead author Sonia Kleindorfer. "More importantly, it draws attention to followers – often overlooked in our human fascination with securing resources. What if followers actively choose whom to follow based on the benefits they receive? This shifts focus to the cognitive abilities of followers and challenges traditional ideas about which traits matter most in leaders."

By shifting attention away from aggressive, dominant individuals – who may maintain control through fear – toward the social and cognitive strategies of followers, this study opens new pathways for understanding collective decision-making, social learning, and cultural evolution – not only in geese but across many species, including humans.

See more information about the geese on Youtube.

---

Journal

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2025.113170 

Article Title

Personality predicts collective behavior in greylag geese: influencers are bold and followers are exploratory.

Article Publication Date

15-Aug-2025

 

In the blink of an eye: How river noise shapes the dipper’s silent signals

By uncovering the blinking communication of river birds, scientists have shed new light on the mechanisms and evolution of animal interactions

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBluesky
Email

 

image: 

At noisy rivers, dippers start blinking their white eyelids instead of singing louder. This is an impressive example of how animals use multiple senses to communicate, switching between them depending on the situation.  

view more 

Credit: Kevin Duclos

As anyone who has tried to hold a conversation in a noisy room knows, it is sometimes easier to rely on hand gestures than to shout over the din. White-throated dippers face a similar challenge along the fast-flowing streams they inhabit, where the roar of fast-flowing waters can sometimes drown out their melodic songs. Rather than trying to out-sing the river to defend territory or attract mates, these plump, endearing birds sometimes switch strategy entirely – turning to sight instead of sound, by flashing their bright white eyelids in a striking visual display.

A new study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence and Lancaster University is among the first to document this kind of sensory shift in a wild bird. The findings shed light on how dippers adapt their communication depending on social and environmental cues – and how such flexibility may have evolved in response to noise.

Being seen to be heard

In the upland areas where white-throated dippers live, their varied, high-pitch metallic song is one of the earliest signs of spring. Sometimes seen perched on river rocks or skimming low over the water, these birds make their homes beside fast-flowing streams – ideal for feeding, but often difficult for communication, especially after heavy rains.

In a recent study of wild dippers in Britain’s Yorkshire Dales National Park researchers found that when river noise increases and other dippers are nearby, the birds don’t necessarily raise their voices. Instead, they may blink more conspicuously, fluttering their white-feathered eyelids, which stand out against their dark-brown plumage. These visual cues, the authors suggest, may help attract mates or signal presence to rivals that might otherwise miss them – and reveal how the birds can fine-tune their use of sound and sight in real time to navigate their noisy world.

“Dippers don’t just add visual signals on top of their songs – they seem to switch between them depending on the situation,” says Léna de Framond, first author of the study. “When the river gets louder and other birds are nearby, they blink more often. We even found that birds that blink most often don’t sing as loud– suggesting a shift to visual communication. But when they are alone, we saw they actually tend to sing louder to rise above the noise. That contrast tells us the behavior is social, not just a response to sound, and is a rare example of a noise-induced multimodal shift in a wild animal.”

Evolution shaped by river noise

Using more than one sense to communicate can be a big advantage in noisy environments. However, while many animals are known to adapt within a single sense – for example, by singing louder, changing pitch, or repeating themselves – clear evidence of animals switching between senses to send messages, like moving from sound to sight, or touch to smell, is still surprisingly rare.

The white-throated dipper made an ideal test case: it lives year-round beside fast-flowing rivers, where background noise is often high, and it has bright white eyelids that can act as a visual signal. If any species had learned to shift between senses to get its message across, the researchers reasoned, the dipper would be a great candidate.

The team spent more than 300 hours observing wild dippers, some marked with colored rings for identification. Through detailed observations, calibrated audio recordings, and statistical analysis, they uncovered one of the clearest examples yet of animals switching between senses to communicate.

“The study sheds light not just on how dippers communicate, but on how environmental challenges – like noisy rivers – can shape the evolution of signaling,” says Henrik Brumm, whose group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence led the research. “What’s particularly interesting is the complexity of the dipper’s behavior and its ability to adapt to changing conditions.

“It also raises new questions about how species balance clarity and complexity. More signals can help get attention, but also increase the risk of being misunderstood – and signals need to match the senses of the animals they’re meant for. Now that we’ve seen this ability in dippers, it suggests that switching between senses may be more common in nature than we realize. In that sense, we may be seeing just the tip of the iceberg – and it’s exciting to think about where this research could go next.”

Journal

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2025.07.049 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Stream noise induces song plasticity and a shift to visual signals in a riverine songbird

Article Publication Date

15-Aug-2025

 

Novel radio-photovoltaic cells: A breakthrough in nuclear battery technology

Light Publishing Center, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics And Physics, CAS

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Figure | Device structure and working principle WLC-based RPVC. a, Device materials and configuration of the RPVC. b, Schematic diagram of the assembling structure and working principle of the RPVC.

view more 

Credit: Tongxin Jiang et al.

The advancement of technology has spurred human exploration into extreme environments. However, conventional power systems face significant challenges in such scenarios, particularly in terms of energy density, durability, and maintenance. Traditional batteries, hampered by their structural design and energy sources, are unable to meet the demands of long - term, autonomous operation in harsh conditions.

 

A collaborative team, led by Prof. Haisheng San from Xiamen University in China, Prof. Xin Li from the China Institute of Atomic Energy in China, and their colleagues, has made a remarkable breakthrough in this field. In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications, they presented a novel 90Sr radio-photovoltaic cells (RPVC) based on a waveguide light concentration (WLC) structure. This innovative design integrates multilayer-stacked GAGG:Ce scintillation waveguides with 90Sr radioisotopes.

 

Electron beam irradiation and tests using an 85Kr radioisotope source revealed that the edge surfaces of the GAGG:Ce scintillation waveguides exhibited highly efficient radioluminescence emission. A prototype of the RPVC achieved a maximum output power of 48.9 μW and an unprecedented energy conversion efficiency of 2.96%. Moreover, a multi-module integrated RPVC prototype demonstrated a maximum output power of 3.17 mW, a short-circuit current of 2.23 mA, and an open - circuit voltage of 2.14 V. Remarkably, after undergoing a 50-year equivalent electron beam irradiation, the device showed only a 13.8% optical performance degradation, confirming its exceptional radiation hardness. These findings indicate that WLC-based RPVCs can achieve both high power output and outstanding long-term stability, representing a substantial advancement in facilitating nuclear battery applications.

 

The scientists summarized the advantages of their nuclear battery, stating, "We designed and fabricated an RPVC that achieves a balance between efficiency and stability. The WLC structure realizes a 3-fold improvement in energy conversion efficiency compared with conventional RPVC structures. The irradiation equivalent to 50 years of service confirms that WLC-based RPVCs have great long-term service stability." They also added, "Although large-scale production of RPVCs is still limited by challenges such as mass production and cost reduction of 90Sr radioisotopes, the current research results mark a substantial step forward in promoting nuclear battery applications."

---

DOI

10.1038/s41377-025-01875-1 

Article Title

High-efficiency 90Sr radio-photovoltaic cells based on waveguide light concentration structure

 

Figure | Enhanced emission verification and prototype performance of WLC-based RPVC. a, Experimental platform and b, test results of scintillation waveguide edge enhancement emission. c, Radioluminescence spectrum of GAGG:Ce and quantum efficiency curve of photovoltaic cell. Electrical output for RPVC prototype with d, single module and e, multi-modules.

Credit

Tongxin Jiang et al.

 

Global telecommunications at risk: New paper urges urgent rethink of submarine cable dependence

Reichman University

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Dr. Asaf Tzachor, Dean of Reichman University's School of Sustainability

view more 

Credit: Oz Schechter

A newly published paper by Dr. Asaf Tzachor, Dean of Reichman University's School of Sustainability, warns that the backbone of our global internet infrastructure — submarine communication cables — is dangerously vulnerable to both natural disasters and deliberate sabotage, posing systemic risks to international communication, commerce, and security.

"The world's overreliance on a uniform submarine cable network is a textbook case of a progress trap", says Dr. Tzachor. "While cables have enabled a connected planet, they also represent a fragile chokepoint in global communications".

Published in Nature Electronics, the study details the growing vulnerability of submarine cables — which transmit over 95% of the world’s international data — to both natural and man-made hazards.

In 2022, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano unleashed a tsunami and underwater shockwaves that snapped the fibre-optic lifeline connecting Tonga to Fiji, plunging the island nation into digital isolation for weeks. This was not an isolated event. In 2011, Japan’s devastating 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake disrupted trans-Pacific telecommunications, while a 2006 earthquake off Taiwan’s southwest coast triggered submarine landslides in the Luzon Strait that severed critical cables linking Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, and Japan. The fallout was global — Hong Kong’s internet was nearly paralyzed, and financial markets around the world felt the ripple effects.

More recently, in just the past 18 months, a spate of incidents has exposed the system’s fragility. Submarine cables in the Red Sea, Baltic Sea, and Pacific have been damaged — some likely the result of deliberate sabotage — disrupting data flows across continents and underscoring the risks of relying on a single, vulnerable communications backbone.

Accidental damage from ship anchors and deep-sea trawlers causes frequent disruptions, while the growing trend of targeted cable sabotage by state and non-state actors raises the specter of intentional, high-impact blackouts.

If left unaddressed, these compounding vulnerabilities could cascade into large-scale communications failures with serious consequences.

From Ocean Floor to Stratosphere and Space: A New Vision

Dr. Tzachor lays out an ambitious yet scientifically grounded roadmap for diversifying global communications infrastructure beyond the ocean floor. He envisions three alternative systems that, while at varying stages of maturity, could together reduce our overreliance on vulnerable submarine cables.

The first is satellite-based laser communication networks. Already in operation through NASA and commercial ventures like Starlink, these low-Earth orbit constellations can deliver fibre-like data speeds without the seismic or geopolitical risks that threaten undersea systems. While atmospheric interference remains a technical hurdle, advances in beam steering, adaptive optics, and high-throughput inter-satellite links suggest enormous potential.

The second solution takes to the skies. High-altitude platform systems, or HAPS, involve solar-powered drones and airships stationed in the stratosphere. Acting as floating, low-latency data relays, they've proven useful in emergencies and remote regions. Though still early in development, prototypes have shown that these platforms could one day provide agile and resilient internet infrastructure — particularly for areas underserved by current cable networks.

The third approach dives below the surface. Autonomous underwater optical wireless networks imagine swarms of robotic vehicles equipped with blue-green lasers, forming a dynamic mesh of short-range optical links beneath the sea. These systems could offer critical redundancy near existing cables, and are especially promising for military, deep-sea energy, and environmental monitoring applications.

But technology alone won't secure the future of global communications. The paper calls for coordinated public–private action on a scale not seen since the rise of the semiconductor industry. Governments must step up with targeted funding, policy reform, and international agreements. That includes incentivizing research into alternative communications, setting clear standards for space-debris mitigation and orbital traffic management, and aligning frequency, airspace, and oceanic regulations across borders.

Only by broadening our thinking, and our investments, can we build a communications infrastructure resilient enough for the 21st century.

“Cable redundancy isn’t enough. We need genuine diversification of the global digital infrastructure if we're to withstand 21st-century threats — from geohazards to geopolitical conflict", says Tzachor.

---

Journal

Nature Electronics

DOI

10.1038/s41928-025-01424-z 

Method of Research

Commentary/editorial

Article Title

Diversifying global communications beyond submarine cables

Article Publication Date

14-Aug-2025

 

Largest database on Mediterranean trees available through open access

INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Aleppo pines on grassland (Peypin d'Argues, Vaucluse, France)

view more 

Credit: INRAE - Christian Slagmuler

One of the biggest challenges facing forests today is climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, Mediterranean trees are rarely included in forest conservation and sustainable management policies.

Given the lack of knowledge on trees from the Mediterranean region, a group of 30 researchers based in North Africa, the Middle East and southern Europe gathered and analysed a large data set on the presence or absence of trees across the entire geographical zone under Mediterranean climate in North Africa, Western Asia and Europe. The group was coordinated by INRAE and the European Forest Institute (EFI) and involved Aix-Marseille Université, the University of Montpellier, the French National Forest Office (ONF) and the French National Museum of Natural History (MNHN). They identified 496 species and 147 subspecies from 111 genera, including 48 species and 8 subspecies that had previously been considered shrubs but which naturally grow into trees in the Mediterranean.

The inventory covered 39 botanical territories, defined as distinct Mediterranean areas within a country (for example, France has two such botanical territories: southern continental France and Corsica). The scientists showed that the number of endemic tree species (i.e. those that are specific to a botanical territory) varied significantly from one territory to another. For instance, Spain has 150 endemic species, while continental France has 139, Türkiye 277, Algeria 57 and Sicily 102. Data on extinction risk were lacking from the IUCN Red List[1] for nearly half the inventoried species. While no geographical trends were identified, species richness was positively correlated with the botanical territory area and habitat heterogeneity. Genetic diversity was documented for only a third of the inventoried species (mainly those of economic importance). Of the 169 species for which a genetic diversity study existed, 43% were known for at least one food- or timber-related use.

These findings and the gaps they highlight underscore the importance of stronger collaboration, as recommended in the Mediterranean Forest Research Agenda 2030 to make tree conservation efforts in Mediterranean forests more effective. The data are available through open access on the Recherche Data Gouv platform. They can be used by scientists, forest managers and other stakeholders to support national and regional conservation policies for forest genetic resources, ecological restoration and sustainable forest management.

 

---

[1] According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, “the IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity”. Thanks to this list, we now know that one in four mammal species, one in seven birds, more than one in three amphibians and more than a third of pine species are at risk of worldwide extinction.

---

Journal

Current Forestry Reports

DOI

10.1007/s40725-025-00252-w 

COI Statement

This study was funded by INRAE and the European Forest Institute’s Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED).