Sensory perception in a changing world

Organisers

• Kathleen M. Gilmour, University of Ottawa, Canada
• Almut Kelber, Lund University, Sweden
• Sanjay P. Sane, National Centre for Biological Sciences, India

Date

24-28 March 2025

Journal of Experimental Biology (JEB) organises a yearly symposium. In 2025, the year that The Company of Biologists celebrates its 100th anniversary, the JEB Symposium will be part of the overarching conference Biologists @ 100.

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About the JEB Symposium 2025

Animals rely on sensory information from their environment to make decisions about navigating their surroundings, foraging, growing, seeking mates and homes, evading predators, and reproducing. Their senses have evolved over millions of years to serve their physiological needs and behavioural repertoire, allowing them to survive and thrive in their habitats. Sensory perception, physiological responses and neuronally controlled behaviour allow species to respond to a range of ecological conditions – for instance, between day and night, or summer versus winter. They may also allow animals to react to rapid or unexpected changes such as forest fires, flooding or upwelling-driven hypoxia. However, many organismal responses and behaviours are so tightly coupled to specific sensory cues that they are easily disrupted. In a changing world, this limits the adaptability of the link between perception and functional response, leaving animals vulnerable to anthropogenic factors such as light pollution, climate change, the accumulation of plastic and other chemicals in the environment, and other human-wildlife interactions.

This symposium takes a broad, comparative approach to the sensory control of physiological mechanisms and behaviours. It highlights the effects of anthropogenic changes on all levels, from sensory information and transduction via neuronal coding, to stress responses and physiological and behavioural control.

The presentations from the meeting will be shared with the wider scientific community by being published as Review articles in a supplementary special issue of JEB in early 2026.

Topics will include:

• Chemical senses
• Electric sense
• Eyes
• Infrared and infrasound
• Light pollution
• Magnetic sense
• Sound sense
• Thermosensation and temperature
• Vibration senses

View the preliminary programme

• George Bakken, Indiana State University, USA
• Francesca Barbero, University of Turin, Italy
• Karen Cheney, The University of Queensland, Australia
• Susana Clusella-Trullas, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Suzie Currie, Acadia University, Canada
• Ajinkya Dahake, Princeton University, USA
• Fernanda G Duque, Illinois State University, USA
• Robyn Grant, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
• Jörg Hardege, University of Hull, UK
• Michiyo Kinoshita, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Japan
• John Lesku, La Trobe University, Australia
• Samantha Patrick, University of Liverpool, UK
• Nathan Putman, LGL Ecological Research Associates, USA
• Daniel Robert, University of Bristol, UK
• Sanjay Sane, National Center for Biological Sciences, India
• Ana Širović, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
• Hema Somanathan, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, India
• Eric Warrant, Lund University, Sweden