Rohini Balakrishnan is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, where she investigates animal communication and bioacoustics. After her undergraduate degree in Biology at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, she completed a Master's degree in Zoology at the University of Pune, India, and a PhD in neurogenetics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, before undertaking postdoctoral research at McGill University, Canada, and the University of Erlangen, Germany. Telling us about her research experiences in the Kudremukh National Park, India, Rohini Balakrishnan reflects on working with crickets, bushcrickets, bats and elephants, explaining how these animals communicate against loud background noise and why silent female bushcrickets are more vulnerable to bat predation than noisy males.

Robyn Hetem is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, where she is a conservation physiologist. After completing her undergraduate degree in Zoology and Physiology, she was appointed as a Researcher in 2008 while completing her PhD at the same university. Hetem has been recognised as a young researcher with the potential to become a future leader in her field by the National Research Foundation in South Africa. Telling us about her research experiences in southern Africa, Hetem reflects on working with species ranging from aardvark to zebra and the challenges they face as a consequence of climate change.

Katsufumi Sato is a Professor at The University of Tokyo, Japan, where he investigates the behaviour of top marine predators. He completed his undergraduate degree in Fisheries, and his Master's degree and PhD at Kyoto University, Japan. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, Sato was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the same institute, before moving to the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo, Japan, in 2004. Sato was awarded a National Geographic Emerging Explorer grant in 2009 and promoted to Professor in 2014. Telling us about his research experiences around Japan and in Antarctica, Sato describes how his data logging devices have led to collaborations with scientists across the globe.

Holly Shiels is a Reader at The University of Manchester, UK, where she investigates cardiac physiology in ectotherms. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at University of Western Ontario, Canada, before moving to Simon Fraser University, Canada, to complete her Master's degree and PhD. After postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, USA, and the University of Leeds, UK, Shiels moved to the University of Manchester, UK, first as a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer. Telling us about her first experience of fieldwork on the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, Shiels describes the highs and lows of research on the ocean in the tropics and North Atlantic.

Sandra Binning is an Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal, Canada, and Dominique Roche is a Marie Curie Fellow at Carleton University, Canada. Together, they investigate how animals respond to environmental stressors. Binning and Roche completed their undergraduate degrees in Biology and master's degrees at McGill University, Canada, before undertaking their PhDs at the Australian National University, Australia. The pair then moved to the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, for a 4 year postdoc period. Binning and Roche tell us about working in field locations ranging from Barbados and Panama to Uganda and the Great Barrier Reef, and discuss scuba diving and safety when working in dangerous conditions.

Craig Franklin is a Professor at The University of Queensland, Australia where he investigates the physiological and behavioural responses of fish, frogs and reptiles to changing environmental conditions. He completed his undergraduate degree in Zoology and his PhD at The University of Canterbury, New Zealand, before undertaking postdocs in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Franklin talks to us about his experiences working in field locations ranging from Antarctica to tropical Northern Australia.

Sandy Kawano is an Assistant Professor at George Washington University, USA, where she studies biomechanics and physiology to address the origins and maintenance of biodiversity. She received her undergraduate degree in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity from the University of California, Davis, USA, in 2008 before completing her PhD with Richard Blob at Clemson University, USA, in 2014. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, USA and the Royal Veterinary College, UK, she was appointed Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach, USA from 2017 to 2019.

Michael Rosario is an Assistant Professor at West Chester University, USA, where he studies elastic mechanisms in biology. He received his undergraduate degree in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 2009 before completing his Master's degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, in 2013 and his PhD in Biology at Duke University, USA, in 2015. Rosario completed a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship with Tom Roberts at Brown University, USA, before moving to West Chester University in 2018.

Sharlene Santana is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington, USA, where she studies the relationships between morphology, function, behaviour and ecology in bats and other mammals. She is also the Curator of Mammals at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. She received her Licenciatura in Biology from the Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela, in 2004 before completing her PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in 2010 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, with Betsy Dumont. Santana then completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Michael Alfaro at the Institute for Society and Genetics, the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

Cosima Porteus is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK, where she studies how fish sense, interact with and respond to their environment. She received her Bachelor's degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Guelph, Canada, in 2004 before completing her Master's degree in Integrative Biology in 2006 at the same institution with Don Stevens and Pat Wright. After completing a PhD with Bill Milsom at the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 2012, Porteus joined Rod Wilson at the University of Exeter, UK, for a postdoctoral fellowship.

ABSTRACT Heath MacMillan is an Assistant Professor at Carleton University, Canada, where he studies the physiological mechanisms limiting ectotherm performance. He received his Bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 2008 before completing his PhD in 2013 with Brent Sinclair and Jim Staples at the same institution. After undertaking a postdoc with Johannes Overgaard at Aarhus University, Denmark, MacMillan was awarded a Banting Fellowship, which he took in the laboratory of Andrew Donini at York University, Canada.

ABSTRACT Marianne Porter is an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University, USA, where she studies biomechanics, functional morphology, and bioinspired robotics. She received her Bachelor's degrees in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, USA, in 2000 before completing her PhD with Adam Summers at the University of California, Irvine, USA in 2007. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship with John Long at Vassar College, USA, before rejoining Summers at Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, USA.

ABSTRACT Danielle Levesque is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maine, USA, where she studies hibernation and torpor in mammals. She received her Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Biology from McGill University, Canada, in 2006, before completing her PhD with Barry Lovegrove at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2014. She then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Malaysia Sarawak with Andrew Alek Tuen before moving to Maine in 2015.

Chris Richards is a Research Fellow at The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), UK, where he studies the evolution of the frog musculo-skeletal system. He received his Bachelor's degrees in Biology and Violin from Oberlin College, USA, in 1998 before completing his PhD with Andy Biewener at Harvard University, USA, in 2009. He then completed an independent Junior Fellowship at the Rowland Institute, Boston, USA, before moving to the RVC in 2014, where he currently holds a European Research Council grant.

Philip Matthews is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada, where he studies the respiratory adaptations of animals. He received his BSc with Honours from Adelaide University, Australia, in 2003 before completing his PhD with Roger Seymour, also at the University of Adelaide, in 2008. He then completed two postdocs with Craig White at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Erika Eliason is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, where she studies ecological and evolutionary physiology. She received her Bachelor's degree at Simon Fraser University, Canada, in 2003 before completing her MSc and PhD with Tony Farrell at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She then completed postdocs with Frank Seebacher at the University of Sydney, Steve Cooke at Carleton University, Canada, and Scott Hinch at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Erika gave the Cameron Award Lecture at the annual Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting in 2013.

Simon Sponberg is an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, where he studies neuromechanics and locomotor control. He received his joint honours Bachelor's degree in Biology and Physics from Lewis and Clark College, USA, in 2002 before moving to complete his PhD with Bob Full at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He then completed a postdoc at the University of Washington, USA, with Tom Daniel and Adrienne Fairhall. Simon won a Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Neuroethology in 2014.

Yossi Yovel is an Assistant Professor at Tel-Aviv University, Israel, where he studies bat echolocation. He received his joint honours Bachelor's degree in Biology and Physics before moving to complete his PhD with Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler at University of Tübingen, Germany, in 2008. He then completed postdocs at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, and University of Chicago, USA.

Brooke Flammang is an Assistant Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she investigates how organisms interact with their environment and how these interactions drive the evolutionary selection of morphology and function. She received her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University before moving to Moss Landing Marine Laboratories for her Master's degree and completing her PhD with George Lauder at Harvard University in 2010. She was awarded the Dorothy H. Skinner award in 2013 and the Carl Gans award in 2017 by the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Paloma Gonzalez Bellido is a Lecturer in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, where she investigates insect vision. She received her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from the University of Queensland, Australia, before moving to the University of Sheffield for her PhD with Mikko Juusola, which she completed in 2009. Paloma has been awarded a Cozzarelli Prize and her research has been recognised by the Society for Neuroethology and the Society for Experimental Biology.