The Holobiont Blindspot: Relating Host-Microbiome Interactions to Cognitive Biases and the Concept of the “Umwelt”

Cognitive biases can lead to misinterpretations of human and non-human biology and behaviour. The concept of the Umwelt describes phylogenetic contrasts in the sensory realms of different species and has important implications for evolutionary studies of cognition (including biases) and social behaviour. It has recently been suggested that the microbiome (the diverse network of microorganisms in a given environment, including those within a host...