Research
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Animals connect to the environment through their sensory systems.
We study how animals send, perceive, and respond to signals and/or cues across different environmental conditions, and how these processes affect animals' fitness in the context of mating and predator-prey interactions.
We aim to understand how sensory systems facilitate animal adaptation to the environment and, ultimately, play the role in determining species ecological niche.
We use two study systems:
Fiddler crabs
Fiddler crabs
The evolution of complex mating signals
Taiwan Blue Magpie
Taiwan Blue Magpie
The evolution of signals/cues involved in predator-prey interactions
Fiddle Crab (NSTC 113-2621-B-002-001-MY3)
Fiddle Crab (NSTC 113-2621-B-002-001-MY3)
Space is a necessary resource for every organism. It commonly intertwines with the idea of resource distribution as species/individuals compete for either literally the ‘living space’ or the ‘resources within a certain spatial range’. Changes in habitat can thus impose on population persistence through reshuffling these available resources in the environment. Overall, we aim to explore how habitat alteration affects animal reproduction though functionally interfering with the process of female mate choice and male-male competition.
We consider fiddler crabs as an ideal system to adress this topic given their wide distribution across different environemtnal gradient and diverse behavioral repertoire.
The association between signal design and the environmental complexity
The illustration of our three study sites: Shengang, Hanbao, & Waziwei
Information represents a powerful resource in not only the human society, but also the animal kingdom. In this project, we wonder how individuals obtain information and generate adequate responses when signals are modified by the environment during transmission? Fiddler crabs are ideal to study animal communication as they heavily rely on visual signals and cues in their daily lives. They are widely distributed across different types of intertidal habitat.
In this project, we specifically address how signal variation promotes species communication efficacy across different environmental gradients, and how this process further contributes to individual fitness and local adaptation. We implement a combination of approach, including field observation, experimental manipulation, digital image analyses, and robotic crab device, to examine the variation in signal conspicuousness across different environments.
Analyze the body color of crabs using an UV camera attached with the visible light filter (left) and UV light filter (right)
Record courtship effort of male fiddler crabs
Record courtship effort of male fiddler crabs
Document the environmental color and habitat structure
Document the environmental color and habitat structure
Evolution of complex mating signals
Evolution of complex mating signals
Cost of mating preference
Cost of mating preference
Team of Fiddle Crab
Team of Fiddle Crab
Arata Nakayama 中山新
Arata Nakayama 中山新
Chieh-Li Wang 王介立
Chieh-Li Wang 王介立
Yu-Jia Wong 黃語佳
Yu-Jia Wong 黃語佳
Ong Woei 王淳
Ong Woei 王淳
Taiwan Blue Magpie
Taiwan Blue Magpie
Urbanization creates both opportunities and challenges for wildife. Although many species struggle to cope with such a rapid environmental change, some species manage to persist when facing this novel environmental condition. In this project, we wish to identify the underlain behavioral and sensory mechanisms that allow urban-tolerant or adapted species to thrive when facing urbanization. By leveraging our knowledge, we seek for potential solutions to create a more friendly environment for those vulnerable speices.
This study centers the interaction between the Taiwan Blue Magpie and its bird prey. Broadly, we aim to understand how the differences of visual and auditory environmental background between the rural and urban habitat is associated with the shift in the predator-prey interaction?
Opportunity
Opportunity
The Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) and its sibling species, the Red-billed Blue Magpie, were suggested to gradually increase their populations in urban areas. Yet, they seem to adopt different behavioral strategies for colonization─aggresiveness! Using a series of field observations and behavioral experiments, we conduct a cross-country study examining the behavioral tradeoff resulting in different levels of species aggressiveness.
The Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) and its sibling species, the Red-billed Blue Magpie, were suggested to gradually increase their populations in urban areas. Yet, they seem to adopt different behavioral strategies for colonization─aggresiveness! Using a series of field observations and behavioral experiments, we conduct a cross-country study examining the behavioral tradeoff resulting in different levels of species aggressiveness.
Ultimately, we aim to establish a knowledge framework elucidating how urbanization acts as a novel selective force, driving rapid behavioral and evolutionary changes, and the role of behavior in species persistence in cities.
Ultimately, we aim to establish a knowledge framework elucidating how urbanization acts as a novel selective force, driving rapid behavioral and evolutionary changes, and the role of behavior in species persistence in cities.
Transects
Transects
Taiwan blue magpie baby
Taiwan blue magpie baby
The adult magpie!
The adult magpie!
Participate in our survey and becoming a citizen science!
“Where is the magpie?"
We want to investigate the distribution of the Taiwan Blue Magpies in urban environments, and how it uses this habitat and access resources in cities.”
Challenge
Challenge
The Taiwan Blue Magpie preys on the eggs and fledglings of small-sized birds during breeding seasons. With its gradual establishment in urban areas, this new predator-prey interactions has be introduced, posing a new predatory threat to these small-sized birds.
The Taiwan Blue Magpie preys on the eggs and fledglings of small-sized birds during breeding seasons. With its gradual establishment in urban areas, this new predator-prey interactions has be introduced, posing a new predatory threat to these small-sized birds.
In this project, we investigate how small urban-dwelling birds sense and recognize the presence of predators in the environment? How does the relative importance among different sensory systems shift along the rural-urban environmetnal gradient for these birds with respect to predator detection?
In this project, we investigate how small urban-dwelling birds sense and recognize the presence of predators in the environment? How does the relative importance among different sensory systems shift along the rural-urban environmetnal gradient for these birds with respect to predator detection?
We estimated the refuge availability for bird prey in the urban environment
Team of Blue Magpie
Team of Blue Magpie
Yung-Chi Chang 張詠祺
Yung-Chi Chang 張詠祺
Audrey Yang 戎小華
Audrey Yang 戎小華
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