My Research Projects

My research takes a mechanistic approach to uncover the mechanisms underlying behavioural plasticity in free-ranging social animal in response to changes in their physical and social environment. I'm particularly interested in the pathways of acquisition of behaviour through learning, how intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence decision-making, and the individual- and population-level fitness outcomes of behavioural variation. What do animals learn from others, and who do they learn from? How do social learning strategies interact with social structure and environment? When and how does social learning lead to the establishment of culture? What can animal culture teach us for conservation? 

Learn more about my past and current projects below and check out my list of publications. 

For my PhD thesis at the University of Leeds, I have investigated the spread of two foraging behaviours involving tool-use ('sponging' and 'shelling') in a population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in the Western Gulf of Shark Bay in Western Australia, as part of the Shark Bay Dolphin Research. Using social network analysis, we have shown that the use of marine sponges is vertically socially transmitted between mother and primarily female offspring (link to publication here). Meanwhile, we found that 'shelling' (see photo below), which involves the use of giant gastropod shells to catch fish, spreads horizontally among associates (link to publication here). Furthermore, we have investigated the impacts of a devastating marine heatwave in 2011 on the population's demography, demonstrating long-lasting declines in both survival as well as female reproductive rates (link to publication here). After spending 7 field seasons collecting data off the township of 'Useless Loop' between 2013 and 2019, I continue to support the Shark Bay Dolphin Research as an External Collaborator.

PhD supervisors: Dr William Hoppitt, Prof Michael Krützen, Dr Simon Allen 

For my first postdoc, I have switched study species from dolphins to songbirds! During a 3-year project at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, we have investigated the ontogeny of social networks and learning strategies in wild great tit (Parus major) fledglings using fully automated cognitive foraging puzzles (find out more about the puzzle boxes here). What factors underlie the formation of social networks, and how do these changes over time (publication here)? Which aspects of behaviour do fledglings learn from their parents, other adults or peers? And how important is social versus personal information?
I have further looked at how changes in the social environment can trigger changes in individual behaviour and how this translates to population-level effects. Manuscripts are underway, so watch this space!

Advisor: Prof Lucy Aplin

In November 2022, I joined the University of California Davis on a 2-year postdoc mobility fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation to study the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on animal behaviour. Presently, anthropogenic disturbance is one of the most pressing concerns in conservation biology. Behavioural plasticity is a key determinant of whether animals can persist in human-altered environments, or face extinction. Currently, I am investigating how anthropogenic disturbance affects social network structure and learning strategies of foraging behaviour using California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) as a model system. This research is conducted at the long-term field site at Briones Regional Park in California, established by Dr Jennifer Smith (University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire) in 2013. We combine behavioural observations and experiments with automated tracking via RFID to better understand how human presence shapes animal behaviour. 

Collaborators/advisors: Prof Andrew Sih, Prof Jennifer Smith