Welcome!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my page!
I'm a PhD student at the University of Exeter, University of Zurich & Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, studying the social lives of vulturine guineafowl.
Research Areas and Interests
Current work
Upcoming work
Previous work
PhD:
Thanks for taking the time to visit my page!
I'm a PhD student at the University of Exeter, University of Zurich & Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, studying the social lives of vulturine guineafowl.
Research Areas and Interests
Current work
- Determinants of dominance and their feedback loops: In animal societies, individuals occupy particular social positions within their group, such as their position in a dominance hierarchy. I'm interested in the determinants of individuals hierarchy positions, and how hierarchy feeds back to these determinants. Dominance and its determinants in a parental generation may also affect offspring via transgenerational effects, which can have longterm consequences for the position of individuals or lineages in dominance hierarchies (click here to view our published manuscript).
- Strategic dominance interactions: Social dominance brings many benefits but, as engaging in dominance interactions is costly, individuals should be strategic in which group members they direct dominance interactions towards. We show that vulturine guineafowl direct interactions strategically, that strategies differ between different categories of dominance interactions, and that individuals express higher-cost aggression (as opposed to lower-cost aggression) when engaging in interactions with individuals immediately below themselves in the hierarchy (click here to view our published manuscript).
Upcoming work
- Nuptial gifts in a vertebrate: I study the causes and consequences of a highly-ritualised, intersexual food-sharing behaviour exhibited by male vulturine guineafowl. I'm currently exploring several aspects of this behaviour, including the function (from both male and female perspectives), influence of social status, as well as the role of kleptoparasistism by juveniles.
Previous work
- Cooperative breeding behaviour: I am interested in cooperative breeding, with a particular interest in the difficulties in explaining the interspecific distribution of cooperative breeding (in vertebrates)—on which my Master's dissertation focused.
PhD:
- Start date: Sept. 2019 (effectively March 2020, due to 6-month rotation project unrelated to thesis)
- Expected end date: Sept. 2023
- Co-supervised by Dr. Neeltje Boogert and Dr. Damien Farine
- Part of the Vulturine Guineafowl Project
