A major focus of my work over the last few years has been the social behaviour of animals, particularly fishes. I’m currently working on a diverse range of research questions, including the following:
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Should social animals, such as fish, lemmings or even humans, blindly follow their leaders, or should they risk isolation from the group by acting more independently? The decision about whether to follow the lead of another individual constitutes a fundamental problem for grouping animals. Research currently being conducted examines questions about leaders, followers and the dynamics of group decision making, particularly involving fish and social crustaceans.
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Fish are capable of recognising and differentiating between their conspecifics. In freshwater fishes, social recognition is known to be achieved using a combination of different sensory cues though recent findings suggest that chemical cues may be of greatest importance. The chemical cues produced by individuals are strongly influenced by both local habitat use and diet, allowing fish to distinguish between members of their local population. It is this ability that underpins their social organisation into shoals, territorial assemblages and dominance hierarchies.
- The vast majority of studies on fish behaviour have focussed on freshwater fishes. Comparatively little work has been done on marine fishes, especially temperate species. As a result, there are some major gaps in our knowledge of the social organisation of marine fish communities, especially in terms of how they recognise and communicate with one another – their sensory biology – and how this may be affected by exposure to anthropogenic contaminants.
- Physiology is the driver of animal behaviour and by combining behavioural and physiological approaches to research questions, we can gain fascinating insights into what makes animals ‘tick’. For example, how do animal respond to stress? What determines fighting ability? Why do individuals vary in their willingness to accept risk in order to gain rewards, thereby occupying different positions on the so-called ‘bold-shy continuum’? These and many other areas of behavioural ecology can benefit hugely from the adoption of a multi-disciplinary research perspective.
I would encourage any potential Honours or PhD students interested
in behavioural ecology questions, especially those using fish as
models, to contact me.
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