Overview
I studied my BSc with Hons. in Biology at the University of Nottingham, completing my second year at the University of Toronto. I then studied my MSc in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter. While studying these degrees, I developed a keen interest in ecology & evolution, and how these relate to behaviour.
I have also worked as a research assistant for multiple research groups, such as the PEC group and the Qvarnström Flycatcher Project.
I have a keen interest in the intersection (and sometimes disconnect between) between evolutionary theory and what we observe in nature, as well as the ultimate explanations of the diversity of behaviour. I am also interested in improving statistical techniques to advance the ways in which we can analyse behavioural data.
I am currently a NERC funded PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, as part of the CRAB group studying tactical adjustment of dynamic courtship behaviours using state-dependent dynamic game models and data collected from a wild population of fiddler crabs (Afruca tangeri), supervised by Dr Tim Fawcett and Dr Safi Darden. I am currently interested in investigating how male fiddler crabs adjust their courtship behaviours in response to internal (such as their energetic state) and external (such as levels of intra-sexual competition) factors.
Teaching:
- PSY2214 - Observations and Experiments in Animal Behaviour
- PSY2217 - Wild Behaviour
- PSYM208 - Animal Behaviour Research Skills
- PSYM201 - Advanced Statistics
- Statistics helpdesk
Qualifications
BSc with Hons. in Biology (2012-2015) – University of Nottingham & University of Toronto
MSc in Animal Behaviour (2016 – 2018) – University of Exeter (Distinction)
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Wilde JA, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Darden SK, Tregenza T, Fawcett TW (2023). Signalling males increase or decrease their calling effort according to the proximity of rivals in a wild cricket.
Animal Behaviour,
203, 53-61.
Abstract:
Signalling males increase or decrease their calling effort according to the proximity of rivals in a wild cricket
Males that employ dynamic courtship displays to attract females may tactically adjust their courtship in response to their social environment. However, we know little about how sexual signals are adjusted in complex natural settings, where individuals are competing for attention against a backdrop of signals from nearby and distant rivals. We investigated this using data from the WildCrickets project, a wild population of field crickets, Gryllus campestris, continuously monitored via CCTV cameras. We used over a million scan samples from 129 males across 51 days to explore how the singing and proximity of other males influenced male singing behaviour. We first quantified the spatial network of the males to understand how the extent of singing overlap is affected by the distance between them, and found a moderate overlap across the whole population, regardless of distance. We then used a finer-grained analysis controlling for the effect of environmental variables. At distances greater than 1 m, we found a stimulatory effect of singing by other males on a focal male's singing behaviour, leading to males singing in the same time intervals. The overlap in singing became weaker as the distance between males increased. Conversely, we found that males were less likely to call when another male was singing very close by (within 1 m), suggesting an inhibitory effect. These findings reveal how, in a dynamic social network in a wild population, males perform fine-scale adjustments to their signalling behaviour in response to signalling by other males both nearby and far away.
Abstract.
Publications by year
2023
Wilde JA, Darden SK, Hart JDA, Weiss MN, Ellis S, Fawcett TW (2023). Biomimetic robots reveal flexible adjustment of sexual signalling in a wild invertebrate.
Abstract:
Biomimetic robots reveal flexible adjustment of sexual signalling in a wild invertebrate
Sexual signals are often structured in bouts, which can be adjusted in response to changes in the signaller’s physical and social environment. For example, we might expect individuals to adjust their own signalling behaviour in response to changes in the signalling behaviour of rivals, because this can affect their relative attractiveness to potential mates. In this study, we used a biomimetic robot to experimentally manipulate rival waving behaviour in a wild population of fiddler crabs (Afruca tangeri), and investigated whether this leads to changes in the activity and waving behaviour of a focal male. Analysing the focal male’s behaviour using hidden Markov models and linear hurdle models, we found no evidence that the focal male’s waving rate changed in response to changes in the behaviour of the robotic rival. However, bouts of waving lasted longer when the robotic rival was waving at a fast rate. Focal males were also less likely to enter their burrow when the robotic rival was waving, and spent less time in their burrow if they did enter. These results reveal tactical adjustment of behaviour by competing signallers, and highlight the flexible nature of bout-structured sexual displays.
Abstract.
Wilde JA, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Darden SK, Tregenza T, Fawcett TW (2023). Signalling males increase or decrease their calling effort according to the proximity of rivals in a wild cricket.
Animal Behaviour,
203, 53-61.
Abstract:
Signalling males increase or decrease their calling effort according to the proximity of rivals in a wild cricket
Males that employ dynamic courtship displays to attract females may tactically adjust their courtship in response to their social environment. However, we know little about how sexual signals are adjusted in complex natural settings, where individuals are competing for attention against a backdrop of signals from nearby and distant rivals. We investigated this using data from the WildCrickets project, a wild population of field crickets, Gryllus campestris, continuously monitored via CCTV cameras. We used over a million scan samples from 129 males across 51 days to explore how the singing and proximity of other males influenced male singing behaviour. We first quantified the spatial network of the males to understand how the extent of singing overlap is affected by the distance between them, and found a moderate overlap across the whole population, regardless of distance. We then used a finer-grained analysis controlling for the effect of environmental variables. At distances greater than 1 m, we found a stimulatory effect of singing by other males on a focal male's singing behaviour, leading to males singing in the same time intervals. The overlap in singing became weaker as the distance between males increased. Conversely, we found that males were less likely to call when another male was singing very close by (within 1 m), suggesting an inhibitory effect. These findings reveal how, in a dynamic social network in a wild population, males perform fine-scale adjustments to their signalling behaviour in response to signalling by other males both nearby and far away.
Abstract.
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Supervision / Group
Postgraduate researchers
