Behavioural
Ecology Group


Research





The aim of the Behavioural Ecology Group is to answer questions on the causes and consequences of behavioural traits and strategies, and to determine their implications especially in social contexts. The main research focus of the BHE group is social behaviour, involving a range of projects. This includes research on communication, cooperation, cognition, family conflicts, predator-prey interactions, social networks, territoriality and movement decisions, animal personality, and early developmental effects on behaviour, using wild and captive animals as model organisms.


By applying our expertise in animal behaviour to different study systems - wild animals, farm animals and companion animals - our research and teaching integrates knowledge from these approaches. Our interests in behavioural ecology, applied animal behaviour and animal welfare and conservation behaviour ideally complement each other leading to knowledge transfer between these fields. One linking approach is our focus on individual behavioural decisions and their causes, correlates and predictors, which all play a central role in understanding behaviour in animals from a mechanistic and an evolutionary perspective.



Behavioural ecology





Our research in behavioural ecology focuses on understanding how individual animals and populations function and how selection acts on fitness, using a range of different behavioural and life history traits. Our main study organisms are birds and fish.
Please visit the sites of the staff members for more details. Overall our topics topics include:
Animal communication, Animal CooperationAnimal Cognition, Social behaviour, Sexual selection, Animal personality, Movement ecology, Foraging, Predator and prey interactions, Conservation Behaviour among others



companion animals





For companion animal behaviour the focus of the Behavioural Ecology Group is on dogs, investigating personality traits, human-dog relationships and welfare. Research with cats focusses on welfare and motivation (wanting, liking), typically in relation to the appraisal of foods. We are interested in the question how personality traits of an individual pet affects its (not so) social behaviour and ability to perform specific tasks, and how the humans to whom a pet is attached play a role. The objective assessment of mental states (feelings) and the traits that govern behaviour is one of the major challenges in our ongoing work. Research results aid the understanding of how companion animals cope with man-made living conditions and how the latter may be optimized to improve companion animal welfare.



researchers involved





Conservation Biology





Applied animal behaviour





For applied animal behaviour, the focus of the Behavioural Ecology Group is on social behaviour in farm animal and its effects on animal welfare. The research focuses mainly on laying hens, but in collaboration with other groups within the Centre for Animal Welfare and Adaptation (CAWA) also research on other species is conducted. We are interested in the question how personality traits of an individual affect its social behaviour, but also how this affects the individual’s social environment. Further, we investigate how genetic background and early-life experiences influence these individual personality traits and how this affects the social group in their ability to cope with stress.



projects applied animal behaviour