Current projects
Current research in my group.
In this collaborative project involving scientists from NZ and Australia, we are using a combination of behavioural, electrophysiological, psychophysical and modelling tools to determine how it is that jumping spiders, whose eyes are only a few hundred microns wide, are able to see with a resolution not dissimilar to our own. Given that they can, how can they process this tremendous amount of information with a brain that makes the head of a pin look large? How are they using these “data” to make decisions?
Animal communication plays a fundamental role in the study of animal cognition, yet, despite evidence that the kea has cognitive abilities rivalling that of primates, this relationship remains unexplored in what is arguably the world’s most charismatic bird. In collaboration with Dr Alex Taylor, at the University of Auckland, we are investigating kea cognition and the basis of emotion in non-human animals. This work is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation's Diverse Intelligences Initiative and by the Brian-Mason Scientific & Technical Trust.
You can find more information on our "Warbling kea project" website.
In collaboration with the Kea Conservation Trust, and with the help of the Department of Conservation, and NZ Ski, we also work on several projects, like this one, in an effort to better manage the conservation of this beautiful endangered parrot.
In this collaborative project involving scientists from NZ and Australia, we are using a combination of behavioural, electrophysiological, psychophysical and modelling tools to determine how it is that jumping spiders, whose eyes are only a few hundred microns wide, are able to see with a resolution not dissimilar to our own. Given that they can, how can they process this tremendous amount of information with a brain that makes the head of a pin look large? How are they using these “data” to make decisions?
Animal communication plays a fundamental role in the study of animal cognition, yet, despite evidence that the kea has cognitive abilities rivalling that of primates, this relationship remains unexplored in what is arguably the world’s most charismatic bird. In collaboration with Dr Alex Taylor, at the University of Auckland, we are investigating kea cognition and the basis of emotion in non-human animals. This work is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation's Diverse Intelligences Initiative and by the Brian-Mason Scientific & Technical Trust.
You can find more information on our "Warbling kea project" website.
In collaboration with the Kea Conservation Trust, and with the help of the Department of Conservation, and NZ Ski, we also work on several projects, like this one, in an effort to better manage the conservation of this beautiful endangered parrot.
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