Parental Strategies

We look into mechanisms that shape parental behaviors in birds. For example, we study the effect of brood size and birds’ age on parental strategies. We also ask how parental behaviors affect offspring survival and offspring sex ratio at the time of leaving the nest. We determine how environmental conditions, including availability of food, temperature, and rainfall, affect parental food provisioning, as well as growth and mortality of young birds.

Molecular methods and phylogenetic methods in animal ecology

We use new genetic and metagenomic methods to enhance the study of animal behavior, for example to study how incubation affects bacterial assemblages on egg shells in birds’ nests etc. We also use modern phylogenetic methods to trace evolution of behavioral and morphological traits and to determine evolutionary history of animals.

Field biology of cognition and learning

We are interested in cognitive abilities used in natural situations by birds of the family Corvidae and Paridae. Corvidae , due to their intelligence, have been labeled “avian primates”. 

Predator-Prey

Escape behavior, camouflage, aposematism and mimicry are common antipredatory adaptations in animals. We study how predators (birds) affect evolution of these adaptations in prey, and also how prey affects evolution of predatory behaviors, cognition, sensory properties and morphology. We also look at how prey inform each other about predators using alarm calls. Some research also addresses a similar system of parasite-host ecology and evolution.

Signaling & Sexual Selection

We study signaling and sexual selection, sensory exploitation between sexes, adaptations to mating, evolutionary history of sexually selected traits, and how predation affects sexual selection.

Morphological adaptations, kinematics, and biomechanics for behavioral performance

We collaborate with  engineers in order to use kinematics, aerodynamics, biomechanics and fluid dynamics for better understanding of adaptations of animals to specific functions and to understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of simple mechanical rules and constraints.

Social interactions in groups

Mexican jays and magpies, as well as some other members of Corvidae, are known for good memory that is used to uncover previously stores caches of food. We study social interactions among individuals that occur at caches and at the moment of finding food items. In this way we have tested “producer-scrounger” models in totally natural conditions. We are also interested in communication in social groups of conspecifics and heterospecifics, using magpies (Pica pica) and tits (Paridae) as study subjects.

Sensory Exploitation and Evolution

We study ecological and evolutionary consequences of sensory and neural properties of organisms. We are interested in ecological and evolutionary effects of identified properties of simple sensory and neural pathways (e.g. escape pathways in insects) and behaviors that these pathways control. We have studied how prey sensory and neural systems affect their predators, insectivorous birds. We focus on field studies of these questions.

Classical Ecology Questions and Long Term Ecological Monitoring

Our field studies always result in outcomes related to the “classical” ecological questions. For examples we have looked at foraging behavior relevant for conservation of the endangered species of cranes in DMZ, mechanisms of ecological niche division among species, environmental effects on population dynamics, habitat choice, effect of humans on birds, long-term ecological processes, evaluations of biodiversity, etc.