Behaviour, metabolic ecology, and population dynamics
My PhD considered behaviour from a metabolic perspective to understand how animals respond to environmental conditions and whether those responses are predictable. By combining year-round observational data collected over 4 field seasons with mathematical theory, I found that the choice to be active or not active at any given moment is driven by energy status and the metabolic costs and benefits of activity relative to those of inactivity. This makes activity tightly linked to changing environmental conditions, and may be a key parameter for linking the environment to population dynamics. My PDF continued to explore this link and the importance of incorporating activity into ecological studies.
Publications:
Studd EK, Menzies AK, Siracusa ER, Dantzer B, Lane JE, McAdam AG, Boutin S, Humphries MM. 2020. Optimisation of energetic and reproductive gains explains behavioural responses to environmental variation across seasons and years. Ecology Letters, 23(5): 841-850. *cover article
* more upcoming
Studd EK, Menzies AK, Siracusa ER, Dantzer B, Lane JE, McAdam AG, Boutin S, Humphries MM. 2020. Optimisation of energetic and reproductive gains explains behavioural responses to environmental variation across seasons and years. Ecology Letters, 23(5): 841-850. *cover article
* more upcoming