Advisory Board and Editors Animal Behavior
Caroline Brennan
I did my PhD at King's College London in the Lab of Prof J.M. Littleton working on adaptive mechanisms underlying drug dependence. I demonstrated adaptive changes in the number of DHP sensitive VOCC following chronic exposure to central depressant drugs and showed that these changes were associated with genetic vulnerability to drug dependence.
I undertook post-doc training at the Clinical Research Centre Harrow, UK before joining the laboratory of Prof Nigel Holder at The Randall Institute, KCL and moving with him to UCL in 1998. Whilst at KCL and UCL I used zebrafish as a genetic model system for analysis of mechanisms underlying development.
Since 2000, I have been a Lecturer in Molecular Genetics in the School of Biological Sciences QMUL. Our work combines the two areas of my expertise: Molecular mechanisms underlying drug dependence and zebrafish as a developmental genetic model system. We have developed behavioural assays of drug seeking, compulsive drug seeking and relapse in zebrafish and are establishing lines of fish in which to explore the genetics contributing to these behaviours.
Sarah F. Brosnan
I study the evolution of decision-making and economic behavior across the primate Order. I am particularly interested in how non-human primates make decisions, especially about cooperation, and how they are altered based on social and ecological contexts.
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Philosophy & Neuroscience at Georgia State University and direct the Laboratory for Comparative Economic & Behavioral Studies. I am on the editorial board of several open access journals.
Viktor V. Brygadyrenko
Dr. Viktor Brygadyrenko is an Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology and Ecology at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University.
His main scientific projects include:
- Effect of heavy metal ions on the development of invertebrates.
- Morphological variability in populations of beetles in conditions of anthropogenically altered ecosystems.
- Trophic relations of species in litter macrofauna of Ukraine.
- Structure of litter macrofauna communities in forest ecosystems of Ukraine.
- Influence of medicinal plants, flavourings and source materials, approved for use in and on foods, on eggs and larvae of nematodes of mammals.
- Ecological niches of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in Ukraine.
- Morphometric variation in ground beetles.
Anthony Caravaggi
Dr. Anthony Caravaggi is a Lecturer in Conservation Biology and course leader for BSc (Hons) Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the The University of South Wales.
His work is broadly focussed on conducting research that increases understanding of species ecologies and informs conservation and management processes.
Hao Chen
Dr. Chen's group uses behavioral genetics methods to study addiction related traits. The main behavioral models are intravenous nicotine self-administration and oral oxycodone self-administration in rats. Another area of focus is the identification of genomic variants in inbred strains of rats. A third area of research is the design of open source instruments and software for measuring rat behavior.
Jean Clobert
Senior Researcher (DR hc, CNRS), Station de Ecologie Experimentale du CNRS à Moulis. Member of the Acamedia Europaea.
After having developed statistical methods for the study of population dynamics in nature, my research focus has shifted since 15 years towards the study of three main topic :
* The study of dispersal evolution (causes, mechanisms and consequences). The approaches which have been developed are demographic, physiological, behavioural and genetic. Three model systems have been chosen to study the genetic and plastic responses of dispersal to variations in the environment, two lizards species, the common lizard (Lacerta vivipara, coll M. Massot) and the side blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana.coll B. Sinervo), and a ciliate (Tetrahymena thermophila).
* The study of trade offs and phenotypic plasticity. I have been interested by the link between predation/parasitism and clutch size or/other traits evolution. I alm also interested by the evolution, control and organisation of trade-offs, in particular with respect to phenotypic plasticity.
* Population structure and extinction rate. We examine the role of the different sources of heterogeneity (demographic environmental) and in particular internal (mating system, polymorphism, type of competition) in population viability.
Mariano A Coscarella
Dr. Mariano Coscarella is a Senior Researcher at the National Council of Research of Argentina and Professor of Conservation Ecology at the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco.
His skills and expertise include Conservation Biology, Fish Ecology, Marine Ecology, Conservation, Marine Mammals, Wildlife Conservation, Behavioral Ecology, Animal Behavior, Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Biology.
James Curley
Associate Professor, Psychology Department, University of Texas at Austin (2017-). Formerly, Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Columbia University (2012-2017), Research Associate, Columbia University (2007-2012), Post-doctoral Researcher, Sub-Department of Animal Behavior, University of Cambridge (2003-2007), PhD, Sub-Department of Animal Behavior, University of Cambridge (1999-2003).
My current research interests are the neurobiological basis of social behavior in groups, as well as the long-term plastic changes in the brain and peripheral physiology that occur as a consequence of social experience. I am also interested in statistical methods for the study of social hierarchies and networks.
Robert O Deaner
I earned my PhD in the Department of Biological Anthropology & Anatomy at Duke University (1995 – 2001), and my advisor was Carel van Schaik. Although I conducted some research on wild primates, my doctoral research consisted of comparative studies of primate life history, social systems, and cognition.
I did postdoctoral research in Duke’s Department of Neurobiology (2001-2006), and my supervisor was Michael Platt. My research focused on mechanisms of social attention in primates. During this time I took up distance running and began investigating sex differences in performance and motivation.
In 2006, I joined the Psychology Department at Grand Valley State University.
Szymon M Drobniak
I’m a scientist working at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland) and the University of New South Wales in Sydney (Australia). I study biological evolution, with particular interest in quantitative genetics, phenotypic plasticity, evolution of colour and colourful signals, and sexual selection. In my work, I use extensively complex statistical tools and multi-level modelling. Apart from empirical studies, I conduct meta-analyses and comparative analyses, synthesising existing evidence and developing new ways of summarizing empirical evidence.
Eduardo J Fernandez
Dr. Eduardo J. Fernandez is a Senior Lecturer of Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide (Australia). He received his Ph.D. in Psychology (minors in Neuroscience and Animal Behavior) from Indiana University and his M.S. in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas.
Most of his past and current work involves behavioral research applied to the welfare and training of zoo, aquarium, and companion animals. He runs the Operant Welfare Lab (OWL), which is dedicated to the use of learning principles to improve the lives of animals across many settings, including exotic animals in zoos and aquariums and companion animals in homes and shelters. OWL is also part of the larger Animal Behaviour, Welfare, and Anthrozoology Lab (ABWAL; abwal.com).
Dany Garant
Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biology at Université de Sherbrooke.
Research in my lab aims to understand the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity, mainly through the establishment of evolutionary related parameters in their ecological context. Current research projects in our laboratory involve molecular ecology, quantitative genetics and population dynamics to study wild animal populations.