Ecological role of sleep in maintaining optimal brain function in birds. This project aims to explain the function of sleep. Sleep is thought to maintain optimal brain functioning to support waking cognition. Nearly all sleep research is laboratory-based, which fails to realistically capture how animals benefit from sleep. Ecologists treat sleep as a simple behaviour, instead of as a heterogeneous neurophysiological state, while neuroscientists generally fail to appreciate the insights ecologica ....Ecological role of sleep in maintaining optimal brain function in birds. This project aims to explain the function of sleep. Sleep is thought to maintain optimal brain functioning to support waking cognition. Nearly all sleep research is laboratory-based, which fails to realistically capture how animals benefit from sleep. Ecologists treat sleep as a simple behaviour, instead of as a heterogeneous neurophysiological state, while neuroscientists generally fail to appreciate the insights ecological and evolutionary systems offer. This project adopts a cross-disciplinary approach, bringing together animal behaviour, ecology, evolution, anthropogenic disturbance and sleep neurophysiology. By doing so, the project will add a new dimension of understanding on the functions of sleep.Read moreRead less
How different is different: highly contrasting colours in animal patterns. Red apples in green trees and blue berries on the ground create very different visual signals to animals. Furthermore, elaborate animal colour patterns have evolved to render them conspicuous or camouflaged against their background. Despite the ecological and evolutionary importance of animal colour patterns, little is known about how larger colour contrasts and complex patterns are perceived by animals. This project aim ....How different is different: highly contrasting colours in animal patterns. Red apples in green trees and blue berries on the ground create very different visual signals to animals. Furthermore, elaborate animal colour patterns have evolved to render them conspicuous or camouflaged against their background. Despite the ecological and evolutionary importance of animal colour patterns, little is known about how larger colour contrasts and complex patterns are perceived by animals. This project aims to fill this knowledge gap specifically it endeavours: to provide useful tools for behavioural ecologists and visual neuroscientists, and to understand for the first time the full gamut of colour signalling in both terrestrial and aquatic environments.Read moreRead less