About me
I’m a biologist fascinated by the mesmerising diversity of animal behaviours that we see in nature. What drives this variety? How do social interactions, life-history traits, and environmental forces intertwine to shape the spectacular range of behaviours we see across species?
To answer these questions, I use key study species as model systems to explore broad evolutionary principles while uncovering unique, often surprising aspects of animal behaviour. My approach combines data from diverse sources — online databases, museum collections, and global field collections and collaborations — to perform large-scale macroevolutionary investigations. Alongside this, I design targeted field and laboratory experiments to manipulate and test for ecological effects and unveil the adaptive meaning of these behaviour.
I’m currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Genes and Behavior Lab at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior where I study collective behaviour in nematodes. My current project delves into the adaptive significance and conditions that lead to remarkable and little-explored 3D collective phenomenon: worm towers — dynamic structures formed by nematode groups that challenge our understanding of competition and cooperation for collective dispersal.
Beyond my science, I love using artwork to convey general research to the public. To me, visual arts is the most powerful tool to translate science to all audiences.
Current research
A C. elegans worm tower expressing GFP
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
Some animals finely coordinate behaviours in large aggregations. A notable example of this is the aggregations formed during swarming movement and towering in roundworms (Caenorhabditis elegans). We manipulate the social contexts and the genetic makeup of these animals to unveil the adaptive meaning, and the core mechanisms and conditions that lead to complex collective group decisions.
CURRENT COLLABORATION: SERENA DING, YOUNJAE KANG, NARCIS FONT MASSOT, RYAN GREENWAY, ASSAF PERTZELAN, THOMAS STIER
Video abstract on our first worm tower paper. Credits: Imran Razik
BIRD courtship diversity
Bird species that display in Lek are under substantial pressure to attract the opposite sex and display extravagant courtship signals. We have recently identified that males and females display syntax across species and that more elaborate displays are more organised. We investigate this dynamics at the species level in Chiroxiphia caudata and across a global set of Lek bird species.
CURRENT COLLABORATIONS: RAFAEL FRATONI, LILIAN MANICA, SABRINA ARAUJO
Chiroxiphia caudata males displaying to a female Photo credit: LECO
Past research
FIDDLER CRAB BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY
I conducted extensive research on the behavioural ecology of fiddler crabs, focusing on sexual selection. My work examined male–male agonistic interactions, female mate preferences, and species recognition. Many of these studies employed robotic crabs to experimentally manipulate courtship behaviours and test female preferences.
THE EVOLUTION OF EXTENDED PHENOTYPES
Extended phenotypes are a great way to quantify animal behaviour, and one of the best-known examples in animals is birds’ nests. I studied how nest building variation is related to ecological factors, such as climate and urbanisation.
THE EVOLUTION OF ANIMAL COLOUR
I have been involved a series of studies on the evolution of animal colour. 1. Warning signals for anti-predator defences in shield bugs and frogs; II. Thermoregulation in ants; III. Species recognition and sexual selection in fiddler crabs
Fiddler crab female choice experiment using robotic crabs. PRESS PLAY!
Birds’ nests collection from the Natural History Museum, Tring UK.
Illustration of our lovely manakins.