Behavioural Ecology Group
The Behavioural Ecology Group (BHE) studies the causes and consequences of animal behaviour with a focus on social contexts. We provide education in Behavioural Ecology and Applied Animal Behaviour.
Our research focuses on:
• Behavioural Ecology
• Applied Animal Behaviour
• Behaviour of Companion Animals
Courses
Education by the Behaviour Ecology Group covers the whole field of animal behaviour, including basic behavioural mechanisms, behavioural ecology, applied animal behaviour and life history decisions. Our courses are directed at both Biology and Animal Science students.
Research
The main expertise and research focus of the BHE group is on social behaviour, involving a range of projects that specifically address the causes as well the consequences of key aspects of social behaviour.
Latest News
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Tweeting zebra finches in the Australian outback
- The zebra finch is one of the most widely studied songbirds in a laboratory setting, but little is known about its ecology and behaviour in the wild.... -
Guppies with friends eat more
- Guppies that socialise with more conspecifics get more food. This applies to both males and females, despite the common assumption that males... -
Aggressive wasp eats baby bird's head
- An aggressive wasp has attacked a baby bird in its nest and then ate its head. This special attack was captured on camera during a study by Wageningen... -
Animal Behaviour MOOC awarded!
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Wageningen World: Koolmeesvrouwtje mijdt de beste zangers
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Introduction to Animal Behaviour MOOC in the new Class Central's best online courses of all-time ranking!
Latest publications
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Causal evidence for the adaptive benefits of social foraging in the wild
Communications Biology 4 (2021)1. - ISSN 2399-3642 -
The link between relative brain size and cognitive ageing in female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) artificially selected for variation in brain size
Experimental Gerontology 146 (2021). - ISSN 0531-5565 -
Temporal changes in DNA methylation and RNA expression in a small song bird: within- and between-tissue comparisons
BMC Genomics 22 (2021). - ISSN 1471-2164 -
Different mating contexts lead to extensive rewiring of female brain coexpression networks in the guppy
Genes, Brain and Behavior 20 (2021)3. - ISSN 1601-1848 -
Epigenetics of animal personality : DNA methylation cannot explain the heritability of exploratory behavior in a songbird
Integrative and Comparative Biology 60 (2020)6. - ISSN 1540-7063 - p. 1517 - 1530.