We are writing an article about 5 prominent scientists who study animal behaviour and we want you to interview them.
Hello apprentice, welcome to the Animal Behaviourist magazine headquarters. Here is your first assignment.
Travel the world to get the information we need. They are very busy people though, so you may have to get involved with some of their work! Good luck reporter!
Click on the globe to begin
Choose a scientist
Click on an animal
Well done! Head back to HQ
Hi there! You're just in time to help us. We have been taking thermal images of gorillas to find out their body temperature but we've lost the camera! Can you find it and write down the body temperature of the gorilla in my notebook please?
Gorilla field study
Challenge complete! Interview Professor Forrester
36.9
Body temperature The ability of an organism to regulate internal conditions such as body temperature is known as Gorillas use a variety of ways to communicate with each other, including body language, touch and vocal interactions. This kind of adaptation is a adaptation.
thermoregulation|homeostasis|homeostasis |thermoregulation
behavioural|behavioural
Something about communities, adaptations, abiotic/biotic?
Insects have evolved to be very efficient in the way the negotiate their environment. Studying insects can show us new and different ways to solve problems of sensing and moving about in the world. We can adapt these solutions into technology like robots, helping them perform tasks with less processing power.
Click on the praying mantis
The praying mantis has evolved long legs to catch and hold prey efficiently.This process happens due to changes in genes which cause variation. Changes in genes are called . Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely
to survive and .
mutation|mutations|mutation |mutations|
breed|reproduce|mate|procreate
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Nityananda
Hi, I'm Elisa. You've caught me in the middle of an experiment! I've found a difference in learning between bees who prefer food from blue regions compared with those from yellow regions. This bee has been trained to prefer blue regions. In this experiment I have timed how long it takes the bee to find the sugar syrup when it is placed in either a blue or yellow region. I've labelled the bees for identification. Find the bee with the green spot.
Here are some of my data. Can you help? Calculate the mean times ignoring any anomalies.
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Frasnelli
2422
191
Questions on extinction and interdependence?
This is the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Southern Nigeria. Enter the park.
Welcome to our field site. We are collecting data to try to ensure our efforts to protect the gorillas that live here are effective. Gorillas eat a variety of plants. This means they are primary . If all the gorillas ran out of food and died out they would become _ . Gorillas live within the ecosystem at this wildlife sanctuary. The variety of different species in an ecosystem is known as the b of that ecosystem.
consumers|consumers
extinct|extinct
biodiversity|iodiversity|biodiversity
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Bukie
Hi, I am studying wild, or feral, cattle. I'm particularly interested in how their behaviours differ from cattle raised in captivity.
This individual cow is part of a s . Many individuals form a p . Different populations living within the same habitat form a c . These feral cattle feed on plant matter. They are classed as h .
species|pecies|species
population|opulation|population
ommunity|community
erbivores|herbivores|herbivore|erbivore|primary consumer|herbivore |herbivores
Challenge complete! Interview Professor McElligott
What does your work involve?
Professor Gillian forrester
I lecture, run a lab and do lots of public engagement. I’m on a quest to better understand how we became the upright, tool-using, talking apes that we are today!
Professor of Psychology; evolution and development of cognition.University of Sussex
To address this question, I study the behaviours of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and children with and without developmental conditions.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I had a passion for primates since I was a child. I love my job because it is different every day, but always exciting and rewarding. I love teaching students and sharing my research more broadly with the general public.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego for my bachelor degree. After a gap year in a geriatric psychiatric ward I was offered a PhD at the University of Oxford, in human neuroscience. I then completed a three-year postdoctoral position at the University of Sussex and successfully published my first paper on gorilla communication. After my postdoc I gained my first academic post as a psychology lecturer at the University of Westminster. Six years on I moved to Birkbeck University of London where I started conducting comparative research adding babies and children to the mix alongside my primate work. This work, combined with my extensive public engagement work earned me a Professorship. I have now returned to the University of Sussex to start my own ‘Comparative Cognition’ lab which focuses on the evolution and development of cognition through the study of great apes and humans. It is still my dream job.
What does your work involve?
I research animal behaviour, mostly at how insects see and make decisions. A big part of my job is also to keep things running in the lab, dealing with any problems we face and to apply for funding for further research.
Dr Vivek Nityananda
Senior Lecturer Newcastle University
In addition, I teach at the university, giving lectures on evolution, psychology and animal behaviour.
One more thing I make time for is communicating our findings to people in a fun engaging way using cartoons and plays.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied biology in India and got interested in the field of Animal Behaviour. I looked at wasp colonies and whether we can determine which wasp becomes queen if the queen is removed. I decided I wanted to explore the field further and did a PhD looking at how and why bushcrickets synchronize their calls. I then worked as a researcher in the US and London investigating frogs and bumblebees. I moved to Newcastle University to look at depth perception in praying mantises which turned out to be a very fun productive project. I managed to find some funding to stay on at Newcastle and I currently have a lab here looking at praying mantises and bumblebees, and a little bit on human overconfidence. It has been a long and sometimes stressful journey but I’ve enjoyed being able to travel around the world on work and for conferences and all the lovely people I’ve got work with.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love making unexpected discoveries of how animals solve problems and how evolution has shaped their abilities. I really enjoy being part of a team of researchers, discussing ideas and techniques with the people in our lab, as well as collaborators and colleagues. My role also involves mentoring people and it is very satisfying to see a mentee go on to be successful. I also like analyzing the results we find to make sense of them and writing them up as scientific papers to share with others.
Dr Elisa Frasnelli
What does your work involve?
Associate ProfessorInvertebrate Neuroscience GroupUniversity of Trento
I investigate animal behaviour in honeybees and bumblebees; with a brain of less than a million neurons they are capable of surprising cognitive abilities and are thus fantastic animal models in this research field.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love studying animal behaviour from a comparative perspective in different species – including our own - to understand the evolution of cognitive abilities and nervous systems.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I am a physicist by training and now research cognitive neuroscience. I obtained my PhD in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from University of Trento, and I conducted postdoctoral research at the Konrad Lorenz Institute in Vienna, at the University of Exeter and at the Graduate University for Advance Sciences SOKENDAI. In 2017, I was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, and in 2021, I moved back to the University of Trento where I started my new research group (Invertebrate Neuroscience Group - ING).
How did you arrive at your current position?
Dr James Bukie
I am a first-generation graduate, the first and only one in a large family of 9 siblings with a 96-year-old father to care for.
My journey began several years ago, when as a kid I would observe my father set traps to catch animals. I would usually free anyone alive caught in the trap, I wanted to help the helpless animals. At first, I wanted to study pharmacy but after several attempts, I ended up studying Forestry and Wildlife Management; my love for animals pushed me to major in wildlife management (primatology).
Lecturer Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
What does your work involve?
My career as an animal scientist spans over 11 years, and my typical day has been a routine of preparing for lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, field trips, attending to students' projects, and lots more.
Why do you enjoy your job?
What I love about my job is teaching people new things about the animals and doing what I can to protect the animals
Why do you enjoy about your job?
Professor Alan McElligott
The most exciting part of my work involves finding out new infromation about the behaviour and cognition of animals, and
Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare City University of Hong Kong
relaying that information to others through teaching or public engagement. Hopefully, in this way, we can convince more and more people that animals deserve the best lives possible.
What does your work involve?
My research group is focused on understanding how evolution, ecology and domestication affect animal behaviour, cognition and welfare. I am currently researching feral cattle and water buffalo, goats, donkeys and chickens. I also actively promote higher ethical research standards. My day involves: admin, teaching, teaching admin, advising students (from undergraduates to PhDs), helping junior researchers write papers, writing grant applications, occasional fieldwork for data collection.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I received my BSc Zoology from University College Cork, PhD Zoology from University College Dublin, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich. After serving as a faculty member at the University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Roehampton, I joined City University of Hong Kong in 2020.
Thank you for all yout hard work reporter. This article is going to be great! Click on the icons to read the career profiles again!
What does your work involve?
Professor Gillian forrester
I lecture, run a lab and do lots of public engagement. I’m on a quest to better understand how we became the upright, tool-using, talking apes that we are today!
Professor of Psychology; evolution and development of cognition.University of Sussex
To address this question, I study the behaviours of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and children with and without developmental conditions.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I had a passion for primates since I was a child. I love my job because it is different every day, but always exciting and rewarding. I love teaching students and sharing my research more broadly with the general public.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego for my bachelor degree. After a gap year in a geriatric psychiatric ward I was offered a PhD at the University of Oxford, in human neuroscience. I then completed a three-year postdoctoral position at the University of Sussex and successfully published my first paper on gorilla communication. After my postdoc I gained my first academic post as a psychology lecturer at the University of Westminster. Six years on I moved to Birkbeck University of London where I started conducting comparative research adding babies and children to the mix alongside my primate work. This work, combined with my extensive public engagement work earned me a Professorship. I have now returned to the University of Sussex to start my own ‘Comparative Cognition’ lab which focuses on the evolution and development of cognition through the study of great apes and humans. It is still my dream job.
What does your work involve?
I research animal behaviour, mostly at how insects see and make decisions. A big part of my job is also to keep things running in the lab, dealing with any problems we face and to apply for funding for further research.
Dr Vivek Nityananda
Senior Lecturer Newcastle University
In addition, I teach at the university, giving lectures on evolution, psychology and animal behaviour.
One more thing I make time for is communicating our findings to people in a fun engaging way using cartoons and plays.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied biology in India and got interested in the field of Animal Behaviour. I looked at wasp colonies and whether we can determine which wasp becomes queen if the queen is removed. I decided I wanted to explore the field further and did a PhD looking at how and why bushcrickets synchronize their calls. I then worked as a researcher in the US and London investigating frogs and bumblebees. I moved to Newcastle University to look at depth perception in praying mantises which turned out to be a very fun productive project. I managed to find some funding to stay on at Newcastle and I currently have a lab here looking at praying mantises and bumblebees, and a little bit on human overconfidence. It has been a long and sometimes stressful journey but I’ve enjoyed being able to travel around the world on work and for conferences and all the lovely people I’ve got work with.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love making unexpected discoveries of how animals solve problems and how evolution has shaped their abilities. I really enjoy being part of a team of researchers, discussing ideas and techniques with the people in our lab, as well as collaborators and colleagues. My role also involves mentoring people and it is very satisfying to see a mentee go on to be successful. I also like analyzing the results we find to make sense of them and writing them up as scientific papers to share with others.
Dr Elisa Frasnelli
What does your work involve?
Associate ProfessorInvertebrate Neuroscience GroupUniversity of Trento
I investigate animal behaviour in honeybees and bumblebees; with a brain of less than a million neurons they are capable of surprising cognitive abilities and are thus fantastic animal models in this research field.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love studying animal behaviour from a comparative perspective in different species – including our own - to understand the evolution of cognitive abilities and nervous systems.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I am a physicist by training and now research cognitive neuroscience. I obtained my PhD in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from University of Trento, and I conducted postdoctoral research at the Konrad Lorenz Institute in Vienna, at the University of Exeter and at the Graduate University for Advance Sciences SOKENDAI. In 2017, I was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, and in 2021, I moved back to the University of Trento where I started my new research group (Invertebrate Neuroscience Group - ING).
How did you arrive at your current position?
Dr James Bukie
I am a first-generation graduate, the first and only one in a large family of 9 siblings with a 96-year-old father to care for.
My journey began several years ago, when as a kid I would observe my father set traps to catch animals. I would usually free anyone alive caught in the trap, I wanted to help the helpless animals. At first, I wanted to study pharmacy but after several attempts, I ended up studying Forestry and Wildlife Management; my love for animals pushed me to major in wildlife management (primatology).
Lecturer Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
What does your work involve?
My career as an animal scientist spans over 11 years, and my typical day has been a routine of preparing for lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, field trips, attending to students' projects, and lots more.
Why do you enjoy your job?
What I love about my job is teaching people new things about the animals and doing what I can to protect the animals
Why do you enjoy about your job?
Professor Alan McElligott
The most exciting part of my work involves finding out new infromation about the behaviour and cognition of animals, and
Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare City University of Hong Kong
relaying that information to others through teaching or public engagement. Hopefully, in this way, we can convince more and more people that animals deserve the best lives possible.
What does your work involve?
My research group is focused on understanding how evolution, ecology and domestication affect animal behaviour, cognition and welfare. I am currently researching feral cattle and water buffalo, goats, donkeys and chickens. I also actively promote higher ethical research standards. My day involves: admin, teaching, teaching admin, advising students (from undergraduates to PhDs), helping junior researchers write papers, writing grant applications, occasional fieldwork for data collection.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I received my BSc Zoology from University College Cork, PhD Zoology from University College Dublin, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich. After serving as a faculty member at the University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Roehampton, I joined City University of Hong Kong in 2020.
This game was made possible with funding from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. The author's thanks also goes to the following people, without whom this game would not exist. Dr James Buki Professor Gillian Forrester Dr Elisa Frasnelli Professor Alan McElligott Dr Vivek Nityananda
The image on this page was designed by Freepik
This game was made possible with funding from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. The author's thanks also goes to the following people, without whom this game would not exist. Dr James Bukie Professor Gillian Forrester Dr Elisa Frasnelli Professor Alan McElligott Dr Vivek Nityananda
The image on this page was designed by Freepik
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Transcript
We are writing an article about 5 prominent scientists who study animal behaviour and we want you to interview them.
Hello apprentice, welcome to the Animal Behaviourist magazine headquarters. Here is your first assignment.
Travel the world to get the information we need. They are very busy people though, so you may have to get involved with some of their work! Good luck reporter!
Click on the globe to begin
Choose a scientist
Click on an animal
Well done! Head back to HQ
Hi there! You're just in time to help us. We have been taking thermal images of gorillas to find out their body temperature but we've lost the camera! Can you find it and write down the body temperature of the gorilla in my notebook please?
Gorilla field study
Challenge complete! Interview Professor Forrester
36.9
Body temperature The ability of an organism to regulate internal conditions such as body temperature is known as Gorillas use a variety of ways to communicate with each other, including body language, touch and vocal interactions. This kind of adaptation is a adaptation.
thermoregulation|homeostasis|homeostasis |thermoregulation
behavioural|behavioural
Something about communities, adaptations, abiotic/biotic?
Insects have evolved to be very efficient in the way the negotiate their environment. Studying insects can show us new and different ways to solve problems of sensing and moving about in the world. We can adapt these solutions into technology like robots, helping them perform tasks with less processing power.
Click on the praying mantis
The praying mantis has evolved long legs to catch and hold prey efficiently.This process happens due to changes in genes which cause variation. Changes in genes are called . Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive and .
mutation|mutations|mutation |mutations|
breed|reproduce|mate|procreate
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Nityananda
Hi, I'm Elisa. You've caught me in the middle of an experiment! I've found a difference in learning between bees who prefer food from blue regions compared with those from yellow regions. This bee has been trained to prefer blue regions. In this experiment I have timed how long it takes the bee to find the sugar syrup when it is placed in either a blue or yellow region. I've labelled the bees for identification. Find the bee with the green spot.
Here are some of my data. Can you help? Calculate the mean times ignoring any anomalies.
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Frasnelli
2422
191
Questions on extinction and interdependence?
This is the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Southern Nigeria. Enter the park.
Welcome to our field site. We are collecting data to try to ensure our efforts to protect the gorillas that live here are effective. Gorillas eat a variety of plants. This means they are primary . If all the gorillas ran out of food and died out they would become _ . Gorillas live within the ecosystem at this wildlife sanctuary. The variety of different species in an ecosystem is known as the b of that ecosystem.
consumers|consumers
extinct|extinct
biodiversity|iodiversity|biodiversity
Challenge complete! Interview Dr Bukie
Hi, I am studying wild, or feral, cattle. I'm particularly interested in how their behaviours differ from cattle raised in captivity.
This individual cow is part of a s . Many individuals form a p . Different populations living within the same habitat form a c . These feral cattle feed on plant matter. They are classed as h .
species|pecies|species
population|opulation|population
ommunity|community
erbivores|herbivores|herbivore|erbivore|primary consumer|herbivore |herbivores
Challenge complete! Interview Professor McElligott
What does your work involve?
Professor Gillian forrester
I lecture, run a lab and do lots of public engagement. I’m on a quest to better understand how we became the upright, tool-using, talking apes that we are today!
Professor of Psychology; evolution and development of cognition.University of Sussex
To address this question, I study the behaviours of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and children with and without developmental conditions.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I had a passion for primates since I was a child. I love my job because it is different every day, but always exciting and rewarding. I love teaching students and sharing my research more broadly with the general public.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego for my bachelor degree. After a gap year in a geriatric psychiatric ward I was offered a PhD at the University of Oxford, in human neuroscience. I then completed a three-year postdoctoral position at the University of Sussex and successfully published my first paper on gorilla communication. After my postdoc I gained my first academic post as a psychology lecturer at the University of Westminster. Six years on I moved to Birkbeck University of London where I started conducting comparative research adding babies and children to the mix alongside my primate work. This work, combined with my extensive public engagement work earned me a Professorship. I have now returned to the University of Sussex to start my own ‘Comparative Cognition’ lab which focuses on the evolution and development of cognition through the study of great apes and humans. It is still my dream job.
What does your work involve?
I research animal behaviour, mostly at how insects see and make decisions. A big part of my job is also to keep things running in the lab, dealing with any problems we face and to apply for funding for further research.
Dr Vivek Nityananda
Senior Lecturer Newcastle University
In addition, I teach at the university, giving lectures on evolution, psychology and animal behaviour.
One more thing I make time for is communicating our findings to people in a fun engaging way using cartoons and plays.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied biology in India and got interested in the field of Animal Behaviour. I looked at wasp colonies and whether we can determine which wasp becomes queen if the queen is removed. I decided I wanted to explore the field further and did a PhD looking at how and why bushcrickets synchronize their calls. I then worked as a researcher in the US and London investigating frogs and bumblebees. I moved to Newcastle University to look at depth perception in praying mantises which turned out to be a very fun productive project. I managed to find some funding to stay on at Newcastle and I currently have a lab here looking at praying mantises and bumblebees, and a little bit on human overconfidence. It has been a long and sometimes stressful journey but I’ve enjoyed being able to travel around the world on work and for conferences and all the lovely people I’ve got work with.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love making unexpected discoveries of how animals solve problems and how evolution has shaped their abilities. I really enjoy being part of a team of researchers, discussing ideas and techniques with the people in our lab, as well as collaborators and colleagues. My role also involves mentoring people and it is very satisfying to see a mentee go on to be successful. I also like analyzing the results we find to make sense of them and writing them up as scientific papers to share with others.
Dr Elisa Frasnelli
What does your work involve?
Associate ProfessorInvertebrate Neuroscience GroupUniversity of Trento
I investigate animal behaviour in honeybees and bumblebees; with a brain of less than a million neurons they are capable of surprising cognitive abilities and are thus fantastic animal models in this research field.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love studying animal behaviour from a comparative perspective in different species – including our own - to understand the evolution of cognitive abilities and nervous systems.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I am a physicist by training and now research cognitive neuroscience. I obtained my PhD in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from University of Trento, and I conducted postdoctoral research at the Konrad Lorenz Institute in Vienna, at the University of Exeter and at the Graduate University for Advance Sciences SOKENDAI. In 2017, I was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, and in 2021, I moved back to the University of Trento where I started my new research group (Invertebrate Neuroscience Group - ING).
How did you arrive at your current position?
Dr James Bukie
I am a first-generation graduate, the first and only one in a large family of 9 siblings with a 96-year-old father to care for. My journey began several years ago, when as a kid I would observe my father set traps to catch animals. I would usually free anyone alive caught in the trap, I wanted to help the helpless animals. At first, I wanted to study pharmacy but after several attempts, I ended up studying Forestry and Wildlife Management; my love for animals pushed me to major in wildlife management (primatology).
Lecturer Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
What does your work involve?
My career as an animal scientist spans over 11 years, and my typical day has been a routine of preparing for lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, field trips, attending to students' projects, and lots more.
Why do you enjoy your job?
What I love about my job is teaching people new things about the animals and doing what I can to protect the animals
Why do you enjoy about your job?
Professor Alan McElligott
The most exciting part of my work involves finding out new infromation about the behaviour and cognition of animals, and
Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare City University of Hong Kong
relaying that information to others through teaching or public engagement. Hopefully, in this way, we can convince more and more people that animals deserve the best lives possible.
What does your work involve?
My research group is focused on understanding how evolution, ecology and domestication affect animal behaviour, cognition and welfare. I am currently researching feral cattle and water buffalo, goats, donkeys and chickens. I also actively promote higher ethical research standards. My day involves: admin, teaching, teaching admin, advising students (from undergraduates to PhDs), helping junior researchers write papers, writing grant applications, occasional fieldwork for data collection.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I received my BSc Zoology from University College Cork, PhD Zoology from University College Dublin, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich. After serving as a faculty member at the University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Roehampton, I joined City University of Hong Kong in 2020.
Thank you for all yout hard work reporter. This article is going to be great! Click on the icons to read the career profiles again!
What does your work involve?
Professor Gillian forrester
I lecture, run a lab and do lots of public engagement. I’m on a quest to better understand how we became the upright, tool-using, talking apes that we are today!
Professor of Psychology; evolution and development of cognition.University of Sussex
To address this question, I study the behaviours of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and children with and without developmental conditions.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I had a passion for primates since I was a child. I love my job because it is different every day, but always exciting and rewarding. I love teaching students and sharing my research more broadly with the general public.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego for my bachelor degree. After a gap year in a geriatric psychiatric ward I was offered a PhD at the University of Oxford, in human neuroscience. I then completed a three-year postdoctoral position at the University of Sussex and successfully published my first paper on gorilla communication. After my postdoc I gained my first academic post as a psychology lecturer at the University of Westminster. Six years on I moved to Birkbeck University of London where I started conducting comparative research adding babies and children to the mix alongside my primate work. This work, combined with my extensive public engagement work earned me a Professorship. I have now returned to the University of Sussex to start my own ‘Comparative Cognition’ lab which focuses on the evolution and development of cognition through the study of great apes and humans. It is still my dream job.
What does your work involve?
I research animal behaviour, mostly at how insects see and make decisions. A big part of my job is also to keep things running in the lab, dealing with any problems we face and to apply for funding for further research.
Dr Vivek Nityananda
Senior Lecturer Newcastle University
In addition, I teach at the university, giving lectures on evolution, psychology and animal behaviour.
One more thing I make time for is communicating our findings to people in a fun engaging way using cartoons and plays.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I studied biology in India and got interested in the field of Animal Behaviour. I looked at wasp colonies and whether we can determine which wasp becomes queen if the queen is removed. I decided I wanted to explore the field further and did a PhD looking at how and why bushcrickets synchronize their calls. I then worked as a researcher in the US and London investigating frogs and bumblebees. I moved to Newcastle University to look at depth perception in praying mantises which turned out to be a very fun productive project. I managed to find some funding to stay on at Newcastle and I currently have a lab here looking at praying mantises and bumblebees, and a little bit on human overconfidence. It has been a long and sometimes stressful journey but I’ve enjoyed being able to travel around the world on work and for conferences and all the lovely people I’ve got work with.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love making unexpected discoveries of how animals solve problems and how evolution has shaped their abilities. I really enjoy being part of a team of researchers, discussing ideas and techniques with the people in our lab, as well as collaborators and colleagues. My role also involves mentoring people and it is very satisfying to see a mentee go on to be successful. I also like analyzing the results we find to make sense of them and writing them up as scientific papers to share with others.
Dr Elisa Frasnelli
What does your work involve?
Associate ProfessorInvertebrate Neuroscience GroupUniversity of Trento
I investigate animal behaviour in honeybees and bumblebees; with a brain of less than a million neurons they are capable of surprising cognitive abilities and are thus fantastic animal models in this research field.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love studying animal behaviour from a comparative perspective in different species – including our own - to understand the evolution of cognitive abilities and nervous systems.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I am a physicist by training and now research cognitive neuroscience. I obtained my PhD in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from University of Trento, and I conducted postdoctoral research at the Konrad Lorenz Institute in Vienna, at the University of Exeter and at the Graduate University for Advance Sciences SOKENDAI. In 2017, I was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, and in 2021, I moved back to the University of Trento where I started my new research group (Invertebrate Neuroscience Group - ING).
How did you arrive at your current position?
Dr James Bukie
I am a first-generation graduate, the first and only one in a large family of 9 siblings with a 96-year-old father to care for. My journey began several years ago, when as a kid I would observe my father set traps to catch animals. I would usually free anyone alive caught in the trap, I wanted to help the helpless animals. At first, I wanted to study pharmacy but after several attempts, I ended up studying Forestry and Wildlife Management; my love for animals pushed me to major in wildlife management (primatology).
Lecturer Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
What does your work involve?
My career as an animal scientist spans over 11 years, and my typical day has been a routine of preparing for lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, field trips, attending to students' projects, and lots more.
Why do you enjoy your job?
What I love about my job is teaching people new things about the animals and doing what I can to protect the animals
Why do you enjoy about your job?
Professor Alan McElligott
The most exciting part of my work involves finding out new infromation about the behaviour and cognition of animals, and
Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare City University of Hong Kong
relaying that information to others through teaching or public engagement. Hopefully, in this way, we can convince more and more people that animals deserve the best lives possible.
What does your work involve?
My research group is focused on understanding how evolution, ecology and domestication affect animal behaviour, cognition and welfare. I am currently researching feral cattle and water buffalo, goats, donkeys and chickens. I also actively promote higher ethical research standards. My day involves: admin, teaching, teaching admin, advising students (from undergraduates to PhDs), helping junior researchers write papers, writing grant applications, occasional fieldwork for data collection.
How did you arrive at your current position?
I received my BSc Zoology from University College Cork, PhD Zoology from University College Dublin, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich. After serving as a faculty member at the University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Roehampton, I joined City University of Hong Kong in 2020.
This game was made possible with funding from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. The author's thanks also goes to the following people, without whom this game would not exist. Dr James Buki Professor Gillian Forrester Dr Elisa Frasnelli Professor Alan McElligott Dr Vivek Nityananda
The image on this page was designed by Freepik
This game was made possible with funding from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. The author's thanks also goes to the following people, without whom this game would not exist. Dr James Bukie Professor Gillian Forrester Dr Elisa Frasnelli Professor Alan McElligott Dr Vivek Nityananda
The image on this page was designed by Freepik