Ward, Ashley - University of Sydney - School of Biological Sciences

研究领域

Runs the Animal Behaviour Lab- We consider a diverse range of topics within our research, and of course these topics very often overlap. In addressing our research questions, we primarily (though not exclusively) use fish as our model study species and we divide our time between the laboratory at the University of Sydney and various field sites including One Tree Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Narrabeen Lagoon in NSW, and even the estuaries of Lincolnshire in the UK. Below is a selection of our main research themes: Social and Collective Behaviour of Animals Thousands of animal species form into groups and in many cases, these groups are characterised by highly synchronised, co-ordinated collective behaviour. But how can a multitude of individuals act as though they were all of one mind? How do social animals make collective decisions? Should social animals, such as fish, lemmings or even humans, blindly follow their leaders, or should they risk isolation from the group by acting more independently? Learning and Information Use by Animals Animals constantly gather information which can then be used to make decisions. They can acquire information either directly, by sampling their environment and collecting their own information, or indirectly, by gathering information socially, usually from conspecifics. Acquiring direct, 'private' information is costly and time-consuming, but it does have the important benefit of accuracy. Social information by contrast is inexpensive to acquire but there is no guarantee of its accuracy. How then should animals balance their use of private and social information, when should they rely on private information and when on social? And can they adapt their behaviour so that they preferentially weight social information that comes from a reliable source, i.e. can they discriminate between conspecifics and the information that they provide? Recognition and Communication The ability to recognise and differentiate between conspecifics is crucial for structuring the interactions between animals and ultimately for their social organisation. In freshwater fishes, social recognition is known to be achieved using a combination of different sensory cues though recent findings suggest that chemical cues may be of greatest importance. These cues are strongly influenced by the fish's physiology, and its recent habitat and diet, hence not only do fish use these cues to recognise they can also gather information about each other which will influence their interactions. Far less is known about how marine fish recognise and communicate with each other and this remains an important topic for research. Integrating Behaviour and Physiology Physiology is the driver of animal behaviour and by combining behavioural and physiological approaches to research questions, we can gain fascinating insights into what makes animals 'tick'. For example, how do animal respond to stress? What determines fighting ability? Why do individuals vary in their willingness to accept risk in order to gain rewards, thereby occupying different positions on the so-called 'bold-shy continuum?' These and many other areas of animal behaviour can benefit hugely from the adoption of a multi-disciplinary research perspective. While these four topics represent the bulk of our research, we do not restrict ourselves to these. In recent years we have also researched and published on allied topics, including predator-prey interactions, sexual and mate-choice behaviour, and aquatic toxicology.

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Hansen, M., Schaerf, T., Krause, J., Ward, A. (2016). Crimson Spotted Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) Change Their Spatial Position according to Nutritional Requirement. PloS One, 11(2), 1-17. [More Information] Hansen, M., Ward, A., Furtbauer, I., King, A. (2016). Environmental quality determines finder-joiner dynamics in socially foraging three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70(6), 889-899. [More Information] Hansen, M., Schaerf, T., Simpson, S., Ward, A. (2016). Group foraging decisions in nutritionally differentiated environments. Functional Ecology, in press. [More Information] Seebacher, F., Webster, M., James, R., Ward, A., Tallis, J. (2016). Morphological differences between habitats are associated with physiological and behavioural trade-offs in stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Royal Society Open Science, 3(6), 160316. [More Information] Hansen, M., Morrell, L., Ward, A. (2016). The effect of temporally variable environmental stimuli and group size on emergence behavior. Behavioral Ecology, 27(3), 939-945. [More Information] Herbert-Read, J., Buhl, J., Hu, F., Ward, A., Sumpter, D. (2015). Initiation and spread of escape waves within animal groups. Royal Society Open Science, 2(4), 1-11. [More Information] Mella, V., Ward, A., Banks, P., McArthur, C. (2015). Personality affects the foraging response of a mammalian herbivore to the dual costs of food and fear. Oecologia, 177(1), 293-303. [More Information] Hansen, M., Schaerf, T., Ward, A. (2015). The influence of nutritional state on individual and group movement behaviour in shoals of crimson-spotted rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69(10), 1713-1722. [More Information] Mann, R., Herbert-Read, J., Ma, Q., Jordan, L., Sumpter, D., Ward, A. (2014). A model comparison reveals dynamic social information drives the movements of humbug damselfish (Dascyllus aruanus). Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 11(90), 1-9. [More Information] Sinclair, E., De Souza, C., Ward, A., Seebacher, F. (2014). Exercise changes behaviour. Functional Ecology, 28, 652-659. [More Information] Wilson, A., Krause, J., Herbert-Read, J., Ward, A. (2014). The Personality Behind Cheating: Behavioural Types and the Feeding Ecology of Cleaner Fish. Ethology, 120, 904-912. [More Information] Wolf, M., Kurvers, R., Ward, A., Krause, S., Krause, J. (2013). Accurate decisions in an uncertain world: Collective cognition increases true positives while decreasing false positives. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 280(1756), 1-9. [More Information] Ward, A., Thistle, M., Ghandi, K., Currie, S. (2013). Copper interacts with nonylphenol to cancel the effect of nonylphenol on fish chemosensory behaviour. Aquatic Toxicology, 142-143, 203-209. [More Information] Seebacher, F., Ward, A., Wilson, R. (2013). Increased aggression during pregnancy comes at a higher metabolic cost. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(5), 771-776. [More Information] Ward, A., Herbert-Read, J., Jordan, L., James, R., Krause, J., Ma, Q., Rubenstein, D., Sumpter, D., Morrell, L. (2013). Initiators, leaders, and recruitment mechanisms in the collective movements of damselfish. The American Naturalist, 181(6), 747-760. [More Information] Mann, R., Perna, A., Strombom, D., Garnett, R., Herbert-Read, J., Sumpter, D., Ward, A. (2013). Multi-scale Inference of Interaction Rules in Animal Groups Using Bayesian Model Selection. PLoS Computational Biology, 9(3), 1-13. [More Information] Jordan, L., Herbert-Read, J., Ward, A. (2013). Rising costs of care make spiny chromis discerning parents. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67(3), 449-455. [More Information] Ward, A., Currie, S. (2013). Shoaling fish can size-assort by chemical cues alone. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67(4), 667-673. [More Information] Ward, A., James, R., Wilson, A., Webster, M. (2013). Site fidelity and localised homing behaviour in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Behaviour, 150(14), 1689-1708. [More Information] Herbert-Read, J., Krause, S., Morrell, L., Schaerf, T., Krause, J., Ward, A. (2013). The role of individuality in collective group movement. Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences, 280(1752), 1-8. [More Information]