Animal behavior

The CREAF ecologist has participated in a series of interviews by the English journal Functional Ecology to researchers from all over the world to learn about their experiences during the PhD and to understand how it works in each country.

Life is supported on the planet by the interactions between organisms. This interactions often are subject to a set of more or less distorted appearances, and that appearances define each interaction and the living environment of each organism.

Cut leaves, collect mud, make a cellophane-type material – bees make sophisticated nests in thousands of different ways, improving their competitiveness as well as protecting them from enemies, including other bees. CREAF researcher Carlos Hernández-Castellano introduces us to this remarkable world. 

A large brain increases the capacity to adjust behavior to new circumstances through learning, improving resource-gathering in a changing environment. Greater understanding of this capacity can improve predictions of what species of birds and other animals will be most vulnerable to global change.

This book, titled "Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour", is the first ever published monograph about the role of behaviour in biological invasions.

For marmots, infidelity is a way for dominant females to promote genetic diversity and increase the chances of survival of their young. When the dominant partner is genetically very similar, the female opts to reproduce with other males. This behavior could help create a more diverse genetic line and genetics that are better able to respond to parasites.

An analysis of 1018 bird species led by CREAF and CSIC scientists suggests that innovation is not just an adaptation on it own, but emerges with the combination of certain adaptations which developed for dealing with changes in the environment, including having a large brain and being curious. Primates, cetaceans, parrots, and crows innovate because they have long lifespans and are adapted to living in changing environments.

Around the world, invasive animal species are pushing out the natives, sometimes forever altering ecosystems. House sparrows are a prime example, having spread from Europe to most inhabited parts of the world.  Daniel Sol has collaborated in an dissemination article  for the Science journal that have gleaned key traits underlying its incredible success.

A new international study relates brain size to the amount of stress hormone in birds. A larger brain increases cognitive ability, which allows them to face new challenges and, ultimately, a more relaxed lifestyle compared to those with a small brain.