PhD - COMMUNICATION AND COGNITION IN WILD JACKDAWS

[Alan McElligott <>]

*** PHD STUDENTSHIP AVAILABLE TO START IN OCTOBER 2012 ***

*** COMMUNICATION AND COGNITION IN WILD JACKDAWS ***

Supervisor: Alex Thornton
University of Exeter, Centre for Ecology & Conservation, Cornwall

This project will use observations, playback experiments and acoustic analyses to investigate the development and function of vocal communication, and explore the cognitive challenges of social life in a large-brained bird, the jackdaw. The student will join the dynamic Centre for Ecology & Conservation at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus and conduct fieldwork on wild jackdaws in the beautiful Cornish countryside.

Corvids (members of the crow family) are renowned for their cognitive sophistication, but the selective pressures driving corvid cognitive evolution are not understood. This project will explore an important potential driving force, the need to navigate the challenges of life in complex and dynamic societies. Working with a nest-box population of wild jackdaws, the project will examine how jackdaws' communicative abilities develop and investigate the socio-cognitive skills involved in recognising group members and tracking the relationships between them.

The candidate will join a growing research group working on the evolution and development of cognition and culture and will be supervised by Dr Alex Thornton, a specialist in behaviour and cognition in wild animals. Please note that Alex Thornton is currently based in Cambridge but will be relocating to the CEC in September 2012.

For more information on the research group see: www.wildcognitionresearch.com

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Dr Alex Thornton: m("cam.ac.uk","jant2");">

To apply, visit: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=968