Emeritus Professor
Patrick Bateson
Position(s): Emeritus Professor of Ethology
Email: ppgb@cam.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 (0)1223 741818
Research area - Behaviour and Behavioural Neuroscience
My main interest is in the development of behaviour, working on the processes that translate genetic and environmental influences into behavioural outcomes. Much of my research has been devoted to imprinting in birds, analysing its effects on young animals and its effect on mate choice in adults. I have collaborated with Gabriel Horn in particular on the neural mechanisms involved in imprinting and also developed a neural net model to draw the behavioural and the physiological work together. My central research interests have also led to me to analyse the development of play in cats and examine the effect of parent-offspring relations on the pattern of development in mammals. I have been deeply interested in the ethics of using animals in research and in the assessment of pain and suffering in animals. This led me to conduct a study of the welfare aspects of hunting red deer with hounds in the west of England.
My CV is available here
Selected publications
- Bateson, P. & Mameli, M. (2007) The innate and the acquired: useful clusters or a residual distinction from folk biology? Developmental Psychobiology , 49, 818-831.
- Martin, P. & Bateson. P. (2007) Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide. 3 rd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Bateson, P. (2007) Developmental Plasticity and Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Nutrition, 137, 1060-1062.
- Bateson, P. (2006) The Adaptability Driver: links between behaviour and evolution. Biological Theory: Integrating Development, Evolution, and Cognition, 1, 342-345.
- Bateson, P. (2005) Ethics and behavioural biology. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 35, 211-233.
My full publication list is available here