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Dr Andrew Radford
Tel: +44 (0)
1223 331 759
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 336 676
Email: ar255 at cam.ac.uk
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BBSRC
David Phillips Fellow |
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Hertha Ayrton Research
Fellow, Girton College |
Research
| Current Research Topics
| Other Research | Study
Sites
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I
am primarily interested in the conflicts and collaborations
which arise within and between social groups and how such
interactions are mediated by vocalisations. Using a combination
of observational data, sound recordings and a variety of experimental
manipulations, I am investigating a number of issues in two
group-living bird species, the green woodhoopoe (Phoeniculus
purpureus) and the pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor). |
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| CURRENT
RESEARCH TOPICS |
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1.
Group decision-making
Groups might theoretically reach a communal decision despotically
or democratically. I am using habituated groups of pied babblers
in the Kalahari to conduct the first experimental investigation
of the possibility of ‘voting’ in a non-human vertebrate.
More... |
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2.
Alarm-call use and development
Mammalian alarm calls are known to include information about
the type of predator and/or the extent of the threat, in addition
simply to warning of danger. I am currently examining these
possibilities in the group-living pied babbler. I am also planning
detailed experiments to investigate when and how young babblers
learn to respond to the calls of both their own species and
those of other species with which they are commonly found. More... |
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3.
Function of foraging vocalisations
Individuals in many group-living species frequently emit ‘close’
calls while foraging, but the exact function of this common
social behaviour is often difficult to divine. I have been elucidating
the function of two such calls in the pied babbler. One, a ‘recruitment’
call, may provide an extended form of parental care, while the
other, a ‘contact’ call, is likely to maintain group
cohesion during foraging. More... |
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4.
Allopreening
Allopreening is a widespread phenomenon amongst birds, but its
functions have never been investigated in any detail. I am examining
the importance of hygienic and social functions in the cooperatively
breeding green woodhoopoe, as well as using allopreening to
test models of reciprocal altruism and biological market’s
theory. More... |
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| OTHER
RECENT RESEARCH |
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1. Mediation
of foraging conflict within groups. More...
2. Mediation of territorial conflict between groups. More...
3. Facultative sex ratio manipulation. More... |
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| STUDY
SITES |
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1. Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.
Situated in the middle of the Kalahari desert, this is where
the pied babbler research is conducted. More...
2. Morgan’s Bay, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
On the edge of the beautiful Wild Coast, this is the site of
the green woodhoopoe work. More...
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| SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS (click here for a complete
list & PDF downloads) |
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- Radford,
A.N. & Ridley, A.R. (2006) Recruitment calling: a novel form
of extended parental care in an altricial species. Current
Biology 16: 1700-1704.
- Radford,
A.N. (2005) Neighbour-stranger discrimination in the group-living
green woodhoopoe. Animal Behaviour 70: 1227-1234.
- Radford,
A.N. & du Plessis, M.A. (2004) Territorial vocal rallying
in the green woodhoopoe: factors affecting the contest length
and outcome. Animal Behaviour 68: 803-810.
- Radford,
A.N. (2004) Vocal mediation of foraging competition in the cooperatively
breeding green woodhoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 56: 279-285.
- Radford,
A.N. (2003) Territorial vocal rallying in the green woodhoopoe:
influence of rival group size and composition. Animal Behaviour
66: 1035-1044.
- Radford,
A.N. & du Plessis, M.A. (2003) Bill dimorphism and foraging
niche partitioning in the green woodhoopoe. Journal of Animal
Ecology 72: 258-269.
- Radford,
A.N. & Blakey, J.K. (2000) Intensity of nest defence is related
to offspring sex ratio in the great tit Parus major.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B
267: 535-538.
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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge
CB2 3EJ, U. K. |
