Alex Vail
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Tel: +44 (0)1223 767 129 Position: PhD Student |
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Research
(Funded by the Gates Cambridge Trust and Swiss National Science Foundation)
The evolution and ecology of cooperation is a key topic in biology, due at least in part to the cognitive abilities complex forms of cooperation may require. Complex cooperative hunting (involving coordination through individual role differentiation and sometimes communication), has been demonstrated for relatively few taxa, all of which are mammals or birds and generally thought to posses highly developed cognitive capacities. However there is one notable exception, the communicative and coordinated hunting relationship between two fish: groupers and moray eels.
Groupers signal to morays to initiate a joint hunt, and also to indicate the location of hidden prey. Using their complimentary hunting techniques the moray and grouper greatly increase their diurnal hunting success by working together. Our knowledge of this system is currently limited to one excellent descriptive study by Bshary et al (2006, PLoS Biology), but the cooperation has potential to tell us much more.
The aim of my PhD is to broaden our ecological understanding of the inter and intraspecific cooperative hunting behaviour demonstrated by groupers, allowing us to answer fundamental questions concerning the mechanics, cognitive underpinnings, and evolution of complex forms of cooperation, using this novel model system.
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Publications
2011
2) Vail, AL, Sinclair-Taylor, T. 2011. Mass schooling and mortality of Canthigaster bennetti in Sulawesi. Coral Reefs 30: 251. [PDF]
1) Vail, AL, McCormick, MI. 2011. Metamorphosing reef fishes avoid predator scent when choosing a home. Biology Letters 7: 921–924. [PDF]
Conference Presentations
Vail, A.L. June 2009. Presented a talk titled "Predator odour facilitates a non-lethal effect on settling reef fish". 8th Indo Pacific Fish Conference, Fremantle, WA, Australia.
Vail, A.L. September 2010. Presented a talk titled "Reef fishes avoid predator scent when choosing a home". 13th International Behavioral Ecology Conference, Perth, WA, Australia.
Popular articles
Vail, A.L., & Bosiger Y. (2010) To the end of the world. Australian Geographic Outdoor Sept/Oct: 68-74
Sincalir-Taylor, T., Vail, A.L., & Stewart, J. (2010) Come full circle. Australian Geographic Outdoor May/June: 86-93
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