Biography
I completed my PhD (2016-2020) in the Camo Lab research group at the University of Bristol, under supervision from Professor Nick Scott-Samuel and Professor Innes Cuthill. Upon the completion of my PhD in 2020, I joined the Marine Behavioural Ecology Group at the University of Cambridge as a PDRA. I am kindly funded by the Whitten Programme in Tropical and Aquatic Biology.
Research
Behavioural ecology is an essential branch of zoology that provides us with the understanding of how animals adapt their behaviour in response to ecological challenges and evolutionary pressures. Within this fascinating field, I am particularly interested in the strategies and counterstrategies employed by predators and prey, as these dynamics can significantly shape ecosystem structure and function. Specifically, I aim to explore how prey behaviour and perception influence predator hunting strategies, how different predator phenotypes evolve and persist, and how both predators and prey optimize their acquisition of sensory information, particularly in visually complex habitats. To address these research questions, I combine manipulative experiments, both in the laboratory and in the field, with state-of-the-art computational techniques, including the use of augmented reality environments, supervised machine learning for high-resolution movement tracking, and species-specific colouration analyses. Most recently, I have constructed whole-organism 3D models of predatory fish, such as the trumpetfish, and presented these to their prey in situ to develop our understanding of predatory hunting strategies, polymorphisms and prey perception. In doing so, I was the first to provide direct evidence of how predators can use other animals for camouflage and concealment.
Publications
Matchette SR, Drerup C, Davison IK, Simpson SD, Radford AN, Herbert-Read JE. Predatory trumpetfish conceal themselves from their prey by swimming alongside other fish. Current Biology. 2023; 33(15): R801-R802 (doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.075)
Scott-Samuel NE, Caro T, Matchette SR, Cuthill IC. Dazzle: surface patterns that impede interception. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 2023; blad075 (doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad075)
Matchette SR, Mitchell EG, Herbert-Read JE. 2022. Spatial clustering of trumpetfish shadowing behaviour in the Caribbean Sea revealed by citizen science. Marine Biology; 169: 71 (doi.org/10.1007/s00227-022-04057-4)
Matchette SR, Herbert-Read JE. 2021. Dynamic visual noise promotes social attraction, but does not affect group size preference, in a shoaling fish. Animal Behaviour; 177: 39-48 (doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.04.017)
Matchette SR, Cuthill IC, Cheney KL, Marshall NJ, Scott-Samuel NE. 2020. Underwater caustics disrupts prey detection by a reef fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 287: 20192453 (doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2453)
Cuthill IC, Matchette SR, Scott-Samuel NE. 2019. Camouflage in a dynamic world. Current Opinion in Behavioural Sciences, 30: 109-115 (doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.07.007)
Matchette SR, Cuthill IC, Scott-Samuel NE. 2019. Dappled light disrupts prey detection by masking movement. Animal Behaviour, 155: 89-95 (doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.07.006)
Matchette SR, Cuthill IC, Scott-Samuel NE. 2018. Concealment in a dynamic world: dappled light and caustics mask movement. Animal Behaviour, 143: 51–57 (doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.003)