Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
2004 PhD Behavioural Ecology, Cambridge University, UK
1999 BSC (Hons) Animal Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand
After finishing my PhD, I was awarded a postdoctoral position at Newnham College, Cambridge University. During this time I set up the Pied Babbler Research Project in the Kalahari desert. In 2005 I took a postdoctoral position at the University of Cape Town, and then moved to a research position at Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2009. I moved to UWA in 2012 as an ARC Future Fellow.
1999 BSC (Hons) Animal Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand
After finishing my PhD, I was awarded a postdoctoral position at Newnham College, Cambridge University. During this time I set up the Pied Babbler Research Project in the Kalahari desert. In 2005 I took a postdoctoral position at the University of Cape Town, and then moved to a research position at Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2009. I moved to UWA in 2012 as an ARC Future Fellow.
Future research
My Future Fellowship research involves investigating the long-term population dynamics of two wild, cooperatively breeding bird species. I will use these populations to investigate critical group size effects (i.e. the demographic and behavioural changes that occur when groups become too big or too small).
The research funded by an ARC Discovery grant will investigate group dynamics in the cooperatively breeding Western Australian magpie. A specific aim of this research is to understand how group-living affects the development and expression of cognitive behaviour, and what the consequences of variation in cognitive ability are.
The research funded by an ARC Discovery grant will investigate group dynamics in the cooperatively breeding Western Australian magpie. A specific aim of this research is to understand how group-living affects the development and expression of cognitive behaviour, and what the consequences of variation in cognitive ability are.
Funding overview
2011 ARC Future Fellowship 'Group dynamics, critical group size effects and population regulation in cooperative breeders'
2014 ARC Discovery Grant 'The benefits of sociality: understanding the relationship between cognition, cooperation and fitness'
2014 ARC Discovery Grant 'The benefits of sociality: understanding the relationship between cognition, cooperation and fitness'
Previous positions
2009-2012 Lecturer, Macquarie University
2005-2009 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape Town
2004-2005 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cambridge University
2005-2009 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape Town
2004-2005 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cambridge University
Current projects
Sexual selection in a cooperatively breeding bird with no sexual dimorphism (Pied Babbler Research Project)
Kin recognition behaviour in cooperative species (Pied Babbler Research Project)
Social learning behaviour and the benefits of group size (Arabian babbler Project)
Long-term population dynamics, population regulation and critical group size effects in cooperative breeders (Pied and Arabian Babbler Project)
How should we measure help? How measures of helping behaviour influence conclusions on the causes of cooperation (Pied Babbler Research Project)
The effect of extreme climate events on parental reproductive investment decisions (Pied and Arabian Babbler Research Project)
The relationship between sociality and cognitive ability (Western Magpie Research Project)
The fragile dynamic between intra-group cooperation and conflict (Western Magpie Research Project)
Kin recognition behaviour in cooperative species (Pied Babbler Research Project)
Social learning behaviour and the benefits of group size (Arabian babbler Project)
Long-term population dynamics, population regulation and critical group size effects in cooperative breeders (Pied and Arabian Babbler Project)
How should we measure help? How measures of helping behaviour influence conclusions on the causes of cooperation (Pied Babbler Research Project)
The effect of extreme climate events on parental reproductive investment decisions (Pied and Arabian Babbler Research Project)
The relationship between sociality and cognitive ability (Western Magpie Research Project)
The fragile dynamic between intra-group cooperation and conflict (Western Magpie Research Project)
Teaching overview
Wildlife Conservation & Management ANIM3353
Behavioural Ecology ANIM3365
Animal Populations ANIM3361
Level 4/5 Research Project Coordinator, School of Biological Sciences
Behavioural Ecology ANIM3365
Animal Populations ANIM3361
Level 4/5 Research Project Coordinator, School of Biological Sciences
Research
My main interests lie in the field of behavioural ecology. I am particularly interested in the evolution and dynamics of cooperative breeding behaviour. My research involves understanding the causes of helping behaviour, and the costs and consequences of such behaviour. I have an increasing interest in long-term population dynamics, host-brood parasite interactions in cooperative systems, and the complexity of interspecific interactions. I also work at the interface between behavioural ecology and conservation biology - using behavioural information to provide more informed conservation decisions.
Keywords
- Behavioural ecology
- Evolutionary biology
- Cooperative breeding
- Social evolution
- Conservation and climate change
Fingerprint Fingerprint is based on mining the text of the person's scientific documents to create an index of weighted terms, which defines the key subjects of each individual researcher.
- 2 Similar Profiles
cooperatives
Agriculture & Biology
breeding
Earth & Environmental Sciences
learning
Earth & Environmental Sciences
foraging
Agriculture & Biology
Gorilla
Agriculture & Biology
birds
Agriculture & Biology
group size
Agriculture & Biology
begging behavior
Earth & Environmental Sciences
Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Projects 2011 2016
- 4 Finished
Effects of Environmental Change on Tropical Montane Forest Amphibian and Birds in Peninsular Malaysia
1/01/16 → 31/12/16
Project: Research
Group Dynamics, Allee Effects and Population Regulation in Cooperative Breeders
Australian Research Council ARC
1/01/11 → 31/12/14
Project: Research
Research Output 2006 2018
An intraspecific appraisal of the social intelligence hypothesis
Ashton, B. J., Thornton, A. & Ridley, A. R., 26 Sep 2018, In : Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 373, 1756, 20170288.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
Open Access
Emotional Intelligence
cognition
Cognition
Research
Genetic Fitness
Cognitive performance is linked to group size and affects fitness in Australian magpies
Ashton, B. J., Ridley, A. R., Edwards, E. K. & Thornton, A., 15 Feb 2018, In : Nature. 554, 7692, p. 364-367Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open Access
File
Testing
Factors influencing individual participation during intergroup interactions in mountain gorillas
Mirville, M. O., Ridley, A. R., Samedi, J. P. M., Vecellio, V., Ndagijimana, F., Stoinski, T. S. & Grueter, C. C., 1 Oct 2018, In : Animal Behaviour. 144, p. 75-86 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Gorilla
mountains
mountain
affiliative behavior
infanticide
Individual dispersal delays in a cooperative breeder: Ecological constraints, the benefits of philopatry and the social queue for dominance
Nelson-Flower, M. J., Wiley, E. M., Flower, T. P. & Ridley, A. R., 1 Aug 2018, In : Journal of Animal Ecology. 87, 5, p. 1227-1238Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
philopatry
social dominance
cooperatives
breeding
cooperative breeding
Internal acoustic structuring in pied babbler recruitment cries specifies the form of recruitment
Engesser, S., Ridley, A. R., Manser, M. B., Manser, A. & Townsend, S. W., 10 Sep 2018, In : Behavioral Ecology. 29, 5, p. 1021-1030 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
refining
acoustics
locomotion
animal
animals
Datasets
Data from: Cognitive performance is linked to group size and affects fitness in Australian magpies
Ashton, B. J. (Creator), Ridley, A. (Creator), Edwards, E. K. (Creator), Thornton, A. (Creator), Dryad Digital Repository, 7 Feb 2018
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.ph3h8, https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.ph3h8
Dataset
Prizes
Faculty of Science Excellence Award 2017
Amanda Ridley (Recipient), 4 Dec 2017
Prize/award: Honorary award
science
UWA Student Guild's Student Choice Award
Amanda Ridley (Recipient), 2017
Prize/award: Other distinction
guild
commitment
Teaching
student