Mandy Ridley

Phone+61 8 6488 3740
Emailamanda.ridley@uwa.edu.au

The University of Western Australia (M092), 35 Stirling Highway,
6009 Perth
Australia

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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.

Future research

My research involves investigating the behavior, reproductive success, cognition and long-term population dynamics of several 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) and climte change impacts on behaviour and reproduction.

The recent research funded by an ARC Discovery grant will investigate the relationship between cognition and sociality in the cooperatively breeding Western Australian magpie. A specific aim of this research is to understand how group-living affects the ontogeny and expression of cognitive behaviour, and what the consequences of variation in cognitive ability are.

Ongoing research in my lab focusses on aspects of social living, including factors affecting investment in cooperation, inter versus intragroup dynamics, cognition and sociality, and vocal communication. Recent research in my lab has looked at the impact of cliamte change on cooperative breeding behaviour and group dynamics.

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'

2019 ARC Discovery Grant "Understanding the relationship between sociality and cognition"

Previous positions

2009-2012 Lecturer, Macquarie 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)

Teaching overview

Wildlife Conservation & Management ANIM3353 (coordinator)
Behavioural Ecology ANIM3365 (lectures)
Darwinian Revolution ANIM2001 (guest lecture)
Graduate Research 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.

Research expertise keywords

Behavioural ecology
Evolutionary biology
Cooperative breeding
Social evolution
Conservation and climate change

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