Cognitive Adaptations Research Group

We study a wide variety of animals from parrots, through New Caledonian crows, to various species of primates (including humans), attempting to unravel animals’ cognitive adaptations to their environments. We use a range of behavioural techniques, studying animals in the wild and in captivity.

PhD students

Current students:

• Rachel Pietragallo-Brown
• David Pettifer

Former students:

• Jolyon Troscianko
• Zoe Demery
• Emma Tecwyn
• Nardie Hanson
• Abi Phillips

Collaborators

The work of our research group is inherently cross-disciplinary, and we have excellent on-going collaborations several colleagues with in the University of Birmingham:

• Susannah Thorpe (School of Biosciences)
• Aaron Sloman, Jeremy Wyatt, Nick Hawes, Veronica Arriola Rios (School of Computer Sciences)
• Sarah Beck, Ian Apperly and Nicola Cutting (School of Psychology)

Funding

We are grateful to the following bodies for supporting our research:

• University of Birmingham
• BBSRC
• NERC
• ESRC
• ARCUS Foundation