Integrative Ecology

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Dr. Mathot's research program will use innovative approaches to study the way that animals manage and respond to uncertainty. Animals are constantly faced with decisions, such as where to forage, with whom to mate, and how to avoid predators, and all of these decisions involve uncertainty. Imagine a small bird in winter balancing the risk of starvation against the risk of mortality due to predation; if they detect a predator, how should they respond? Underestimating the risk of predation and choosing to stay in the area could result in increased risk of mortality due to predation, but overestimating the risk and choosing to leave the area could result in increased risk of mortality due to starvation. Not surprisingly, animals have evolved various means of coping with uncertainty, including investing time and/or energy to learn about relevant features of the environment (i.e., sampling), observing the behaviour of others (i.e., social information), or insuring themselves against uncertainty. A growing body of evidence suggests that within populations, individuals often differ in how they invest in managing uncertainty, but the causes and consequences of these differences are not well understood. Dr. Mathot's research program will address how and why individuals differ in the extent to which they invest in and act on information, how information is shared among individuals within groups, and the adaptive value (i.e., survival consequences) of gathering information to reduce uncertainty. To do this, Dr. Mathot will develop models, and conduct both field and lab experiments manipulating the level of uncertainty about key environmental variables including food, predation risk, and temperature, and tracking individual responses. Field work will be conducted in a marked population of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) which will enable Dr. Mathot and her team to track individuals throughout their lives to evaluate the consequences of different strategies for managing uncertainty on annual survival. Because information is necessary to respond appropriately to current conditions, Dr. Mathot's research program will provide critical insights on the ability of individuals and populations to respond to environmental change.