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Project properties |
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| Title | Does predation risk promote cooperation in wild birds? – an experimental study |
| Group | Behavioural Ecology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 30-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Sjouke A. Kingma
Kat L. Bebbington |
| Examiner(s) | Marc Naguib |
| Contact info | sjouke.kingma@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2020/03/10 |
| End date | 2030/03/10 |
| Description | One major proposed benefit of cooperation in animals is that cooperation may reduce predation risk. More individuals may be more vigilant and may detect predators earlier, or they may be more successful in mobbing predators and chasing them away from the nest. In this project we will monitor anti-predator behaviour and can do experiments with predator simulations to test how individuals can cooperate to reduce predation risk.
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| Used skills | Fieldwork, behaviour observations, nest searching and observation, bird catching, statistics |
| Requirements | The fieldwork takes place in the savanna of Eswatini in Southern Africa; an adventurous attitude is an advantage: the fieldsite is beautiful but remote and accommodation is basic. |