The Bioacoustics and Behavioural Ecology group conducts research on two main topics, with much of our work spanning these related research interests:
The behaviour and vocalisations of social animals:
Several research projects on a variety of species investigating the interactions of animals in social groups, particularly the use of communication to mediate conflicts and collaborations within and between groups.
The impacts of anthropogenic noise:
Current research examines the potential impact of anthropogenic noise pollution on the behaviour, development and physiology of a variety of taxa.
We are currently funded by Defra, the EU, BBSRC, EPSRC, the Royal Society, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the University of Bristol and by industry (Subacoustech).
We are always delighted to hear from potential collaborators and postgraduate students with an interest in any of our research areas. We also welcome enquiries from committed volunteers to assist with elements of our work, particularly the current Defra-funded project on fish and marine invertebrates that provides the opportunity to get involved with research that will ultimately inform environmental policy.
To discuss the possibility of joining us, please contact: Dr Andy Radford, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK
email: andy.radford@bristol.ac.uk
Andy Radford (Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences)
Linda Hollén (Marie Curie research fellow)
Rick Bruintjes (Swiss National Science Foundation research fellow)
Steve Simpson (NERC knowledge exchange fellow)
Julia Purser (Defra funded postdoctoral research assistant)
Erica Morley (Defra funded postdoctoral research assistant)
Jenny York (University of Bristol funded PhD student)
Irene Völlmy (University of Bristol funded PhD student)
Anna Davies (BBSRC funded PhD student)
Sophie Holles (EPSRC and industry funded PhD student)
Jessica McLachlan (self-funded MSc student)
Emma Kerridge (self-funded MSc student)
Matthew Wale (self-funded MSc student)
Julie Kern (self-funded MSc student)
Dan Pointon (self-funded MSc student)
Bezerra, B.M., Souto, A.S., Radford, A.N. & Jones, G. (2011) Brevity is not always a virtue in primate communication. Biology Letters 7: 23–25.
Bruintjes, R., Bonfils, D., Heg, D. & Taborsky, M. (2011) Paternity of subordinates raises cooperative effort in cichlids. PLoS ONE 6: e25673.
Bruintjes, R. & Taborsky, M. (2011) Size-dependent task specialisation in a cooperative cichlid in response to experimental variation of demand. Animal Behaviour 81: 387–394.
Golabek, K.A., Ridley, A.R. & Radford, A.N. (2012) Food availability affects strength of seasonal territorial behaviour in a cooperatively breeding bird. Animal Behaviour. Online early.
Hollén, L.I., Bell, M.B.V., Russell, A., Niven, F., Ridley, A.R. & Radford, A.N. (2011) Calling by concluding sentinels: coordinating cooperation or revealing risk? PLoS ONE 6: e25010.
Hollén, L.I., Bell, M.B.V., Wade, H.M., Rose, R., Russell, A., Niven, F., Ridley, A.R. & Radford, A.N. (2011) Ecological conditions influence sentinel decisions. Animal Behaviour 82: 1435-1441.
Lo-Yat, A., Simpson, S.D., Meekan, M.G., Lecchini, D., Martinez, E. & Galzin, R. (2011) Extreme climatic events reduce ocean productivity and larval supply in a tropical reef ecosystem. Global Change Biology, 17: 1695–1702.
Purser, J. & Radford, A.N. (2011) Acoustic noise induces attention shifts and reduces foraging performance in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). PLoS ONE 6: e17478.
Radford, C.A., Stanley, J.A., Simpson, S.D. & Jeffs, A.G. (2011) Juvenile coral reef fish use sound to locate habitats. Coral Reefs 30: 295–305.
Radford, A.N. (2012) Post-allogrooming reductions in self-directed behaviour are affected by role and status in the green woodhoopoe. Biology Letters 8: 24-27.
Radford, A.N. (2011) Preparing for battle? Potential intergroup conflict promotes current intragroup affiliation. Biology Letters 7: 26–29.
Radford, A.N., Bell, M.B.V., Hollén, L.I. & Ridley, A.R. (2011) Singing for your supper: sentinel calling by kleptoparasites mitigates the cost to victims. Evolution 65: 900–906.
Simpson, S.D., Jennings, S., Johnson, M.P., Blanchard, J.L., Schön, P-J, Sims, D.W. & Genner, M.J. (2011) Continental shelf-wide response of a fish assemblage to rapid warming of the sea. Current Biology 21: 1565-1570.
Simpson, S.D., Munday, P.L., Wittenrich, M.L., Manassa, R., Dixson, D.L., Gagliano, M. & Yan, H.Y. (2012) Ocean acidification erodes crucial auditory behaviour in a marine fish. Biology Letters 7: 917-920.
Simpson, S.D., Radford, A.N., Tickle, E.J., Meekan, M.G. & Jeffs, A.G. (2011) Adaptive avoidance of reef noise. PLoS ONE 6: e16625.