I study how animals communicate, cooperate and learn from each other in the wild, and how they do across development.
How do animals coordinate and share information with each other? I study how different species produce and perceive social interactions, from turn-taking, to facial expressions, to multi-modal communication, comparing apes, monkeys and dolphins.
Bonobos Chimpanzees Marmosets Dolphins
Linked to: Ontogeny · Cooperation
Collaborations (past and present): Dr. Yena Kim, Dr. Mariska Kret Dr. Filipa Abreu Dr. Kayla Kolff Dr. Simone Pika Dr. Martin Surbeck Dr. Raphaela Heesen
How do individuals coordinate to achieve something together? In Cedar Key, bottlenose dolphins forage with a driver-barrier tactic in which animals take on different roles, a rare window onto cooperation in the wild.
Dolphins
Linked to: Communication · Social learning
Collaborations (past and present): Dr. Stefanie Gazda, Cedar Key Dolphin Project
How do infants become independent, skilled social partners? I am interested in understanding how infants develop the skills needed to achieve social interactions.
Bonobos Chimpanzees
Linked to: Communication
Collaborations (past and present): Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve
How does the structure of a society shape who learns what from whom? At the Collegium Helveticum I combine comparisons across species with detailed field data on driver–barrier feeding in dolphins.
Cetaceans Primates
Linked to: Cooperation
Collaborations (past and present): Dr. Michael Krutzen,