In the early 1900’s, Jakob von Uexküll used the term “umwelt” (often translated as ‘environment’ or ‘self-centered world’) to describe the perceptual world in which an organism exists and acts. Von Uexküll argued that an animal’s perceptual world is primarily dictated by the characteristics of its sensory physiology and neural processing, stating, “The real thing is that there is no real world but as many worlds as species."
The goal of my research is to investigate visual perception in animals by studying links between signaling behavior and signal form, sensory physiology, perceptual processing, and behavioral outcomes across species. My research integrates different stages of sensory and perceptual processing that occur between when a sender emits a signal and when a receiver responds, in particular: (1) signaling behavior, signal filtering by (2) the environment and (3) the visual system, (4) perceptual processing, and (5) behavioral outcomes. |
Integrating perception into studies of assessment and recognition
Animal visual capabilities differ significantly from our own, so in studies of visual signals and visually guided behaviors, we must account for the appropriate receiver’s visual capabilities. Much of my research seeks to incorporate receiver-relevant measures of visual capability and perception into studies of signaling behavior. In particular, I am interested in examining signaling systems whereby individuals must assess or recognize other individuals using signals. Most of my work in this area uses cleaner shrimp and client fish as a model system, although in the past I have also studied the evolution of color patterns in the eggs of African brood parasite hosts.
Learn more about this aspect of my research.
Learn more about this aspect of my research.
Visual acuity and the evolution of visual signals
Visual acuity, the ability to perceive detail, is ecologically important, as it limits what details can be resolved in a given scene. Despite its likely importance as a selective factor on the evolution of signals, acuity has been largely neglected in animal signaling studies. My research focuses on describing interspecies variation in acuity, exploring the ecological and morphological factors underlying that diversity, and integrating measures of acuity with studies of signaling.
Learn more about my work on visual acuity. |
Processing and perception of visual stimuli
Although perception begins when sense organs transduce and filter information from signals, stimulus perception is shaped by factors beyond the sensory organ, e.g. the retina in vision. One focus of my research is on understanding how perceptual processes in non-human animals modify the perception of stimuli, and whether those processes operate in signal perception and may represent selective forces on signal evolution.
Learn more about my work on perceptual processing |