Prof Andy Bennett
  Phone   +61 3 522 72647
Email   andy.bennett@deakin.edu.au
Position   Chair in Life and Environmental Sci
Campus   Geelong
Research grouping   Ecophysiology, Sensory Ecology and Behaviour
Centre for Integrative Ecology

After a BSc at Adelaide, I received an 1851 Science Research Scholarship to the Zoology at Oxford
where I did a D.Phil. on the ecology of avian spatial memory with John Krebs. I then became
fascinated by colour vision and colour signalling, and went to Bristol where I worked on the
sensory ecology of Australian birds (such as zebra finches and the crimson rosella species
complex) before returning to Australia in 2008, to be Head of the School of Life and Environmental
Sciences at Deakin.

Research interests

  1. INTEGRATIVE ECOLOGY, especially vision, behaviour and disease ecology of birds;
  2. SENSORY ECOLOGY, especially avian colour vision, colour production, vocalizations and navigation; and
  3. EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, particularly avian species complexes and mate choice


Career

University of Bristol (1994-2007) becoming Reader in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology
University of Oxford (1986-1993), for a D.Phil. in Zoology
University of Adelaide (1982-1985), for B.Sc. (Honours, 1st Class) in Zoology

Key publications

Carvalho, L.S., Knott, B., Berg, M.L., Bennett, A.T.D. and Hunt, D.M. (2011) Ultraviolet vision in long-lived birds Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278, 107-114 [ERA=A*]

Knott, B., Berg, M. L., Morgan, E. R., Buchanan, K.L., Bowmaker, J. K., Bennett, A.T.D. (2010) Avian retinal oil droplets: dietary manipulation of colour vision? Proceedings of the Royal Society B 277, 953-962 [ERA=A*]

Joseph, L., Dolman, G., Donnellan, S., Saint, K.M., Berg, M.L. and Bennett, A.T.D. (2008) Where and when does a ring start and end? Testing the ring-species hypothesis in a species complex of Australian parrots Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275, 2431-2440 [ERA=A*]

Bennett, A.T.D. and Thery, M. (2007) Avian color vision and coloration: Multidisciplinary evolutionary biology American Naturalist 169, S1-S6 [ERA=A*]

Bennett ATD, Cuthill IC, Partridge JC and Maier E. (1996) Ultraviolet vision and mate choice in zebra finches Nature 380, 433-435 [ERA=A*]

View entire list of audited publications

Professional activities

Associate Editor of Austral Ecology
Associate Editor of Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Biological Sciences), 2006-2010
Editor of American Naturalist (2006-7), for special issue on avian vision and coloration
Membership of various societies including: Ecological Society of Australia; Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour; Applied Vision Association;
Australian Neuroscience Society; International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Related links

The Royal Society
rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or g/

 

Postdoctoral fellows

NameProject title
Dr Christa BeckmannBehavioural ecology and avian life histories Dr Mathew BergMaintenance of variability in the Platycercus elegans species complex Dr Quentin Farmar-BowersIntegrated land management under climate change Dr Ben KnottVision in arid zone birds Dr Raoul RibotMigration in arid zone birds Dr Joe WoodgateSensory ecology  

 

PhD students

Student nameThesis title
Justin EastwoodBeak and feather disease virus in Platycercus elegans John McEvoyMovement patterns of waterfowl in arid Australia Milla MihailovaEcology of the Platycercus elegans species complex Reece PedlerMigration ecology of banded stilts  

 

Honours students

Student nameThesis title Wendy HaAvian influenza Eliza LarsonNest box temperature and chick survival in Platycercus elegans  

 

Teaching areas

Sensory Ecology and Behaviour
Evolution


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22nd September 2011