I am a visual ecologist and I am fascinated by the fact that the world looks entirely different to different animals. My research aims to understand what different animals can see and how their vision helps them to complete different ecological tasks. These tasks often involve interacting with other organisms (i.e. food or mates), so I also investigate how animal colouration impacts these interactions. Currently, I mostly work with terrestrial invertebrates, however I trained as a marine biologist so I often still have some marine projects on the go.

Matt Schwarz is an early-career neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at La Trobe University. His previous research has used electrophysiological techniques to study visual pathways and neural adaptation in dragonflies and hoverflies.

He currently studies surface-property perception, colour vision, infrared sensing and heat detection in fire beetles. His broader interest is sensory fusion: how signals from different sensory modalities are combined within neural circuits. He is particularly interested in this problem from a signal-processing perspective, including how separate sensory channels are transformed, weighted and integrated to produce behaviourally relevant outputs.

Before joining the lab, Manisha completed her Masters degree at the University of Bristol, working on colour variation and defensive behaviour in crabs, having developed a passion for colouration and marine ecology during her undergraduate degree at the University of California – Davis. Manisha’s PhD project with us will explore the evolution of iridescence and gloss by studying predator and prey behaviour, both in the lab and the field – she aims to bridge the fields of behavioural ecology and animal coloration with her research. Manisha is co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox.

Ayush completed his BSc-MSc at the National Institute of Science Education and Research in India, where he worked on the behavioural mimicry of ant-mimicking jumping spiders. Given his interests in spiders and sensory ecology, he will examine the visual ecology of mirror-like surfaces found in mirror and dewdrop spiders for his PhD. Ayush is co-supervised by Prof Devi Stuart-Fox.

Alexandra is an interdisciplinary visual artist and biologist from Poland, working across media art, bioart, evolution, biodiversity and animal behaviour. She holds a BFA, MFA, and PhD in Fine Arts, and a BSc and MSc in Biology. Her biological background includes research on kleptoparasitism in corvids, evolutionary success of saber-toothed genus Homotherium, and participation in projects on bird monitoring, habitat and species protection, and comparative neurobiology of brown bears among carnivores. With our lab, her PhD investigates extreme morphological variation in golden stag beetles. Aleksandra is co-supervised by Prof Devi Stuart-Fox.

Tarani was an international MSc student from India interested in behavioural and evolutionary biology. Her research focused on studying sex-biased dispersal in Harlequin bugs. Having worked with birds, fish and snakes in India, she was keen to explore the incredible fauna in Australia, both marine and terrestrial. Outside of research, Tarani enjoys performing arts (such as theatre and dance). Tarani co-supervised by Dr Iliana Medina and Dr. Damien Esquerre.

MSc student
Investigated the effectiveness of glossy animal’s ‘dynamic dazzle’ under different lighting conditions.

MSc student

Investigated whether gloss affects motion perception in rainforest praying mantids.

PhD candidate

Investigated colouration, thermoregulation and a unique flicking behaviour in jewel beetles. Check out Lu-Yi’s website!

MSc student

Investigated environmental and ecological drivers of red vision, and colour vision in jewel beetles.

MSc student

Investigated visual capabilities of cleaner fish and impact of lighting environment on cleaning behaviour.

MSc student

Investigated how properties of artificial light at night influences insect attraction.