Meet the Team

  • A woman outdoors in a desert-like area, wearing a red t-shirt, sunglasses, and a black wide-brimmed hat, holding a shiny beetle in each hand, smiling at the camera.

    Amanda Franklin

    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.

  • A woman with dark, curly hair smiling outdoors near a body of water with trees in the background.

    Manisha Koneru

    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.

  • A man wearing a wide-brimmed hat, glasses, and a black shirt with a camera hanging around his neck stands near a river with a lush green forest and mountains in the background.

    Ayush Parag

    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.

  • A smiling woman with glasses, a green bandana, and facial piercings, sitting in front of dual computer monitors displaying text documents.

    Lola Trojanowska

    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.

  • Young woman holding a snake outdoors in a shaded area with trees and structures in the background.

    Tarani Jindal

    Tarani is an international MSc student from India interested in behavioural and evolutionary biology. Her research will focus on studying sex-biased dispersal in Harlequin bugs. Having worked with birds, fish and snakes in India, she is 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.

Past lab members

  • Young woman with dark hair tied back, wearing a white shirt, holding and petting a gray and white cat indoors.

    Haodan Zheng

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

  • A woman with black hair wearing large round sunglasses, earrings, and a purple shirt, smiling with closed eyes outdoors among green leafy plants.

    Yvonne Wang

    MSc student

    Investigated whether gloss affects motion perception in rainforest praying mantids.

  • A woman smiling outdoors with green leaves and plants in the background.

    Lu-Yi Wang

    PhD candidate

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

  • A young woman with curly dark hair, smiling, wearing a black sweater against a plain, light-colored background.

    Bryony Margetts

    MSc student

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

  • Person wearing glasses, a black beanie, and a red and black jacket, smiling outdoors near a body of water with boats and a snowy mountain background.

    Arvel Sendjojo

    MSc student

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

  • A metallic green beetle on white flowers with a blurred green and white background.

    Maddie Nam

    MSc student

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