All Outputs (67)

'Selfish herds' of guppies follow complex movement rules, but not when information is limited (2015)
Journal Article
Kimbell, H. S., & Morrell, L. J. (2015). 'Selfish herds' of guppies follow complex movement rules, but not when information is limited. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1816), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1558

Under the threat of predation, animals can decrease their level of risk by moving towards other individuals to form compact groups. A significant body of theoretical work has proposed multiple movement rules, varying in complexity, which might underl... Read More about 'Selfish herds' of guppies follow complex movement rules, but not when information is limited.

Turbidity influences individual and group level responses to predation in guppies, Poecilia reticulata (2015)
Journal Article
Kimbell, H. S., & Morrell, L. (2015). Turbidity influences individual and group level responses to predation in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. Animal behaviour, 103(May), 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.027

© 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Increasing turbidity (either sedimentary or organic) from anthropogenic sources has significant negative impacts on aquatic fauna, both directly and indirectly by disrupting behaviour. In part... Read More about Turbidity influences individual and group level responses to predation in guppies, Poecilia reticulata.

Interactive lectures: Clickers or personal devices? [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] (2015)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., & Joyce, D. A. (2015). Interactive lectures: Clickers or personal devices? [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. F1000Research, 4, Article 64. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.6207.1

Audience response systems (‘clickers’) are frequently used to promote participation in large lecture classes, and evidence suggests that they convey a number of benefits to students, including improved academic performance and student satisfaction. T... Read More about Interactive lectures: Clickers or personal devices? [version 1; peer review: 2 approved].

Consequences of variation in predator attack for the evolution of the selfish herd (2014)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Greenwood, L., & Ruxton, G. D. (2015). Consequences of variation in predator attack for the evolution of the selfish herd. Evolutionary Ecology, 29(1), 107-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-014-9743-6

There is a strong body of evidence that patterns of collective behaviour in grouping animals are governed by interactions between small numbers of individuals within the group. These findings contrast with study of the ‘selfish herd’, where increasin... Read More about Consequences of variation in predator attack for the evolution of the selfish herd.

Prey body size mediates the predation risk associated with being "odd" (2014)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Downing, B., & Rodgers, G. M. (2015). Prey body size mediates the predation risk associated with being "odd". Behavioral ecology, 26(1), 242-246. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/aru185

Despite selection pressures on prey animals to maintain phenotypically homogeneous groups, variation in phenotype within animal groups is commonly observed. Although many prey animals preferentially associate with size-matched individuals, a lack of... Read More about Prey body size mediates the predation risk associated with being "odd".

Use of feed-forward mechanisms in a novel research-led module (2014)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J. (2014). Use of feed-forward mechanisms in a novel research-led module. Bioscience education e-journal BEE-j, 22(1), 70-81. https://doi.org/10.11120/beej.2013.00020

I describe a novel research-led module that combines reduced academic marking loads with increased feedback to students, and allows students to reflect on and improve attainment prior to summative assessment. The module is based around eight seminar-... Read More about Use of feed-forward mechanisms in a novel research-led module.

Why is eusociality an almost exclusively terrestrial phenomenon? (2014)
Journal Article
Ruxton, G. D., Humphries, S., Morrell, L. J., & Wilkinson, D. M. (2014). Why is eusociality an almost exclusively terrestrial phenomenon?. The journal of animal ecology, 83(6), 1248-1255. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12251

1.Eusociality has evolved multiple times across diverse terrestrial taxa, and eusocial species fundamentally shape many terrestrial ecosystems. However, eusocial species are far less common and have much less ecological impact, in aquatic than terres... Read More about Why is eusociality an almost exclusively terrestrial phenomenon?.

Prey aggregation is an effective olfactory predator avoidance strategy (2014)
Journal Article
Johannesen, A., Dunn, A. M., & Morrell, L. J. (in press). Prey aggregation is an effective olfactory predator avoidance strategy. PeerJ, 2014(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.408

Predator–prey interactions have a major effect on species abundance and diversity, and aggregation is a well-known anti-predator behaviour. For immobile prey, the effectiveness of aggregation depends on two conditions: (a) the inability of the predat... Read More about Prey aggregation is an effective olfactory predator avoidance strategy.

Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions (2013)
Journal Article
Rodgers, G. M., Gladman, N. W., Corless, H. F., & Morrell, L. J. (2013). Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions. The journal of experimental biology, 216(14), 2760-2767. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.080879

Many animals, particularly reptiles, amphibians, fish and cephalopods, have the ability to change their body colour, for functions including thermoregulation, signalling and predator avoidance. Many fish plastically darken their body colouration in r... Read More about Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions.

Initiators, leaders, and recruitment mechanisms in the collective movements of damselfish (2013)
Journal Article
Ward, A. J. W., Herbert-Read, J. E., Jordan, L. A., James, R., Krause, J., Ma, Q., Rubenstein, D. I., Sumpter, D. J. T., & Morrell, L. J. (2013). Initiators, leaders, and recruitment mechanisms in the collective movements of damselfish. The American naturalist, 181(6), 748-760. https://doi.org/10.1086/670242

Explaining how individual behavior and social interac- tions give rise to group-level outcomes and affect issues such as leadership is fundamental to the understanding of collective behavior. Here we examined individual and collective behavioral dyna... Read More about Initiators, leaders, and recruitment mechanisms in the collective movements of damselfish.

The role of individuality in collective group movement (2013)
Journal Article
Ward, A., Herbert-Read, J., Krause, J., Krause, S., Schaerf, T., & Morrell, L. (2013). The role of individuality in collective group movement. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1752), Article 20122564. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2564

How different levels of biological organization interact to shape each other’s function is a central question in biology. One particularly important topic in this context is how individuals’ variation in behaviour shapes group-level characteristics.... Read More about The role of individuality in collective group movement.

Mixed-phenotype grouping: the interaction between oddity and crypsis (2012)
Journal Article
Rodgers, G. M., Kimbell, H., & Morrell, L. J. (2013). Mixed-phenotype grouping: the interaction between oddity and crypsis. Oecologia, 172(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2473-y

Aggregations of different-looking animals are frequently seen in nature, despite well-documented selection pressures on individuals to maintain phenotypically homogenous groups. Two well-known theories, the ‘confusion effect’ (reduced ability of a pr... Read More about Mixed-phenotype grouping: the interaction between oddity and crypsis.

Olfactory cue use by three-spined sticklebacks foraging in turbid water: prey detection or prey location? (2012)
Journal Article
Johannesen, A., Dunn, A. M., & Morrell, L. J. (2012). Olfactory cue use by three-spined sticklebacks foraging in turbid water: prey detection or prey location?. Animal behaviour, 84(1), 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.04.024

Foraging, when senses are limited to olfaction, is composed of two distinct stages: the detection of prey and the location of prey. While specialist olfactory foragers are able to locate prey using olfactory cues alone, this may not be the case for f... Read More about Olfactory cue use by three-spined sticklebacks foraging in turbid water: prey detection or prey location?.

Artificial enhancement of an extended phenotype signal increases investment in courtship by three-spined sticklebacks (2012)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Hentley, W. T., Wickens, V. J., Wickens, J. B., & Rodgers, G. M. (2012). Artificial enhancement of an extended phenotype signal increases investment in courtship by three-spined sticklebacks. Animal behaviour, 84(1), 93-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.04.013

Interactions between the components of a multiple-signal sexual display can be complex, and previous work has shown that alteration of one component can lead to changed investment in either the altered or other display components. Extended phenotype... Read More about Artificial enhancement of an extended phenotype signal increases investment in courtship by three-spined sticklebacks.

Consistency of leadership in shoals of mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) in novel and in familiar environments (2012)
Journal Article
Burns, A. L. J., Herbert-Read, J. E., Morrell, L. J., & Ward, A. J. W. (2012). Consistency of leadership in shoals of mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) in novel and in familiar environments. PLoS ONE, 7(5), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036567

In social animal groups, an individual's spatial position is a major determinant of both predation risk and foraging rewards. Additionally, the occupation of positions in the front of moving groups is generally assumed to correlate with the initiatio... Read More about Consistency of leadership in shoals of mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) in novel and in familiar environments.

Social network correlates of food availability in an endangered population of killer whales, Orcinus orca (2012)
Journal Article
Foster, E. A., Franks, D. W., Morrell, L., Balcomb, K. C., Parsons, K. M., van Ginneken, A., & Croft, D. P. (2012). Social network correlates of food availability in an endangered population of killer whales, Orcinus orca. Animal behaviour, 83(3), 731-736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.021

For the majority of social species, group composition is dynamic, and individuals are interconnected in a heterogeneous social network. Social network structure has far-reaching implications for the ecology of individuals and populations. However, we... Read More about Social network correlates of food availability in an endangered population of killer whales, Orcinus orca.

Predation risk shapes social networks in fission-fusion populations (2011)
Journal Article
Kelley, J. L., Morrell, L. J., Inskip, C., Croft, D. P., & Krause, J. (2011). Predation risk shapes social networks in fission-fusion populations. PLoS ONE, 6(8), e24280. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024280

Predation risk is often associated with group formation in prey, but recent advances in methods for analysing the social structure of animal societies make it possible to quantify the effects of risk on the complex dynamics of spatial and temporal or... Read More about Predation risk shapes social networks in fission-fusion populations.

Balancing the dilution and oddity effects: Decisions depend on body size (2011)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Askwith, B., Rodgers, G. M., & Ward, J. R. (2011). Balancing the dilution and oddity effects: Decisions depend on body size. PLoS ONE, 6(7), e14819. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014819

Background Grouping behaviour, common across the animal kingdom, is known to reduce an individual's risk of predation; particularly through dilution of individual risk and predator confusion (predator inability to single out an individual for attack)... Read More about Balancing the dilution and oddity effects: Decisions depend on body size.

Measuring marginal predation in animal groups (2011)
Journal Article
Hirsch, B. T., & Morrell, L. (2011). Measuring marginal predation in animal groups. Behavioral ecology, 22(3), 648-656. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arr026

Predation is a major pressure that shapes animal sociality, but predation risk is not homogenous within groups. Animals located on the group edge typically face an increased threat of predation, although different patterns have been reported. We crea... Read More about Measuring marginal predation in animal groups.

Spatial positioning in the selfish herd (2010)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Ruxton, G. D., & James, R. (2011). Spatial positioning in the selfish herd. Behavioral ecology, 22(1), 16-22. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arq157

The antipredator benefits of grouping are relatively well understood; however, predation risk often differs for individuals that occupy different positions within a group. The selfish herd hypothesis describes how individuals can reduce risk of preda... Read More about Spatial positioning in the selfish herd.