Research Interests

Since joining the ANU I have conducted my research along the NSW south coast. Not only does this region contain abundant populations of my study species, it also features some of the most spectular views of Australia's coast line. The ANU is very fortunate to have a field station located at Kioloa, nestled in the Murramarang National Park north of Bateman's Bay. The Edith and Joy London Foundation has been my second home for the spring and summer of 2005/06 and 2006/07. The coastal campus and its staff (Steve and Robyn Teding van Berkout) have been invaluable while conducting my research.

Motion ecology

For many animals, motion vision plays a crucial role in life, not only for the control of locomotion, but also in communication, foraging and predator evasion. The mechanisms of motion feature detection must therefore have been under intense selective pressure and are likely to have played an important role in the evolution of these behaviours. Although we know a great deal about the computational and neural principles of motion vision, information on the conditions for motion vision in natural environments - in short on the ecology of motion vision - is still very rudimentary. My research considers the motion ecology of a native Australian agamid lizard called the Jacky lizard (Amphibolurus muricatus). For this species, motion perception is critical for their survival. At the moment I am concentrating on the following broad research questions:

• What visual motion signals do animals experience under natural, evolutionarily relevant conditions?
• What strategies do they use to extract biologically relevant motion features, when faced with the “background noise” of moving vegetation, moving shadows, specular reflections and changes in illumination?
• What sensory and ecological factors influence display design?

Body patterns & camouflage

Last Update: December 13, 2006