Research
Animal behaviour and species interactions
Interactions between species are mediated by the behaviour of both agents. Interacting species are entangled in behavioural co-evolutionary arms races, driving ecology and evolution. My research aims to uncover the behavioural mechanisms that structure predator-prey interactions, from individuals to populations.
Selected publications:
Wooster, E.I.F.; Gaynor, K.M.; Carthey, A.J.R.; Wallach, A.D.; Stanton, L.A.; Ramp, D.; Lundgren E.J. (2023) Animal cognition and culture mediate predator-prey interactions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Wooster, E.I.F.; Ramp, D.; Lundgren, E.J.; Ben-Ami, D.; Bonsen, G.T.; Carroll S.; Carthey, A.J.R; Geisler-Edge, A.; Keynan O.; Olek, Y.; O’Neill, A.J.; Shanas, U.; Wallach, A.D. (2024). Prey responses to foxes are not determined by nativeness. Ecography.
Wooster, E.I.F.; Ramp, D.; Lundgren, E.J.; O’Neill, A.J.; Wallach, A.D. (2021). Red foxes avoid apex predation without increases in fear. Behavioral Ecology.
Macrobehaviour
Predator-Prey Interactions In The Anthropocene
Predator-prey interactions are fundamental to ecosystems. Humans are reshaping these interactions by driving decline and extinction, destroying habitats and altering animal behaviour. My research looks uncover how these interactions adapt to human disturbance and the consequences of novel interactions across levels of biological organisation.
Selected publications:
Wooster, E.I.F.; Middleton, O.; Wallach, A.D.; Ramp, D.; Harris, V.K.; Rowan, J.; Schowanek, S.D.; Gordon, C.E.; Svenning, J.C.; Davis, M.; Scharlemann, J.P.W.; Nimmo D.G; Lundgren, E.J.; Sandom, C.J. (2024). Australia’s recently established predators restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction. Current Biology.
Wooster, E.I.F.; Ramp, D.; Lundgren, E.J.; O’Neill, A.J.; Bonsen, G.T.; Yanco E.; Wallach, A.D. (2022). Predator protection dampens the landscape of fear. Oikos.
Lundgren, E.J.; Ramp, D.; Middleton, O.; Wooster, E.I.F.; Balisi, M.; Ripple, W.J.; Hasslerharm C.; Mills M.; Sanchez S.; Wallach, A.D. (2022). A novel trophic cascade between cougars and donkeys shapes desert wetlands. Journal of Animal Ecology.
How and why does behaviour vary through space and time? Uncovering how behavioural variation between and among species evolved remains a central question to biology. My research aims to understand broad scale patterns of animal behaviour and the ecological consequences of macrobehavioural variation.
Selected publications:
Wooster, E.I.F.; Nimmo, D.G. (2024). Functional trait databases for Macrobehaviour. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Wooster, E.I.F.; Lundgren, E.J.; Rowan, J.; Balisi, M.; Svenning, J.C.; Scharlemann, J.P.W.; Sandom, C.J. et al. (2024). The functional traits of the worlds late quaternary mammalian terrestrial predators. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Wallach, A.D.; Ramp, D.; Benítez A.; Wooster, E.I.F.; Avidor, E.; Ben-Ami, D.; Carrol S.; Carthey A.; Keynan O.; Olek Y.; O’Neill A.J.; Svenning J.C.; Rogers E.; Shanas U.; Lundgren E.J. (2023). Savviness of prey to introduced predators. Conservation Biology.