Profile

Dr Mike Webster
Lecturer in Behavioural and Evolutionary Biology
My research is concerned with the functions and evolution of social behaviour in animals. I’m particularly interested in how groups are organised, how animals interact and acquire information from one another, and in how individual behaviour affects and is affected by that of the group. For the most part I use shoaling fishes and aquatic crustaceans as study systems for understanding more general aspects of social behaviour.
For more information and a full list of publications please see my other site.
source: symbiosis
Recent publications
22 (of 22 published available) for mmw1 with keyword Learning clear keyword filter. (source: University of St Andrews PURE)
Please click title of any item for full details.
2019 (24/1)
Journal of Experimental Biology
vol.222
(Article)
Journal of Experimental Biology
vol.222
(Article)
No experimental evidence of stress-induced hyperthermia in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Tania Cecilia Mendo Aguilar, Franziska Broell, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Thermal preference, Fish welfare, Emotional fever, Fish stress, Behavioural thermoregulation, Ectotherm thermoregulation
Tania Cecilia Mendo Aguilar, Franziska Broell, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Thermal preference, Fish welfare, Emotional fever, Fish stress, Behavioural thermoregulation, Ectotherm thermoregulation
2018 (12/12)
Royal Society Open Science
vol.5
(Article)
Royal Society Open Science
vol.5
(Article)
Cohesion, order and information flow in the collective motion of mixed-species shoals
Ashley Ward, Timothy Schaerf, Alicia Burns, Joseph Lizier, Emanuele Crosato, Mikhail Prokopenko, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Shoaling, Collective behaviour, Aggregation, Mixed-species group, Schooling, Transfer entropy
Ashley Ward, Timothy Schaerf, Alicia Burns, Joseph Lizier, Emanuele Crosato, Mikhail Prokopenko, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Shoaling, Collective behaviour, Aggregation, Mixed-species group, Schooling, Transfer entropy
Journal of Fish Biology
vol.Early View
(Article)
Consistency of fishâshoal social network structure under laboratory conditions
K. A. Gaffney, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Assortment, Group, Shoaling, Social behaviour, Social information, Social organization
K. A. Gaffney, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Assortment, Group, Shoaling, Social behaviour, Social information, Social organization
2018 (12)
Animal Behaviour
vol.146 pp.63-70
(Article)
Animal Behaviour
vol.146 pp.63-70
(Article)
Experience shapes social information use in foraging fish
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Producer-scrounger, Public information, Social information, Social learning, Social transmission
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Producer-scrounger, Public information, Social information, Social learning, Social transmission
2018 (7)
Animal Behaviour
vol.141 pp.95-103
(Article)
Animal Behaviour
vol.141 pp.95-103
(Article)
Presence of an audience and consistent interindividual differences affect archerfish shooting behaviour
Michael Munro Webster, Christopher Neal Templeton, Stefan Schuster, Luke Edward Rendell
Keywords: Archerfish, Consistent individual differences, Foraging, Kleptoparasitism, Producerâscrounger, Social foraging
Michael Munro Webster, Christopher Neal Templeton, Stefan Schuster, Luke Edward Rendell
Keywords: Archerfish, Consistent individual differences, Foraging, Kleptoparasitism, Producerâscrounger, Social foraging
Journal of Fish Biology
vol.93 pp.764-765
(Comment/debate)
2018 (7)
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
vol.22 pp.651-665
(Review article)
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
vol.22 pp.651-665
(Review article)
Social learning strategies
Rachel Kendal, Neeltje Boogert, Luke Edward Rendell, Kevin Neville Laland, Michael Munro Webster, Patricia Jones
Keywords: Asocial information, Associative learning theory, Behavioural gambit, Cumulative culture, Metacognition, Social information
Rachel Kendal, Neeltje Boogert, Luke Edward Rendell, Kevin Neville Laland, Michael Munro Webster, Patricia Jones
Keywords: Asocial information, Associative learning theory, Behavioural gambit, Cumulative culture, Metacognition, Social information
2017
Behavioral Ecology
vol.28 pp.77-84
(Article)
Behavioral Ecology
vol.28 pp.77-84
(Article)
Experience and motivation shape leader-follower interactions in fish shoals
Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Leadership, Self-organization, Social foraging, Social information, Social organization
Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Leadership, Self-organization, Social foraging, Social information, Social organization
2017 (18/4)
Nature Ecology and Evolution
vol.1
(Article)
Nature Ecology and Evolution
vol.1
(Article)
Fish pool their experience to solve problems collectively
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Ethology
vol.123 pp.811-817
(Article)
How does hunger affect convergence on prey patches in a social forager?
Joanne Riddell, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Foraging, Producer-scrounger, Social information
Joanne Riddell, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Foraging, Producer-scrounger, Social information
2017 (7)
Royal Society Open Science
(Article)
Royal Society Open Science
(Article)
Local interactions and global properties of wild, free-ranging stickleback shoals
Ashley Ward, Timothy Schaerf, James Herbert-Read, Lesley Morrell, David Sumpter, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Collective behaviour, Schooling, Grouping
Ashley Ward, Timothy Schaerf, James Herbert-Read, Lesley Morrell, David Sumpter, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Collective behaviour, Schooling, Grouping
2017 (13/11)
Behavioural Ecology
vol.28 pp.1547-1552
(Article)
Behavioural Ecology
vol.28 pp.1547-1552
(Article)
Social information use and social learning in non-grouping fishes
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Copying, Learning, Producer-scrounger, Social information, Social learning
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Copying, Learning, Producer-scrounger, Social information, Social learning
2016 (29/6)
Royal Society Open Science
vol.3
(Article)
Royal Society Open Science
vol.3
(Article)
Morphological differences between habitats are associated with physiological and behavioural trade-offs in stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Frank Seebacher, Michael Munro Webster, Rob James, Jason Tallis, Ashley Ward
Keywords: Population, Locomotor performance, Salinity, Social behavior, Muscle
Frank Seebacher, Michael Munro Webster, Rob James, Jason Tallis, Ashley Ward
Keywords: Population, Locomotor performance, Salinity, Social behavior, Muscle
2016
(Book)
(Book)
Sociality
Ashley JW Ward, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Animal groups, Mechanisms of animal grouping, Social attraction, Social conformity and facilitation, Social organisationAgricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
Ashley JW Ward, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Animal groups, Mechanisms of animal grouping, Social attraction, Social conformity and facilitation, Social organisationAgricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
2016 (10)
Journal of Zoology
vol.300 pp.137-141
(Article)
Journal of Zoology
vol.300 pp.137-141
(Article)
Sticklebacks show consistent prey-share hierarchies within but not between patchy and sequential prey distributions
Daisy EF Taylor, Daniel Cownden, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Competition, Predation, Scramble competition, Social foraging, Prey distribution
Daisy EF Taylor, Daniel Cownden, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Competition, Predation, Scramble competition, Social foraging, Prey distribution
2015 (7)
Behavioral Ecology
vol.26 pp.1188-1195
(Article)
Behavioral Ecology
vol.26 pp.1188-1195
(Article)
Gammarus pulex show a grouping response to conspecific injury cues but not to predator kairomones
Lynsey Smith, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Alarm substance, Antipredator , Collective response, Predator-prey, Selfish herd, SchreckstoffAnimal Science and Zoology, Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Lynsey Smith, Michael Munro Webster
Keywords: Alarm substance, Antipredator , Collective response, Predator-prey, Selfish herd, SchreckstoffAnimal Science and Zoology, Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
2015 (5)
Behaviour
vol.152 pp.1569-1584
(Article)
Behaviour
vol.152 pp.1569-1584
(Article)
Public information use by foraging ninespine sticklebacks
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Diffusion, Local enhancement, Producerâscrounger, Social learning strategies, Social transmission
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Diffusion, Local enhancement, Producerâscrounger, Social learning strategies, Social transmission
2015 (6)
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
vol.69 pp.895-907
(Article)
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
vol.69 pp.895-907
(Article)
Space-use and sociability are not related to public-information use in ninespine sticklebacks
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Behavioural syndrome, Bold-shy, Innovation, Producer-scrounger, Social learning strategies, TemperamentAnimal Science and Zoology, Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Behavioural syndrome, Bold-shy, Innovation, Producer-scrounger, Social learning strategies, TemperamentAnimal Science and Zoology, Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
2014 (22/8)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
vol.281
(Article)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
vol.281
(Article)
Familiarity affects social network structure and discovery of prey patch locations in foraging stickleback shoals
B. J. Galef, William John Edward Hoppitt, Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Innovation, Social information, Social learning, Social network, Social organization
B. J. Galef, William John Edward Hoppitt, Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: Innovation, Social information, Social learning, Social network, Social organization
2013 (2)
American Naturalist
vol.181 pp.235-244
(Article)
American Naturalist
vol.181 pp.235-244
(Article)
Environmental complexity influences association network structure and network-based diffusion of foraging information in fish shoals
Michael Munro Webster, William John Edward Hoppitt, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: contagion, social information, Preferences, public information, Habitat, Predation risk, Poecilia-Reticulata, Behavior, social learning, Threespine stickleback, social network, social transmission, Stickleback gasterosteus-aculeatus, 3-spined sticklebacks, Social networks
Michael Munro Webster, William John Edward Hoppitt, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: contagion, social information, Preferences, public information, Habitat, Predation risk, Poecilia-Reticulata, Behavior, social learning, Threespine stickleback, social network, social transmission, Stickleback gasterosteus-aculeatus, 3-spined sticklebacks, Social networks
2013 (7)
Animal Behaviour
vol.86 pp.75-83
(Article)
Animal Behaviour
vol.86 pp.75-83
(Article)
Local enhancement via eavesdropping on courtship displays in male guppies, Poecilia reticulata
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: communication network, Guppy, mate choice copying, Poecilia reticulata, producerâscrounger, public information, social information, social transmission
Michael Munro Webster, Kevin Neville Laland
Keywords: communication network, Guppy, mate choice copying, Poecilia reticulata, producerâscrounger, public information, social information, social transmission
2011 (15/6)
PLoS One
vol.6
(Article)
PLoS One
vol.6
(Article)
Habitat-specific morphological variation among threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) within a drainage basin
Michael Munro Webster, Paul J. B. Hart, Ashley J. W. Ward
Keywords: Influence association preferencesS, Sunfish lepomis-gibbosus, Sexual-dimorphism, Body Shape, Ecological specialization, Phenotypic plasticity, Social recognition, 3-spined stickleback, Inducible defenses, Adaptive radiation
Michael Munro Webster, Paul J. B. Hart, Ashley J. W. Ward
Keywords: Influence association preferencesS, Sunfish lepomis-gibbosus, Sexual-dimorphism, Body Shape, Ecological specialization, Phenotypic plasticity, Social recognition, 3-spined stickleback, Inducible defenses, Adaptive radiation
Contact Details:
Dr Mike WebsterHarold Mitchell Building
University of St Andrews
St Andrews
KY16 9TH
Fife
UK
tel: 01334 461690
fax: 01334 461690
room: 3.9
email: mmw1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Related:
research@st-andrewsSocial Learning and Evolution
Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution
School of Biology
Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences
IBANS Animal Cognition
IBANS Behavioural Ecology
Biology Teaching Committee
Scottish Oceans Institute
The Sir John Templeton Foundation
edit mmw1 details
The Secretary
Scottish Oceans Institute
Institiud Chuantan na h-Alba
Gatty Marine Laboratory
East Sands St Andrews
KY16 8LB
Scotland
UK
tel: +44 (0) 1334 463472
fax: +44 (0) 1334 463443
email: soi@st-andrews.ac.uk
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