Tim Fawcett < Biology < University of Groningen

Contact

Phone: +31(0)50-363 8094

E-mail: tim.fawcett (AT: cantab.net)

Room: B 021/022

Research

I am a behavioural ecologist who uses a combination of experiments and mathematical models to address questions in animal behaviour and evolution. Currently I divide my time between the Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Social Psychology groups at the University of Groningen. In September 2009 I will start a new postdoctoral position at the Université de Montréal.

I have broad interests in behavioural and evolutionary biology, but my current research centres on three main topics:

Flexible mate choice

Sexual selection is a potent evolutionary force, generating an incredible diversity of courtship displays which serve to attract the opposite sex. According to standard 'textbook' theory, all individuals should strongly prefer mates offering high-quality genes or plentiful resources, because this gives them the greatest fitness. This view is at odds with the considerable variation in mate preferences we see in real animals: some individuals have strong preferences, some have weak preferences, and some prefer a different type of mate altogether. We have been building evolutionary models to try and understand why such differences exist. Rather than fixed, uniform preferences, our work suggests that mate preferences should be flexible, with individuals adjusting their choosiness according to their current condition and circumstances relative to others in the population. We are now testing the specific predictions of our models by studying humans taking part in a 'speed-dating' event.

Collaborators: Colin Bleay, Bram Buunk, Rufus Johnstone, Ani Kazem, Jessica Pass

Flexible aggression

Just as for mate preferences (see above), there are good reasons why individuals should adjust their levels of aggression depending on their current state. We have been building evolutionary models of flexible aggression in which individuals learn about their fighting strength from the outcomes of previous contests.

Collaborators: Rufus Johnstone, Richard Tremblay

Sex ratios and sexual selection

It is often argued that attractive males should produce more sons, because these sons will inherit their father’s attractiveness. Numerous field and laboratory studies have addressed this hypothesis, but the results are mixed. We have been developing new theory to understand the evolution of sex-ratio adjustment and how this might interact with processes of sexual selection. Alongside, we have been conducting large-scale aviary experiments on zebra finches to determine how sex ratios and maternal investment are affected by the relative attractiveness of the parents.

Collaborators: Bram Kuijper, Ido Pen, Nikolaus von Engelhardt, Franjo Weissing, Klaudia Witte, Richard Zann

Scientific Career

2006-

NWO-ALW Postdoctoral Researcher
Theoretical Biology Group, University of Groningen (NL)

2004-2005

Teaching Fellow in Theoretical Biology
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol (UK)

2003-2005

NWO-ALW Postdoctoral Researcher
Theoretical Biology Group, University of Groningen (NL)

1999-2003

PhD student
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge (UK)

Download my CV here [PDF]

Publications

T.V. Pollet, T.W. Fawcett, A.P. Buunk & D. Nettle (2009): Sex-ratio biasing towards daughters among lower-ranking co-wives in Rwanda. Biol. Letters. (PDF [PDF])

T.W. Fawcett & C. Bleay (2009): Previous experiences shape adaptive mate preferences. Behav. Ecol. 20, 68-78. (PDF [PDF])

T.W. Fawcett, A.L.W. Kuijper, I. Pen, & F.J. Weissing (2007): Should attractive males have more sons? Behav. Ecol. 18, 71-80. (PDF [PDF])

G.R. Brown & T.W. Fawcett (2005): Sexual selection: copycat mating in birds. Curr. Biol. 15, R626-R628. (PDF [PDF])

T.W. Fawcett (2005): Dissertation review: N. von Engelhardt (2004): Proximate control of avian sex allocation: a study on zebra finches. Ardea 93, 141-144.

T.W. Fawcett & R.A. Johnstone (2003): Optimal assessment of multiple cues. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 270, 1637-1643. (PDF [PDF])

T.W. Fawcett & R.A. Johnstone (2003): Mate choice in the face of costly competition. Behav. Ecol. 14, 771-779. (PDF [PDF])

T.W. Fawcett, A.M.J. Skinner & A.R. Goldsmith (2002): A test of imitative learning in starlings using a two-action method with an enhanced ghost control. Anim. Behav. 64, 547-556. (PDF [PDF])

F.A.M. Tuyttens, B. Long, T. Fawcett et al (2001): Estimating group size and population density of Eurasian badgers Meles meles by quantifying latrine use. J. Appl. Ecol. 38, 1114-1121. (PDF [PDF])

Collaborators

Colin Bleay, University of Bristol
Bram Buunk, University of Groningen
Peter Dijkstra, University of Glasgow
Rufus Johnstone, University of Cambridge
Ani Kazem, Norwegian University of Science & Technology
Peter Korsten, University of Edinburgh
Bram Kuijper, University of Groningen
Jessica Pass, University of Groningen
Ido Pen, University of Groningen
Thomas Pollet, University of Groningen
Katharina Riebel, Leiden University
Richard Tremblay, Université de Montréal
Nikolaus von Engelhardt, Bielefeld University
Franjo Weissing, University of Groningen
Klaudia Witte, University of Siegen
Richard Zann, La Trobe University

Tim Fawcett