Dr Michael Webster
Senior Lecturer
Research areas
I’m interested in the behaviour of group-living animals, including social foraging, competition, information diffusion and predator-prey dynamics. What are the benefits and costs of grouping? How do groups form and function? How does the behaviour of individuals shape that of the group, and how does being in a group change the behaviour of its individual members?
PhD supervision
- Dagmar Der Weduwen
- Alice Veiros
Selected publications
-
Open access
Identifying cues for self-organized nest wall-building behaviour in the rock ant, Temnothorax rugatulus, using hidden Markov models
Invernizzi, E., Michelot, T., Popov, V., Ng, N., Macqueen, E., Rouviere, A., Webster, M. & Sasaki, T., 1 Apr 2024, In: Animal Behaviour. 210, p. 315-330 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
On closer inspection: reviewing the debate on whether fish cooperate to inspect predators
Veiros, L., Schweinfurth, M. K. & Webster, M. M., Apr 2024, In: Ethology. 130, 4, 10 p., e13427.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
-
Open access
Three-spined sticklebacks show dimension-specific preferences for shelter
Jones, N. A. R., Gardella, G. & Webster, M. M., Feb 2024, In: Animal Behaviour. 208, p. 41-49 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Animals learn survival tricks from others – even if they live alone
Webster, M., 24 Apr 2023, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
-
Open access
False alarms and information transmission in grouping animals
Gray, L. & Webster, M. M., 1 Jun 2023, In: Biological Reviews. 98, 3, p. 833-848 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Maze design: size and number of choices impact fish performance in cognitive assays
Jones, N. A. R., Cortese, D., Munson, A., Spence-Jones, H. C., Storm, Z., Killen, S. S., Bethel, R., Deacon, A. E., Webster, M. M. & Závorka, L., 12 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 103, 5, p. 974-984Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Quorum decision making coordinates group departure decisions in Eurasian oystercatchers, Haematopus ostralegus
Gray, L. & Webster, M. M., 1 Aug 2023, In: Animal Behaviour. 202, p. 29-38 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Social learning in non-grouping animals
Webster, M. M., 1 Aug 2023, In: Biological Reviews. 98, 4, p. 1329-1344 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Why prey animals often see threats where there are none – and how it costs them
Gray, L. & Webster, M., 2 Mar 2023, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
-
Open access
Sampling biases and reproducibility: experimental design decisions affect behavioural responses in hermit crabs
Hills, A. & Webster, M. M., 1 Dec 2022, In: Animal Behaviour. 194, p. 101-110 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review