Group-living animals form social relationships that can influence their fitness in a variety of ways. Tracking and managing these social relationships may be cognitively challenging, and several theories have therefore emerged linking social and cognitive complexity. To date, this link has been explored in primates, whales, bats and corvids, with several commonalities identified, including differentiated relationships that rely on individual recognition and strategic social-decision making. Yet while parrots are often included in discussions about socio-cognitive complexity, surprisingly little is known about their social cognition or reliance on social learning, especially in the wild. In this seminar, I will present observational and experimental approaches to investigate (i) individuals’ knowledge about the social environment in wild sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), and (ii) how individual and social characteristics shape the acquisition of social information.

Biography

Julia is a behavioural ecologist broadly interested in how social interactions affect behaviour, learning and decision-making. As a postdoctoral fellow at ANU, Julia will use genetic data alongside GPS-tracking and behavioural observations to build an integrative map of social connectivity of sulphur-crested cockatoos in Canberra. Prior to starting at ANU, Julia completed a PhD with Lucy Aplin at the Max Plank Institute of Animal Behavior (Germany), investigating drivers of social relationships in wild sulphur-crested cockatoos, and how in turn these relationships affect the transfer of information in the species.