Synopsis 

Larvae of some flies have the ability to jump—a behaviour that they use to disperse away from their predator-infested feeding substrates.  Remarkably, individual larvae vary enormously in their propensity to jump, and it’s possible that this variation reflects a ‘personality’ trait that carries over into their adult behaviour. For example, individuals that jump more as larvae might be more active or more aggressive as adults.

In the project, Insect Personality: Does Larval Behaviour Predict Adult Behaviour we’ll research how larvae behaviour can teach us about adult insect behaviour.

Aims 

This project will investigate, for the first time, whether individual variation in jumping behaviour of larvae predicts behavioural variation at the adult stage.

Student benefits 

You’ll conduct cutting-edge research on a high-profile question in evolutionary ecology. Through this project, you’ll learn how to:

  • design and carry out experiments
  • carry out sophisticated statistical analysis
  • write an influential scientific paper.

Honours students in the Bonduriansky lab often publish their work in prestigious journals, such as:

  • The American Naturalist
  • Functional Ecology
  • Animal Behaviour
  • Scientific Reports.

Get involved

To learn more about this project, contact Professor Russell Bonduriansky.

T: +61 2 9385 3439

E: r.bonduriansky@unsw.edu.au