A Bit of Bird Behaviour #539

October 26, 2019

This week we're discussing birds, behaviour, and chickadees. How do you look at behavioural traits in birds, how different birds value information gathering, and how those traits affect foraging? Marion Kilgour speaks to Dr. Kim Mathot, the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, about how and why birds make decisions, and how individuals value and act on information, how they share information within groups, and what value that information has in managing uncertainty.

Chickadees calls recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, from xeno-canto.

Guests:

  • Kim Mathot
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Guest Bios

Kim Mathot

Dr. Kim Mathot is the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology and an Assistant Professor in the University of Alberta Department of Biological Sciences. Using ecology, physiology, and psychology, her work focuses on how and why animals make decisions, and how individuals value and act on information, how they share information within groups, and what value that information has in adapting and reducing uncertainty. Most of her field work is with bird populations, including red knots and black-capped chickadees.