Culum Brown

Interests

I'm primarily interested in Behavioural Ecology and in particular predator avoidance behaviour, learning and memory in freshwater fishes. I have conducted comparative research on the behavioural ecology of predator avoidance in Austalian freshwater fishes (Uni. Queensland) as well as examining social learning in guppies and salmon at the Sub-department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge. I also have an interest in the evolution of cognition and worked at the University of Edinburgh and the Smithsonian Institute on tropical poeciliids. In addition to this theoretical work, I have interests in applied research in conservation biology and fisheries management. These interests include conducting research aimed improving life skills in hatchery reared fishes utilising social learning protocols and environmental enrichment.

Position Available

Honours project begining 2012: Behavioural responses of platypus to infrared light.

Recent Publications

Brown, C (2011) Tool use in fishes. Fish and Fisheries, In Press.

Brown, C & Magat, D. (2011) The evolution of lateralized foot use in parrots: a phylogenetic approach. Behavioural Ecology 22, 1201-1208.

Jones, A.M., Brown, C. & Gardner, S. (2011) Tool use in the tuskfish Choerodon schoenleinii? Coral Reefs, 30, 865.

Brown, C & Magat, D. (2011) Cerebral Lateralisation determines hand preferences in Australian parrots. Biology Letters, 7, 496-498.

Colleter, M. & Brown, C (2011) Personality traits predict hierarchy rank in male rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) social groups. Animal Behaviour, 81, 1231-1237.

Snoyman & Brown (2010) Microclimate preferences in the grey-headed flying fox in the Sydney region. Australian Journal of Zoology, 58, 376-383.

Brown C, Laland K and Krause J. 2011. Fish Cognition and Behaviour Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Cambridge, UK