Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Current Positions
Research
In my research I use avian model systems to investigate key issues in behavioural and sensory ecology: how animals communicate with each other, and why communication signals have evolved into certain designs. Being especially curious about signals and cues involving sound, I have conducted research into vocal mimicry, the dawn chorus, and song dialects (among others). My current research focus is on the functional significance of complex signals – signals made up of multiple components expressed in one or more sensory modalities. Specifically, I am investigating the function and evolution of integrated song and ‘dance’ displays. I have the great privilege of examining this topic using the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, as a model species.
Appointments
In 2014 I was appointed as an inaugural Postdoctoral Associate, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. At the Lab, I am affiliated with the Macaulay Library and the Bioacoustics Research Program. I am also affiliated with Cornell’s Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. I currently hold visiting fellowships at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment of Western Sydney University, and the Australian National University.
Background
My academic background is in behavioral ecology. My first degree was a BSc/BMus from the Australian National University, which included a year’s exchange at the University of Oxford. For my honours’ research I investigated the structure and function of dawn choruses in the superb fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus, with Professor Andrew Cockburn. Next, I pursued my interest in birdsong in Costa Rica where I joined a research project on the banded wren, Thryophilus pleurostictus, run by Professor Sandra Vehrencamp and Dr Michelle Hall from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Back at the Australian National University, I investigated the ecology of vocal mimicry in the superb lyrebird for my PhD research, under the primary supervision of Professor Rob Magrath, and advised by Professor Cockburn, Dr Hall, Dr Naomi Langmore and the late Dr Richard Zann.
Academic Publications
Google scholar page
Mixed media
The mimics among us
Video abstract: Coordinated song and dance in lyrebirds
Video of a lyrebird performing in the wild
The talented superb lyrebird
Lyrebird moments
Discovery Channel
Balangara Films
Hello Birdy Documentary
- Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Visiting Fellow at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
- Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University
Research
In my research I use avian model systems to investigate key issues in behavioural and sensory ecology: how animals communicate with each other, and why communication signals have evolved into certain designs. Being especially curious about signals and cues involving sound, I have conducted research into vocal mimicry, the dawn chorus, and song dialects (among others). My current research focus is on the functional significance of complex signals – signals made up of multiple components expressed in one or more sensory modalities. Specifically, I am investigating the function and evolution of integrated song and ‘dance’ displays. I have the great privilege of examining this topic using the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, as a model species.
Appointments
In 2014 I was appointed as an inaugural Postdoctoral Associate, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. At the Lab, I am affiliated with the Macaulay Library and the Bioacoustics Research Program. I am also affiliated with Cornell’s Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. I currently hold visiting fellowships at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment of Western Sydney University, and the Australian National University.
Background
My academic background is in behavioral ecology. My first degree was a BSc/BMus from the Australian National University, which included a year’s exchange at the University of Oxford. For my honours’ research I investigated the structure and function of dawn choruses in the superb fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus, with Professor Andrew Cockburn. Next, I pursued my interest in birdsong in Costa Rica where I joined a research project on the banded wren, Thryophilus pleurostictus, run by Professor Sandra Vehrencamp and Dr Michelle Hall from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Back at the Australian National University, I investigated the ecology of vocal mimicry in the superb lyrebird for my PhD research, under the primary supervision of Professor Rob Magrath, and advised by Professor Cockburn, Dr Hall, Dr Naomi Langmore and the late Dr Richard Zann.
Academic Publications
Google scholar page
Mixed media
The mimics among us
Video abstract: Coordinated song and dance in lyrebirds
Video of a lyrebird performing in the wild
The talented superb lyrebird
Lyrebird moments
Discovery Channel
Balangara Films
Hello Birdy Documentary
