The impact of social factors on migratory behaviours in birds is of key interest globally. For example, migratory birds spend substantial time at stopovers during migration, where they fuel for the next flight, but they must also pay attention to their social environment as well as the risk of predation. Additionally, the effects of social environment en-route are grossly understudied and so remain poorly understood, in part due to a lack of methods to study such phenomena. We, however, at Lund University possess state-of-the-art behavioural labs (OriLAB) where we can manipulate social environments and quantify behavioural and fueling responses, uniquely positioning us to advance our understanding of ‘social migration’. Whilst we have a number of predefined projects that dedicated students could take on, we are generally interested in these problems, and so invite you to discuss with us your interests, as we are very happy to tailor bespoke projects to students’ interests. If you would like to gain experience of working with birds or would like to learn more about movement ecology in this context you are most welcome to contact us. The project will be designed in collaboration with us as an independent project but will be part of a larger project on sociality and migration that we currently pursue. Data will be collected in a team.
Fieldwork starts: August/September 2026 (flexible)
Project duration: 45-60 credits.
If understanding how the social environment affects birds on migration excites you, then this may be your perfect Masters’ project! Please, contact Susanne Åkesson or Jamie Scotcher for more information:
Professor Susanne Åkesson, Evolutionary Ecology & Infection Biology, Biology Dept. susanne.akesson@biol.lu.se
Jamie Scotcher, PhD student, Evolutionary Ecology & Infection Biology, Biology Dept. jamie.scotcher@biol.lu.se