The Kikuchi lab works at nexus of evolution, ecology, and behavior. We study how organisms parse the bewildering diversity of information in their environments to make adaptive decisions. We focus primarily on predator-prey interactions. How do animals know what is good to eat, and what is not? How do they identify potential predators among background noise? Currently, we are studying birds in the lab and field to test their capacity to innately recognize threats and its influence on learning. These projects are leading us into new areas like avian neurobiology and machine learning.
We also study the evolutionary and ecological consequences of decision-making. How does predator psychology shape the evolution of warning signals? How do warning signals, in turn, shape ecology? What consequences does social learning have for ecological communities?
We use an integrative approach to answering our questions: 1) field work to measure avian behavior 2) lab studies of birds 3) mathematical modeling of individual decision-making and ecological dynamics 4) data-hungry projects in meta-analysis and citizen science 5) museum specimens