Professor Andrew Radford
Professor of Behavioural Ecology
Tel: +44 117 394 1197
Email: andy.radford at bristol.ac.uk
WELCOME
Hello! I am a behavioural biologist based at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol.
I hope you enjoy browsing the website, finding out about the exciting questions we ask and study systems we work on.
If you would like to know more or would like the opportunity to work with us, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
One main theme of our research concerns the behaviour and vocalisations of social animals. We use a combination of detailed observations, sound recordings and analysis, and a variety of experimental manipulations. We work on several different bird, mammal, fish and invertebrate study systems in captivity and around the world (e.g., South Africa, Australia, French Polynesia, Panama, Trinidad), including the Dwarf Mongoose Research Project which we established in 2011.
The second major theme of our research concerns the impact and mitigation of human activities on wildlife. Using a combination of laboratory and field experiments (in, for example, Scotland, France, French Polynesia, Curacao and Australia), we are investigating how anthropogenic noise affects the behaviour, physiology, development and fitness of a variety of fish and invertebrate species, as well as interspecific interactions and community structure. We are also exploring how human disturbances, including coral bleaching, can change natural soundscapes and the resulting consequences. Increasingly, we are working with conservation organisations, governments and local communities to test mitigation strategies and minimse the impact of human activities.
FUNDING SOURCES
We are extremely grateful to the following for funding:
RECENT NEWS
OPPORTUNITIES
If you are interested in potential PhD, Masters or intern opportunities, then please feel free to email through a cover letter and cv. Specific projects will be advertised here when available; self-funded applicants welcome to apply any time.
We are always keen to host fellows (those funded by Marie Curie, NERC and the Swiss National Science Foundation have recently finished their fellowships with us) or to discuss new collaborative ideas, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We often take on research assistants to help with our work, including at various fieldsites and in the Bristol-based aquarium facility; specific positions will be advertised here.
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS
- Nedelec, S.L., Radford, A.N., Gatenby, P., Davidson, I.K., Jimenez, L.V., Travis, M., Chapman, K.E., McCloskey, K.P., Lamont, T.A.C., Illing, B., McCormick, M.I. & Simpson, S.D. (2002) Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success. Nature Communications 13: 2822.
- Duarte, C.M., Chapuis, L., Collin, S.P., Costa, D.P., Devassy, R.P., Eguiluz, V.M., Erbe, C., Halpern, B.S., Harding, H.R., Havlik, M.N., Gordon, T.A.C., Merchant, N.D., Meekan, M., Miksis-Olds, J.L., Parsons, M., Predragovic, M., Radford, A.N., Radford, C.A., Simpson, S.D., Slabbekoorn, H., Staaterman, E., Van Opzeeland, I.C., Winderen, J., Zhang, X. & Juanes, F. (2021) The soundscape of the Anthropocene ocean. Science 371: eaba4658.
- Kennedy, P., Sumner, S., Botha, P., Welton, N.J., Higginson, A.D. & Radford, A.N. (2021) Diminishing returns drive altruists to help extended family. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5: 468–479.
- Morris-Drake, A., Linden, J.F., Kern, J.M. & Radford, A.N. (2021) Extended and cumulative effects of experimentally induced intergroup conflict in a cooperatively breeding mammal. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 28: 820211743.
- Ashton, B.J., Kennedy, P. & Radford, A.N. (2020) Interactions with conspecific outsiders as drivers of cognitive evolution. Nature Communications 11: 4937.
- Gordon, T.A.C., Radford, A.N., Davidson, I.K., Barnes, K., McCloskey, K., Nedelec, S.L., Meekan, M.G., McCormick, M.I. & Simpson, S.D. (2019) Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat. Nature Communications 10: 5414.
- Kern, J.M. & Radford, A.N. (2018) Experimental evidence for delayed contingent cooperation among wild dwarf mongooses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 15: 6255–6260.
- Kennedy, P., Higginson, A.D., Radford, A.N. & Sumner, S. (2018) Altruism in a volatile world. Nature 555: 359–362.
- Gordon, T.A.C., Harding, H., Wong, K., Merchant, N., Meekan, M.G., McCormick, M., Radford, A.N. & Simpson, S.D. (2018) Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behaviour of coral reef fishes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 115: 5193–5198.
- Kern, J.M. & Radford, A.N. (2017) Reduced social-information provision by immigrants and use by residents following dispersal. Current Biology 27: R1266–R1267.
- Morris-Drake, A., Kern, J.M & Radford, A.N. (2016) Cross-modal impacts of anthropogenic noise on information use. Current Biology 26: R911–R912.
- Simpson, S.D., Radford, A.N., Nedelec, S.L., Ferrari, M.C.O., Chivers, D.P., McCormick, M.I. & Meekan, M.G. (2016) Anthropogenic noise increases fish mortality by predation. Nature Communications 7: 10544.
