Research interests

Scientific projects

My current research project aims to explore the fruit odours of fleshy-fruited figs (Ficus spp.) in relation to the sensory ecology of Neo- and Paleotropical fruit bats, within the families Phyllostomidae and Pteropodidae. Both families of bats have been geographically isolated and phylogenetically independent throughout their adaptive radiation, and so have evolved fruit-eating diets independently in each hemisphere: with phyllostomids in the New World, and pteropodids in the Old World. However, the extent to which Neo- and Palaeotropical fruit bats have converged in relation to their sensitivity to particular fruit odour compounds is currently unknown. Hence, the intriguing possibility exists that both groups of bats are sensitive to the same, or similar, chemical compounds.

The specific goals of my research are twofold: 1) to investigate the fruit odours of bat and bird-dispersed Ficus spp. in Neo- and Paleotropical rain forests, to test the hypothesis that bat-dispersed figs are characterized by distinctive odour-producing chemical compounds; and 2) to investigate the foraging behaviour of Neo- and Paleotropical fruit bats, in relation to the fruit odours of bat-dispersed Ficus spp., to test the hypothesis that New and Old World fruit bats are attracted by the same odour-producing chemical compounds—as a result of evolutionary convergence between the two families.