Dr Andrew Radford
Tel: +44 117 928 8246
Fax: +44 117 331 7985
Email: andy.radford at bristol.ac.uk
Position held: BBSRC David Phillips Fellow
RESEARCH
I am primarily interested in the conflicts and collaborations which arise within and between social groups and how such interactions are mediated by vocalisations. Using a combination of observational data, sound recordings and a variety of experimental manipulations, I am investigating a number of issues in two group-living bird species, the green woodhoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) and the pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor). More...
CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS
1. Alarm-call use and development
Mammalian alarm calls are known to include information about the type of predator and/or the extent of the threat, in addition simply to warning of danger. I am currently examining these possibilities in the group-living pied babbler. I am also planning detailed experiments to investigate when and how young babblers learn to respond to the calls of both their own species and those of other species with which they are commonly found. More about alarm-call use and development...
2. Group decision-making
Groups might theoretically reach a communal decision despotically or democratically. I am using habituated groups of pied babblers in the Kalahari to conduct the first experimental investigation of the possibility of 'voting' in a non-human vertebrate. More about group decision-making...
3. Function of foraging vocalisations
Individuals in many group-living species frequently emit 'close' calls while foraging, but the exact function of this common social behaviour is often difficult to divine. I have been elucidating the function of two such calls in the pied babbler. One, a 'recruitment' call, may provide an extended form of parental care, while the other, a 'contact' call, is likely to maintain group cohesion during foraging. More about function of foraging vocalisations...
4. Allopreening
Allopreening is a widespread phenomenon among birds but, unlike allogrooming in mammals, virtually no detailed studies have investigated its functions. In green woodhoopoes, a group-living African bird species, allopreening appears to serve a dual purpose: allopreening of the head and neck region (inaccessible to the recipient itself) seems to be primarily for hygienic purposes; in contrast, allopreening of the rest of the body may serve a primarily social function. More about allopreening...
OTHER RECENT RESEARCH
1. Mediation of foraging conflict within groups.
2. Mediation of territorial conflict between groups.
3. Facultative sex ratio manipulation.
STUDY SITES
1. Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Situated in the middle of the Kalahari desert, this is where the pied babbler research is conducted. More information about the Kuruman River Reserve
2. Morgan's Bay, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. On the edge of the beautiful Wild Coast, this is the site of the green woodhoopoe work. More information about Morgan's Bay
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Hollén, L.I., Bell, M.B.V. & Radford, A.N. (2008) Cooperative sentinel calling? Foragers gain increased biomass intake. Current Biology 18: 576-579.
- Radford, A.N. & Ridley, A.R. (2007) Individuals in foraging groups may use vocal cues when assessing their need for anti-predator vigilance. Biology Letters 3: 249-252.
- Hawn, A.T., Radford, A.N. & du Plessis, M.A. (2007) Delayed breeding affects lifetime reproductive success differently in male and female green woodhoopoes. Current Biology 17: 844-849.
- Radford, A.N. & Ridley, A.R. (2006) Recruitment calling: a novel form of extended parental care in an altricial species. Current Biology 16: 1700-1704.
- Radford, A.N. & du Plessis, M.A. (2006) Dual function of allopreening in the cooperatively breeding green woodhoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61: 221-230.
- Radford, A.N. (2005) Neighbour-stranger discrimination in the group-living green woodhoopoe. Animal Behaviour 70: 1227-1234.
- Krüger, O., Radford, A.N., Anderson, C. & Liversidge, R. (2005) Sexy sons or superior daughters: sex-ratio manipulation in springbok. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 272: 375-381.
- Radford, A.N. & du Plessis, M.A. (2004) Territorial vocal rallying in the green woodhoopoe: factors affecting the contest length and outcome. Animal Behaviour 68: 803-810.
- Radford, A.N. (2004) Vocal mediation of foraging competition in the cooperatively breeding green woodhoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 56: 279-285.