Oxford professor to lecture on rationality in birds
The concept of rationality in birds will be the subject of the Department of Biological Sciences' John S. Karling Distinguished Lecture at 3:40 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 15) in Pfendler Hall's Deans Auditorium (Room 241). A reception at 3 p.m. in the gallery will precede the lecture.
Alex Kacelnik, a professor of behavioral ecology in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford, will present the lecture "Bird-brained Economists." He will discuss rationality in birds from
biological, economic and psychological perspectives and how he has applied it to the study of host-parasite interactions, foraging behavior and tool use.
Kacelnik is a Fellow of the Royal Society and is well-known for his ability to integrate animal behavior and psychology. His research on tool use in New Caledonian crows has been widely featured in the media and textbooks. More information about Kacelnik's research is available at http://users.ox.ac.uk/~Kgroup/index.html.
For more information, contact Esteban Fernandez-Juricic at efernan@purdue.edu or 49-46044.
