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Asked by wildpopchild to Claire, Joanna, Kapila, Renata, Suzanne on 16 Jun 2013.
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Renata Medeiros answered on 16 Jun 2013:
In my opinion, some of the greatest developments in the field of animal behaviour come from satellite based technology, such as the one Kapila describes in his profile, which allows us to track animals’ movements like never before. Although the technology itself is not new, for a long time it could not be used in a wide range of animals because of the size and weight of the tags (it is very important that these are not too big or too heavy so that the animals are not at risk for carrying them). This changed dramatically in the past 10 years and it is now possible to find very small tags that weigh less than 2g.
My research is mainly on a small seabird species that very rarely come to land. Only last year I was finally able to find tags light enough for that species and I’m really looking forward to start using this technology to find out, for the first time ever, where at sea do these birds spend their time.
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Suzanne Harvey answered on 17 Jun 2013:
A few weeks ago, some research was published showing that chimps have a kind of tantrum if you treat them unfairly in a game. A sense of fairness and moral behaviour is something that has been seen as very human in the past! Findings like this are really exciting, as for me, primatology works best when we study things that are ‘uniquely human’ in other species.
I have been studying tantrums in young baboons, looking at the way they use this behaviour (screaming and throwing things!) to annoy their mothers and whoever else is around until they get what they want. So the next time you see a child having a tantrum in a supermarket, remember that it’s not just humans who behave this way, it’s a behaviour that’s been evolving for millions of years!
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