KLI Colloquia are informal, public talks that are followed by extensive dissussions. Speakers are KLI fellows or visiting researchers who are interested in presenting their work to an interdisciplinary audience and discussing it in a wider research context. We offer three types of talks:
1. Current Research Talks. KLI fellows or visiting researchers present and discuss their most recent research with the KLI fellows and the Vienna scientific community.
2. Future Research Talks. Visiting researchers present and discuss future projects and ideas togehter with the KLI fellows and the Vienna scientific community.
3. Professional Developmental Talks. Experts about research grants and applications at the Austrian and European levels present career opportunities and strategies to late-PhD and post-doctoral researchers.
- The presentation language is English.
- If you are interested in presenting your current or future work at the KLI, please contact the Scientific Director or the Executive Manager.
Event Details
Topic description / abstract:
Animal innovations range from the discovery of novel food types to the invention of completely novel behaviours. Sparrows, for example, have learned to trigger the automatic doors of supermarkets to gain access to crisp packages; black kites carry burning twigs to other sites to spread bush fires and flush out their prey; chimpanzees use sticks to spear bush babies out of tree holes. We are fascinated and intrigued by these examples of animal innovation. They suggest, to some extent, that animals are akin to us in their ability to find novel solutions to problems, leading to the question whether these abilities are based on a similar cognitive mechanism. While this question has received some scientific attention during the last years, the evolutionary potential of behavioural innovations has received comparatively less consideration. Behaviour and underlying cognitive mechanisms are not only shaped by selection, behaviour is also a driver for evolution. Behavioural innovations have played an important role in our own evolutionary trajectory as well as in that of other animals. Innovations can give access to new opportunities, for instance novel food sources, and thus enable innovators to invade and create novel niches. This in turn can pave the way for morphological adaptation and adaptive radiation. In my talk I will present a theoretical framework that describes the interactions between underlying mechanisms, fitness benefits, and evolutionary significance of innovations and illustrate it with animal and human examples. Using Darwin’s finches as a model, I will exemplify the evolutionary potential of innovation, discuss underlying mechanisms that are shared between animals and humans, and present data that sheds light on the ecological drivers for innovativeness.
Biographical note:
Sabine Tebbich is a behavioural biologist with broad research interests, ranging from animal cognition, behavioural flexibility to host-parasite interactions and conservation. Her main model systems are Darwin’s finches but she has also done research on insects, fish, and humans. In the past she has been affiliated with the Max-Planck Institute for Physiology in Seewiesen, Germany, University of Cambridge, and University of St. Andrews. Her current affiliation is with the University of Vienna