We explore behavioral ecology in dynamic & changing ecosystems.

The Collective Ecology Group is led by Dr. William Oestreich at the University of Zurich (UZH). 

We aim to understand how biophysical ecosystem variation shapes animals' individual, social, and collective behaviors. In turn, we explore how animals' social lives shape the ecosystems they inhabit. We interrogate these biophysical-social feedbacks across taxa and ecosystems, but with a particular focus on illuminating these dynamics under the extreme biophysical and social conditions of life in the ocean.

This research requires cooperation among networks of humans and our technologies. We reflect on how our own species' remarkable capacity for collective behavior can enable us to more effectively & equitably understand, steward, & adapt to the changing ecosystems of which we are all a part.

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