Dr Emmanuelle Briolat
Research Fellow
esb204@exeter.ac.uk
Stella Turk Building G3.06
University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE
Overview
I have broad interests in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology, but am especially keen to apply research in the field of animal visual signalling to issues of conservation concern. My current research focuses on the impacts of light pollution on the visual ecology of nocturnal moths.
Before beginning my PhD, I worked as a research assistant, studying first camouflage in cuttlefish, then parental behaviour in burying beetles. As part of my BBSRC funding, I also completed a short rotation project in the Psychology Department at the University of Exeter, focusing on edge perception and flight behaviour in bumblebees. Since then, the central theme of my research has been coloration and visual communication in Lepidoptera. My PhD investigated the form and function of warning signals in day-flying burnet moths (Lepiodptera: Zygaenidae), focusing in particular on the question of quantitative signal honesty in these species. As a post-doctoral research associate in the Sensory Ecology and Evolution group, I investigated the relative benefits of generalist and specialist background-matching camouflage strategies for prey in complex natural environments, using both field and online experiments. Additional projects include the role of high-contrast markings in butterfly wing patterns, and camouflage evolution under different lighting conditions. I currently work as a research fellow with Dr Jolyon Troscianko, Prof Kevin Gaston and Dr Jonathan Bennie, investigating how light pollution affects flower visitation, orientation and antipredator defences in nocturnal moths.
Aside from academic research, I regularly write popular science articles for the MRC’s Biomedical Picture of the Day website, and have published a children's book on the visual defences of moths and butterflies.
Broad research specialisms:
- Behavioural Ecology
- Sensory Ecology
- Light pollution
Qualifications
2018: PhD (University of Exeter)
2016: MA (University of Cambridge)
2012 : BA Hons (1st class) in Natural Sciences – Zoology (Girton College, University of Cambridge)
Links
Research
Research projects
Project Title: Insect warning signals and predator vision
Supervisors: Martin Stevens and Jon Blount
Funding Body: BBSRC SWDTP
Project Description:
This project examined the form and functon of warning colouration in Lepidoptera, with a particular emphasis on day-flying burnet moths (Zygaenidae). My research combined photography & image analysis, toxin quantification and predation experiments in the field, to investigate signal honesty in the six-spot burnet Zygaena filipendulae and related species.
Project Title: Hawkmoth visual ecology under artificial lights
Collaborators: Jolyon Troscianko, Kevin Gaston, Jonathan Bennie, Emma Rosenfeld
Project Description:
Artificial lighting is a growing threat for natural systems, with the potential to interfere with the visually-guided behaviours of many species. Here we focus on a species with impressive and well-studied nocturnal visual capabilities, the elephant hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor, and use low light visual modelling to investigate the impact of different types and intensities of artificial lighting on key aspects of its visual ecology: flower detection for pollination, intra-specific signalling, and detection by potential predators.
Project Title: How to optimise imperfect camouflage
Principal Investigator: Martin Stevens
Collaborators: Anna Hughes, Lina Arenas
Funding Body: BBSRC
Project Description:
This project investigates the effectiveness of generalist and specialist background-matching strategies for prey occuring on multiple distinct backgrounds, and complex natural habitats. To test how quickly specialist and generalist targets are detected, we are using a series of online and field-based search tasks wih human volunteers. Play our latest game here.
