Publications by category
Journal articles
Goumas M, Kelley L, Boogert N (In Press). Herring gull aversion to gaze in urban and rural human settlements. Animal Behaviour
Goumas M, Boogert N, Kelley L (In Press). Urban herring gulls use human behavioural cues to locate food. Royal Society Open Science
Goumas M (2022). Dark wing pigmentation as a mechanism for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae.
Communications Biology,
5(1).
Abstract:
Dark wing pigmentation as a mechanism for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae
AbstractThere are many hypotheses explaining the diversity of colours and patterns found in nature, but they are often difficult to examine empirically. Recent studies show the dark upperside of gliding birds’ wings could reduce drag by decreasing the density of surrounding air. It may therefore be expected that species with darker wings have less efficient morphology than their paler counterparts. I conducted an analysis of the Larinae (gulls), which exhibit extreme variation in wing (mantle and wingtip) melanization, to test whether wing loading is a predictor of wing darkness. I found that, for each standard deviation increase in wing loading, mantle darkness is predicted to increase by 1.2 shades on the Kodak grey scale. Wing loading is also positively related to the proportion of black on wingtips. Furthermore, heavier species have lower aspect ratio wings, suggesting that dark wings have evolved to improve the trade-off between maneuverability and long distance flight.
Abstract.
Goumas M, Boogert NJ, Kelley LA, Holding T (2022). Predator or provider? How wild animals respond to mixed messages from humans.
Royal Society Open Science,
9(3).
Abstract:
Predator or provider? How wild animals respond to mixed messages from humans
Wild animals encounter humans on a regular basis, but humans vary widely in their behaviour: whereas many people ignore wild animals, some people present a threat, while others encourage animals' presence through feeding. Humans thus send mixed messages to which animals must respond appropriately to be successful. Some species appear to circumvent this problem by discriminating among and/or socially learning about humans, but it is not clear whether such learning strategies are actually beneficial in most cases. Using an individual-based model, we consider how learning rate, individual recognition (IR) of humans, and social learning (SL) affect wild animals' ability to reach an optimal avoidance strategy when foraging in areas frequented by humans. We show that ‘true’ IR of humans could be costly. We also find that a fast learning rate, while useful when human populations are homogeneous or highly dangerous, can cause unwarranted avoidance in other scenarios if animals generalize. SL reduces this problem by allowing conspecifics to observe benign interactions with humans. SL and a fast learning rate also improve the viability of IR. These results provide an insight into how wild animals may be affected by, and how they may cope with, contrasting human behaviour.
Abstract.
Goumas M, Lee VE, Boogert NJ, Kelley LA, Thornton A (2020). The Role of Animal Cognition in Human-Wildlife Interactions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11
Goumas M, Burns I, Kelley LA, Boogert NJ (2019). Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction.
Biol Lett,
15(8).
Abstract:
Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction.
Human-wildlife conflict is one of the greatest threats to species populations worldwide. One species facing national declines in the UK is the herring gull (Larus argentatus), despite an increase in numbers in urban areas. Gulls in urban areas are often considered a nuisance owing to behaviours such as food-snatching. Whether urban gull feeding behaviour is influenced by human behavioural cues, such as gaze direction, remains unknown. We therefore measured the approach times of herring gulls to a food source placed in close proximity to an experimenter who either looked directly at the gull or looked away. We found that only 26% of targeted gulls would touch the food, suggesting that food-snatching is likely to be conducted by a minority of individuals. When gulls did touch the food, they took significantly longer to approach when the experimenter's gaze was directed towards them compared with directed away. However, inter-individual behaviour varied greatly, with some gulls approaching similarly quickly in both treatments, while others approached much more slowly when the experimenter was looking at them. These results indicate that reducing human-herring gull conflict may be possible through small changes in human behaviour, but will require consideration of behavioural differences between individual gulls.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Publications by year
In Press
Goumas M (In Press). A potential trade-off between wing morphology and colouration for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae.
Abstract:
A potential trade-off between wing morphology and colouration for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae
Abstract
. There are many hypotheses explaining the diversity of colours and patterns found in nature, but they are often difficult to examine empirically. Recent studies show the dark upperside of the wings of gliding birds could reduce drag by decreasing the density of surrounding air. It may therefore be expected that species with darker wings have less efficient wing morphology than their paler counterparts. I conducted a phylogenetic comparative analysis of the Larinae (gulls) to test whether wing loading is a predictor of wing darkness. I found that, for each standard deviation increase in wing loading, wing darkness is predicted to increase by 1.2 shades on the Kodak grey scale. Wing darkness is also negatively correlated with the distance from the equator of species’ breeding and resident ranges. Furthermore, heavier species have lower aspect ratio wings, suggesting that dark wings have evolved to improve the trade-off between maneuverability and long distance flight.
Abstract.
Goumas M, Kelley L, Boogert N (In Press). Herring gull aversion to gaze in urban and rural human settlements. Animal Behaviour
Goumas M, Boogert N, Kelley L (In Press). Urban herring gulls use human behavioural cues to locate food. Royal Society Open Science
2022
Goumas M (2022). Dark wing pigmentation as a mechanism for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae.
Communications Biology,
5(1).
Abstract:
Dark wing pigmentation as a mechanism for improved flight efficiency in the Larinae
AbstractThere are many hypotheses explaining the diversity of colours and patterns found in nature, but they are often difficult to examine empirically. Recent studies show the dark upperside of gliding birds’ wings could reduce drag by decreasing the density of surrounding air. It may therefore be expected that species with darker wings have less efficient morphology than their paler counterparts. I conducted an analysis of the Larinae (gulls), which exhibit extreme variation in wing (mantle and wingtip) melanization, to test whether wing loading is a predictor of wing darkness. I found that, for each standard deviation increase in wing loading, mantle darkness is predicted to increase by 1.2 shades on the Kodak grey scale. Wing loading is also positively related to the proportion of black on wingtips. Furthermore, heavier species have lower aspect ratio wings, suggesting that dark wings have evolved to improve the trade-off between maneuverability and long distance flight.
Abstract.
Goumas M, Boogert NJ, Kelley LA, Holding T (2022). Predator or provider? How wild animals respond to mixed messages from humans.
Royal Society Open Science,
9(3).
Abstract:
Predator or provider? How wild animals respond to mixed messages from humans
Wild animals encounter humans on a regular basis, but humans vary widely in their behaviour: whereas many people ignore wild animals, some people present a threat, while others encourage animals' presence through feeding. Humans thus send mixed messages to which animals must respond appropriately to be successful. Some species appear to circumvent this problem by discriminating among and/or socially learning about humans, but it is not clear whether such learning strategies are actually beneficial in most cases. Using an individual-based model, we consider how learning rate, individual recognition (IR) of humans, and social learning (SL) affect wild animals' ability to reach an optimal avoidance strategy when foraging in areas frequented by humans. We show that ‘true’ IR of humans could be costly. We also find that a fast learning rate, while useful when human populations are homogeneous or highly dangerous, can cause unwarranted avoidance in other scenarios if animals generalize. SL reduces this problem by allowing conspecifics to observe benign interactions with humans. SL and a fast learning rate also improve the viability of IR. These results provide an insight into how wild animals may be affected by, and how they may cope with, contrasting human behaviour.
Abstract.
2020
Goumas M, Lee VE, Boogert NJ, Kelley LA, Thornton A (2020). The Role of Animal Cognition in Human-Wildlife Interactions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11
2019
Goumas M, Burns I, Kelley LA, Boogert NJ (2019). Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction.
Biol Lett,
15(8).
Abstract:
Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction.
Human-wildlife conflict is one of the greatest threats to species populations worldwide. One species facing national declines in the UK is the herring gull (Larus argentatus), despite an increase in numbers in urban areas. Gulls in urban areas are often considered a nuisance owing to behaviours such as food-snatching. Whether urban gull feeding behaviour is influenced by human behavioural cues, such as gaze direction, remains unknown. We therefore measured the approach times of herring gulls to a food source placed in close proximity to an experimenter who either looked directly at the gull or looked away. We found that only 26% of targeted gulls would touch the food, suggesting that food-snatching is likely to be conducted by a minority of individuals. When gulls did touch the food, they took significantly longer to approach when the experimenter's gaze was directed towards them compared with directed away. However, inter-individual behaviour varied greatly, with some gulls approaching similarly quickly in both treatments, while others approached much more slowly when the experimenter was looking at them. These results indicate that reducing human-herring gull conflict may be possible through small changes in human behaviour, but will require consideration of behavioural differences between individual gulls.
Abstract.
Author URL.