M. (Marion) Nicolaus, PhD
Research interests
I am a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist who seeks to uncover why animals of the same population differ tremendously and consistently in behaviour (so-called animal personality), how such variation can help predict adaptive capacities of wildlife and help design the best possible conservation measures.
In my research, I use wild three-spined sticklebacks, pied flycatchers and great tits, species that are very well suited to study personality, ecological and evolutionary processes. My group is making use of a unique unintended experiment in the field (isolation of a migratory stickleback population), a bird population on Zernike campus (nest boxes hang along an urbanisation gradient) and experiments in semi-natural conditions (sticklebacks) to study how personality variation emerges, evolves and feeds back on eco-evolutionary processes.
You can also find me on Researche Gate ; Google Scholar ; Twitter (@sticklelab) and my personal blog