Understanding Our Neighbors

We live in a time of unprecedented environmental change. Increases in noise and light pollution are reorganizing communities by interfering with the perception of environmental time-cues, habitat features, and auditory and visual signals. Escalating temperatures are causing harmful effects on cognition, health, and survival. Emerging pathogens change the ways we, among other animals, behave. Understanding how animals perceive and behaviorally respond to environmental change is critical as the Anthropocene reshapes the ecological and evolutionary landscapes animals, including humans, occupy. Our center addresses this foundational challenge of understanding how animals collectively construct their perception and behaviorally respond to a changing world by making fundamental advances within our understanding of animal behavior.