Research interests
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My work mainly deals with the evolution of animal and human behaviour. The evolutionary approach consists in explaining the causes of psychological and behavioural traits through their influence on organism's survival and reproductive success. I am focusing on a diverse array of taxa, from crustaceans and insects to birds and mammals.

I realized my PhD thesis at the University of Burgundy (France) and the University of Quebec at Montreal (Canada), where I studied the causes and consequences of inter-individual behavioural variation, so-called "personalities", in both foraging and mate-choice contexts. I used the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a small Australasian ground-feeding passerine bird as a model species.

My PhD dissertation (in french) is available to download [pdf] (3,72 Mo)

My research interests are manifold:


1. Origin, evolution and implications of animal personality

In the field as in captivity, individuals of the same population often vary consistently over time in their reaction towards encountered situations, aka 'personality variation'. Why individuals differ in their behaviour and why these differences are stable over time are major questions about behavioural evolution and behavioural flexibility.


2. The role of behaviour in sexual selection and mate-choice

In contrast with sexual ornaments, the role of male behaviour or personality on female sexual preferences remains poorly investigated. Evidence yet suggests that male behaviour could influence female mate choice, especially in monomorphic or monogamous species, as in birds or in humans. I am thus interested in determining the influence of personality and of the interactions between reproductive partners on female sexual preference in the light of signal evolution.


3. Optimality and constraints linked to cognitive mechanisms

The behavioural gambit assumes that natural selection should have favoured decision rules allowing organisms to behave optimally in most situations. Yet, animals often behave irrationally or prove to be constrained in the array of behaviours they can adopt. I am thus interested in the constraints linked to individual phenotype and to cognition, such as the limited attention hypothesis, on behaviour during foraging competitions.


4. Influence of social context on decision mechanisms and cultural evolution

In social species, individual decisions can be influenced by conspecifics' behaviour. For instance, mate-choice copying phenomenon refers to a male's attractiveness becoming higher when in presence of his female partner than when alone. By applying social learning theory in a sexual context, I aim at unravelling the social influences underlying female sexual preferences in humans.