I am a biologist passionate about the ecology and evolution of social behaviour. My main area of interest is the developmental plasticity of behaviour, its cognitive and molecular mechanisms, and function. However, I am also interested in studying social behaviour to find ways to improve the welfare of animals in captivity.
I find it fascinating how the early social experiences of animals and humans can shape their behaviours for the rest of their lives. Therefore, in my PhD, using the highly social fish Neolamprologus pulcher, I decided to study how the number of siblings and interaction with siblings experienced during early life can affect social skills development and its cognitive mechanisms and fitness consequences. I started this project in 2022 at the University of Bern, supervised by Barbara Taborsky and co-supervised by Alexander Kotrschal from the Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Now, in 2025 and 2026, at the WUR, under the supervision of Alexander Kotrschal, we aim to understand also the brain mechanisms underlying behavioural and cognitive alterations triggered by brood size, with the project entitled: “Does sibling number matter? Lifelong effects on brain anatomy and the endocannabinoid system in the brain”. Growing up with siblings is a crucial component of the early social environment for most animals. Therefore, studying how the early sibling environment affects brain anatomy and functionality will provide key insights into the mechanisms of social behaviour and ultimately can be crucial to understanding the evolution of sociality.
