How do animals choose what to eat? Why does it matter?

In African savannas and Californian grasslands, we study the behavioral ecology of avian and mammalian foraging. Combining data on what wild animals eat with data on the options they have to choose from, we try to figure out how they chose what to eat. We then try to map those decisions to animal health & fitness, population dynamics, and ecosystem structure.

HERD Members

We’re a multidisciplinary team based in the Department of Life & Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Merced.

Matthew Hutchinson

Assistant Professor

Luca Kuziel

Graduate Student

Sean Lyon

Graduate Student

Aanisha Kaur Gill

Undergraduate Student

Geneva Easton

Undergraduate Student

Chris Nguyen

Undergraduate Student