Zoology - Do males face a greater risk of predation?

Supervisor: Dr Liam Dougherty

Supervisor bio: I am an evolutionary biologist with an interest in how the environment influences the expression of animal reproductive behaviour. I am especially interested in how the presence of predators moderates the reproductive behaviour of prey species. I aim to use these insights to predict how wild populations will respond to environmental change. Recently I have focused on using systematic review and meta-analysis to identify general evolutionary patterns across the animal kingdom. This approach takes advantage of the large amount of data that is already available in the published literature. For more details, and a list of publications, please see my website: https://liamrdougherty.weebly.com/

Email: liam.dougherty@liverpool.ac.uk

School: Life Sciences

Department: Zoology

Module Code: LIFE398

Suitable for students interested in ecology, animal behaviour, or evolutionary biology

Desirable experience/requirements: Experience working with data or willing to work with data. Interest in systematic review and meta-analysis, and happy reading scientific papers. Be highly organized, self-motivated, and able to work independently. As part of the project you will become skilled at screening published papers and extracting relevant data.

Places Available: 2

Start Dates: 16 June 2025, 7 July 2025

Project Length: 4 or 8 weeks

Virtual Option: No - Hybrid or In-Person

Project Description: 

Male and female animals often differ in their reproductive strategies, with males typically having larger and brighter ornaments, engaging in longer and more elaborate courtship displays, and spending more time searching for mates compared to females. All of these behaviours are expected to increase the chances of a male being killed and eaten by a predator. But is this true in nature? Do males generally face a greater risk of predation in the wild? You will join a large project trying to answer this question by collating published data on sex-selective predation across the animal kingdom. You will help to perform systematic literature searches, and screen published papers to search for relevant data relating to predation and prey behaviour. You will then help to analyse the data.

Additional Requirements: N/A