Pull a thread and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world
-Nadeem Aslam-
I have not changed much since I was a child. The thing I loved doing most was observing animals, and I still do.
Animal behaviour continues to fascinate me throughout my life. Why do birds flock together? How do spiders build their webs? Why does my ferret never listen to me? At an age of about 12, I tried to find out which profession would allow me to study animals for a career. And so I found my life’s calling: to be a biologist.
And now I am. Joehoe!
After a Bachelor and Master in Biology and a PhD in Behavioural Ecology, I find myself to be a “Postdoc”. Nobody really seems to know how to exactly define a Postdoc, but it mostly comes down to someone conducting academic research, after obtaining their doctorate degree, for which s/he may or may not get paid.
My daily life is filled with unravelling the mysteries of animal behaviour. My studies target (but are not restricted to): geese, ducks, songbirds, bats, fish and humans. I aim to understand the variation in animal behaviour, especially of wildlife, and for this, I focus on concepts such as animal personality, social networks, foraging, communication, migration and learning.
Besides studying animal behaviour, I also like talking about it. Via popular science articles, blogs, vlogs, videos, interviews etc. I wish to inspire people with facts and stories about the amazing ways animals behave. In 2016, I was lucky enough to become a lecturer for a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on animal behaviour, free to participate for everyone. As a female scientist, I think it is also important to set an example for young girls all over the world. Science is not just a boy thing.
In the end, I hope my science and communication activities will contribute a little bit to the conservation of our wondrous planet and all the amazing creatures that inhabit it.
You can contact me by email. Try not to end up in my spam folder. Or to be spam.
