I study the evolution of animal behaviour.
I am experienced with designing rigorous behavioral experiments on captive populations of fish, birds, and jumping spiders, as well as with extracting data from long-term data sets collected on wild bird populations.
I am particularly intrigued with individual variation, especially in the context of mate choice. For instance, I currently investigate how female individual sensory biases shape their mate choice decisions, and ultimately the diversity of phenotypes we observe.
I am a fervent advocate of methods that increase the reliability, reproducibility, and overall credibility of science.
Selected publications:
Ihle M, Winney IS, Krystalli A & Croucher M. 2017. Striving for transparent and credible research: practical guidelines for behavioral ecologists. Invited Idea – Behavioral Ecology.
Ihle M, Kempenaers B, Forstmeier W. 2015. Fitness benefits of mate choice for compatibility in a socially monogamous species. PLoS Biology 13(9): e1002248
