Dr. Christian Rutz
Tel: +44 1865 271179
Email:
News
I have recently been awarded a 5-year BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship for setting up an independent research group at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK, and for further developing my research on New Caledonian crows. This grant, which has a total value of £1.43 million, provides funding for a postdoctoral research associate (3 years; recently advertised) and a full-time field assistant (4 years; soon to be advertised), and comes with a substantial research support grant (to build and maintain infrastructure, and to cover all additional research expenses). I will soon launch a dedicated website that describes my field project in full detail.
Biosketch
1995–2001: undergraduate and MSc studies at Hamburg, Edinburgh, and Oxford Universities (scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes; DAAD scholarship).
2001–2005: DPhil studies at Oxford University with Prof. Alex Kacelnik (principal supervisor) and Prof. Ian Newton (external co-supervisor) (Rhodes scholarship ; University of Oxford Vice Chancellors’ Fund Award; St. Catherine’s College RAL senior scholarship; Gottlieb Daimler- and Karl Benz-Foundation predoc scholarship).
2005–2009: postdoctoral studies at Oxford University (BBSRC postdoctoral fellowship; Linacre College junior research fellowship).
2009: Senior Research Associate, Department of Zoology, Oxford University (supported by ‘bridging funding’ from Oxford University)
2009–2011: Visiting Fellow at the Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
2009–2014: BBSRC David Phillips Fellow (PI), Department of Zoology, Oxford University.
Research Interests
I have two main fields of interest: animal ecology (macroecology, population ecology, urban ecology, evolutionary ecology, and behavioural ecology); and animal cognition (tool use, animal culture, and comparative psychology). While my doctoral work on northern goshawks was deeply rooted in mainstream ecology, my recent postdoctoral research on New Caledonian crows actively links the fields of ecology and animal cognition.
Research Approach
I attempt to gain fresh insights by using two main research strategies: (i) integration of theory and methodological approaches from various scientific (sub-)disciplines; and (ii) combination of muddy-booted fieldwork with controlled experiments in the lab.
In my field research, I employ a wide range of different methods, including standard population monitoring techniques (territory mapping, marking of juveniles in the nest, mark-recapture of adult birds), diet analyses (various techniques), radio-tracking, sound recording, and DNA-profiling. For data analysis, I use state-of-the-art statistical modelling techniques. I have also conducted several meta-analyses of published sources.