Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
My research crosses mechanistic, functional and evolutionary questions in the study of animal behaviour. A central theme of my research concerns how animals process information. Dealing with information is crucial for many important behaviours in an animal's life, including choosing a mate, avoiding predators, and finding food. The range of species I have studied include humans, rats, pigeons, chickadees, Clark's nutcrackers, desert ants, and honeybees. A large part of my research has concentrated on how animals deal with space and time. I have collaborations with a number of researchers around the world.
Macquarie University funds postgraduate students from anywhere in the world with scholarships. I am currently looking for students to study the behaviour of ants in Australia. We are studying one species of desert ant, the highly thermophilic the red honey ant Melophorus bagoti, that lives in cluttered semi-arid habitats. We are also launching into the study of bull ants found on campus here. The latest venture is to provide reconstructed reality for ants, replicas of their natural scenes so that we can better control and manipulate the cues. I welcome enquiries from those interested.
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 12 Finished
-
Opportunities for insecticide resistant honey bees for pollination security
Maselko, M., Sunna, A., McGregor, A., Cheng, K., Symons, J., Wynn, L., Davies, P., Hose, G., Nguyen, B., Whitehouse, M., Taylor, P., Mankad, A., Carter, L., Hobman, E. & Wissing, K.
1/03/23 → 1/05/24
Project: Research
-
Becoming expert navigators with tiny brains: Learning in desert ants
18/06/20 → 17/06/23
Project: Research
-
Analysing the neural mechanisms of animal cognition and behaviour
Narendra, A., Barron, A., Cheng, K., Hart, N. & Cornish, J.
1/01/16 → 31/12/16
Project: Research
-
Navigating brains: the neurobiology of spatial cognition
Cheng, K., Zeil, J., Narendra, A., Barron, A., Wehner, R. & MQRES, M.
30/06/15 → 29/06/19
Project: Research
-
Navigating brains: the neurocomputational foundations of insect spatial cognition
Cheng, K., Barron, A. & Wehner, R.
1/01/14 → 31/12/14
Project: Research
-
Ants on featureless saltpans build tall nest mounds
Cheng, K., Jun 2024, In: Learning and Behavior. 52, 2, p. 139-140 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/opinion › peer-review
-
Desert ant (Melophorus bagoti) dumpers learn from experience to improve waste disposal and show spatial fidelity
Deeti, S. & Cheng, K., Oct 2024, In: Insects. 15, 10, p. 1-22 22 p., 814.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Effect of repetition of vertical and horizontal routes on navigation performance in Australian bull ants
Lionetti, V. A. G., Cheng, K. & Murray, T., Mar 2024, In: Learning and Behavior. 52, 1, p. 92-104 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile36 Downloads (Pure) -
Heavy rainfall induced colony fission and nest relocation in nocturnal bull ants (Myrmecia midas)
Deeti, S., Tjung, I., Freas, C., Murray, T. & Cheng, K., May 2024, In: Biologia (Poland). 79, 5, p. 1439-1450 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus) -
Inter-turn intervals in Paramecium caudatum display an exponential distribution
Deeti, S., Man, W., Le Roux, J. J. & Cheng, K., 2024, In: Communicative and Integrative Biology. 17, 1, p. 1-5 5 p., 2360961.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile26 Downloads (Pure)