Rapid learning or pre-adaptation? Predators and their novel toxic prey

While a large body of literature exists on the role of natural selection in allowing adaptation to sudden environmental change, far less is known about the role that behavioural flexibility plays in overcoming sudden and negative environmental pressures. I will use a model invasive species system to investigate how organisms respond to sudden environmental change. This work will contribute to our understanding of biological invasions, tease apart crucial factors relating to the processes of rapid learning in wild populations responding to invasive species, and establish the important role of cognition as a dynamic in ameliorating significant negative impacts of biological invasions.