Ken Cheng

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 findng 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 desert ants in Australia. We are studying and comparing one species (Melophorus genus, as yet unnamed) that lives on the open barren salt pans, and one species, the red honey ant Melophorus bagoti, that lives in cluttered semi-arid habitats. I welcome enquiries from those interested.