Dr Stephan Leu
Lecturer
School of Animal and Veterinary Science
Faculty of Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am interested in animal behaviour in an evolutionary ecological framework. In my research I ask fundamental questions about the emergence, maintenance and consequences of social structure in animal populations. I typically track animals with GPS loggers, which provides deep insight into animals' spatial behaviour. My research questions sit at the interface of three exciting and growing research areas, and specifically address the complex interconnection between them:
1) Animal social networks. Which factors drive animal social structure, and collective behaviour, and what are the consequences for health and fitness?
2) Movement ecology. Social structure can emerge as a consequence of animal movement and space use. I investigate how movement decisions at the individual and group level affect the probability of interacting with other conspecifics and how this ultimately leads to the emergence of social structure.
3) Disease ecology. How do spatial and social interactions predict pathogen transmission through populations?
You can find out more details on my research page.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2020 Lecturer University of Adelaide 2017 - 2019 ARC DECRA Fellow Macquarie University 2016 - 2016 Postdoctoral Endeavour Research Fellow Georgetown University -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can peer review German Can peer review -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title — Flinders University Australia PhD — University of Göttingen Germany MSc - Biology (Diplom Biologe) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2020 Armansin, N., Stow, A., Cantor, M., Leu, S., Klarevas-Irby, J., Chariton, A., & Farine, D. (2020). Social Barriers in Ecological Landscapes: The Social Resistance Hypothesis. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 35(2), 137-148.
2020 Payne, E., Sinn, D., Spiegel, O., Leu, S., Wohlfeil, C., Godfrey, S., . . . Sih, A. (2020). Consistent individual differences in ecto-parasitism of a long-lived lizard host. Oikos, 11 pages.
2020 Wohlfeil, C., Godfrey, S., Leu, S., Clayton, J., & Gardner, M. (2020). Spatial proximity and asynchronous refuge sharing networks both explain patterns of tick genetic relatedness among lizards, but in different years. Austral Ecology, 45(4), 493-501.
Scopus1 WoS12019 Schilds, A., Mourier, J., Huveneers, C., Nazimi, L., Fox, A., & Leu, S. T. (2019). Evidence for non-random co-occurrences in a white shark aggregation. BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY, 73(10), 12 pages.
Scopus2 WoS12018 Leu, S., & Godfrey, S. (2018). Advances from the nexus of animal behaviour and pathogen transmission: new directions and opportunities using contact networks. Behaviour, 155(7-9), 567-583.
Scopus1 WoS12018 Riley, J., Guidou, C., Fryns, C., Mourier, J., Leu, S., Noble, D., . . . Whiting, M. (2018). Isolation rearing does not constrain social plasticity in a family-living lizard. Behavioral Ecology, 29(3), 563-573.
Scopus1 WoS12018 Spiegel, O., Sih, A., Leu, S., & Bull, C. (2018). Where should we meet? Mapping social network interactions of sleepy lizards shows sex-dependent social network structure. Animal Behaviour, 136, 207-215.
Scopus9 WoS82018 Sih, A., Spiegel, O., Godfrey, S., Leu, S., & Bull, C. (2018). Integrating social networks, animal personalities, movement ecology and parasites: a framework with examples from a lizard. Animal Behaviour, 136, 195-205.
Scopus22 WoS182018 Taggart, P. L., Leu, S. T., Spiegel, O., Godfrey, S. S., Sih, A., & Bull, C. M. (2018). Endure your parasites: Sleepy Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) movement is not affected by their ectoparasites. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 96(12), 1309-1316.
Scopus2 WoS12017 Sah, P., Leu, S., Cross, P., Hudson, P., & Bansal, S. (2017). Unraveling the disease consequences and mechanisms of modular structure in animal social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(16), 4165-4170.
Scopus44 WoS40 Europe PMC162017 Spiegel, O., Leu, S., Bull, C., & Sih, A. (2017). What's your move? Movement as a link between personality and spatial dynamics in animal populations. Ecology Letters, 20(1), 3-18.
Scopus94 WoS94 Europe PMC302016 Spiegel, O., Leu, S., Sih, A., & Bull, C. (2016). Socially interacting or indifferent neighbours? Randomization of movement paths to tease apart social preference and spatial constraints. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7(8), 971-979.
Scopus40 WoS382016 Leu, S., & Bull, C. (2016). Artificial water point for livestock influences spatial ecology of a native lizard species. PLoS ONE, 11(1), e0147433.
Scopus5 WoS52016 Leu, S., Jackson, G., Roddick, J., & Bull, C. (2016). Lizard movement tracks: variation in path re-use behaviour is consistent with a scent-marking function. PeerJ, 2016(3), e1844.
Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC12016 Leu, S., Farine, D., Wey, T., Sih, A., & Bull, C. (2016). Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards. Animal Behaviour, 111, 23-31.
Scopus42 WoS422015 Leu, S., Burzacott, D., Whiting, M., & Bull, C. (2015). Mate familiarity affects pairing behaviour in a long-term monogamous lizard: evidence from detailed bio-logging and a 31-year field study. Ethology, 121(8), 760-768.
Scopus17 WoS182015 Spiegel, O., Leu, S., Sih, A., Godfrey, S., & Bull, C. (2015). When the going gets tough: Behavioural type-dependent space use in the sleepy lizard changes as the season dries. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1819), 20151768.
Scopus36 WoS35 Europe PMC72013 Wohlfiel, C., Leu, S., Godfrey, S., & Bull, C. (2013). Testing the robustness of transmission network models to predict ectoparasite loads. One lizard, two ticks and four years. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 2(1), 271-277.
Scopus10 Europe PMC12013 Leu, S., Whiting, M., & Mahony, M. (2013). Making Friends: Social Attraction in Larval Green and Golden Bell Frogs, Litoria aurea. PLoS ONE, 8(2), 5 pages.
Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC12011 Leu, S., Kappeler, P., & Bull, C. (2011). The influence of refuge sharing on social behaviour in the lizard Tiliqua rugosa. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65(4), 837-847.
Scopus26 WoS26 Europe PMC42011 Leu, S., Kappeler, P., & Bull, C. (2011). Pair-living in the absence of obligate biparental care in a lizard: Trading-off sex and food?. Ethology, 117(9), 758-768.
Scopus13 WoS132010 Leu, S., Bashford, J., Kappeler, P., & Bull, C. (2010). Association networks reveal social organization in the sleepy lizard. Animal Behaviour, 79(1), 217-225.
Scopus51 WoS482010 Leu, S., Kappeler, P., & Bull, C. (2010). Refuge sharing network predicts ectoparasite load in a lizard. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 64(9), 1495-1503.
Scopus51 WoS47 Europe PMC192008 Hansbauer, M., Storch, I., Leu, S., Nieto-Holguin, J., Pimentel, R., Knauer, F., & Metzger, J. (2008). Movements of neotropical understory passerines affected by anthropogenic forest edges in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. Biological Conservation, 141(3), 782-791.
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Book Chapters
Year Citation 2017 Bull, C., Gardner, M., Sih, A., Spiegel, O., Godfrey, S., & Leu, S. (2017). Why Is Social Behavior Rare in Reptiles? Lessons From Sleepy Lizards. In M. Naguib, J. Podos, L. W. Simmons, L. Barrett, S. D. Healy, & M. Zuk (Eds.), Advances in the study of behavior (Vol. 49, pp. 1-26). Cambridge, MA; USA: Academic Press.
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2017 - 2020 DECRA Fellowship - Australian Research Council
2016 Postdoctoral Endeavour Research Fellowship - Australian Department of Education and Training
I am teaching into the Animal Behaviour program, e.g. AN BEHAV 3010RW
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Other Supervision Activities
Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name 2018 - 2019 Principal Supervisor The role of personality on spatial behaviour in merino sheep (Ovis aries). Macquarie University — Master — Molly Gilmour 2018 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Costs of parasitism, and dynamic disease networks in lizards. Macquarie University — Doctorate — Ko-Huan Lee 2018 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Social networks, disease transmission and population genetics in the endangered Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea). Macquarie University — Doctorate — Nicolette Armansin
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