The objective of my thesis is to investigate the ultimate drivers and proximate mechanisms behind sociality in the unique social system of Cape ground squirrels, a promiscuous, egalitarian South African rodent species. Using a top-down approach, my thesis will be partitioned into the following chapters:

1) Environmental buffering: the adaptive capacity of sociality for buffering adverse climatic conditions.
2) Social structure of family groups: kinship discrimination and sex-biased dispersal.
3) Social cognition: male vs female cognitive capacity.
4) the role of Oxytocin in Cape ground squirrel sociality.

By consolidating these distinct perspectives on sociality, I work towards a comprehensive framework integrating environmental drivers, social network structures and underlying mechanisms of a system characterized by features that are underrespresented in previous research on sociality. With this framework, I aim to further our understanding of the role of promiscuity, sex-biased dispersal and social hierarchies in the evolution of flexible social systems. 

Through my PhD research project, I have learned a wealth of new techniques, including behavioural observation, social network analysis, RFID indentifiers, various experimental setups,  genetic analysis, hormone analysis, non-invasive technologies (GPS & proximity collars). I am learning what it means to finish a research project from conception to publication. By being in charge when the PI is not on location, I am learning about the responsibilities of running a field site, supervising undergraduate students (as a teacher’s assistant) and what it means to manage a research lab (and improve on the workflow in the lab). In addition, learning to communicate effictively with collaborators/co-authors) and professors from other diciplines has broadened my scope on the field of animal behaviour.  

To learn more about the work that comes out of Dr. Waterman’s research lab, you can visit the lab website here!

During the Covid pandemic, I worked in a specially designed Covid lab for the company Saltro. My role here was to process Covid samples. Since the lab had to scale up at an exceptional rate due to the unprecedented increasing demand for test analyses, the workflow and tools used in the lab were changing continuously.

This experience has allowed me to update my lab skills, work in a dynamic team that operated in a constant state of change, and learn from the workflow of a high-throughput commercial lab. More importantly, it has given me a behind the scenes perspective on the Covid pandemic. It gave me a more nuanced outlook on this important societal event. I believe it is important for scientists to have a comprehensive understanding of the society we live in so that we can accurately assess how our research may impact and inform that society.