Ashton Laura Dickerson
Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin
Profile
Ashton's research interests include behavioural ecology, particularly in context of the effects of light at night (both natural and artificial). Her early research largely focused on animal communication, sexual and social selection using birds and lizards as study species. Since working for Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), she has shifted to researching how light at night affects movements patterns in zooplankton in freshwater systems.
Research positions
Since 2022 Postdoctoral Researcher, Light Pollution and Ecophysiology, IGB
Education
2022 PhD (Behavioural Ecology) - The University of Melbourne, Australia.
- Thesis title: The function of nocturnal song and the effects of light at night on song behaviour in the willie wagtail. Read thesis abstract.
2016 Masters of Science (with distinction) - The University of Melbourne, Australia
- Thesis title: Mother’s Nature: maternal styles in a wild population of birds.
2013 Bachelor of Science (Zoology) - The University of Melbourne, Australia
Grants
2017-2019 Holsworth Wildlife Endowment trust
2017-2019 BirdLife Australia
2018 Jasper Loftus-Hill Memorial Fund
2017 Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB)
Awards
2022 Promising Early-Career Postdoctoral Researchers Fellowship, IGB
2021 Faculty of Science Postgraduate Writing-Up Award, The University of Melbourne
2020 3-Minute Thesis UniMelb (runner up)
2019 Bioscience Postgraduate Symposium (best talk and honourable mention for Science into Action Research Impact prize), The University of Melbourne
2017 Australian Ornithology Conference (best student speed talk), Australasian Society for the Study of Behaviour conference (first runner up student speed talk)