Lucy M. Aplin

Lucy M. Aplin is Professor of Cognitive and Cultural Ecology at the University of Zurich (Department of Evolutionary Biology & Environmental Studies) and Associate Professor at the Australian National University (Research School of Biology). She heads the Cognitive and Cultural Ecology (CCE) Group, leads the ERC-funded project “CULTURES ADAPT”, and directs the citizen-science initiative “Clever Cockies” on sulphur-crested cockatoos. Combining field experiments and automated tracking, she studies how cognition, social networks and cultural evolution shape animal behaviour—especially in parrots and parids.

Education

• PhD (2014) – University of Oxford & Australian National University
• BSc (Hons, First Class, 2009) – Australian National University
• LLB (2003-2008) – Australian National University

Research Interests

Lucy’s research investigates how new behaviours emerge, spread and persist in wild animal populations. Her work integrates three core themes:

1. Cognitive Urban Ecology: understanding how cognitive flexibility enables parrots to thrive in cities.
2. Social Networks & Culture: mapping the role of social structure in the diffusion and long-term maintenance of cultural traits.
3. Comparative Cultural Evolution: comparing cultural processes across parrot species and parids to uncover general principles.

Methodologically, the lab pioneers automated data-collection tools—GPS tags, microphone backpacks, PIT-tagged puzzle-boxes—and large-scale citizen-science platforms.

Publication Trends

From 2021-2024, Aplin’s 15 most recent papers reveal accelerating interest in urban animal culture, technological innovation in tracking, and the mechanisms of social learning. Study systems span wild sulphur-crested cockatoos (bin-opening culture), monk parakeets (vocal dialects), and great tits (foraging traditions). Interdisciplinary approaches combine behavioural experiments, social-network analyses, citizen science and open-source hardware development.

Awards & Fellowships

• Christopher Barnard Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Investigator (2022)
• Max Planck Society Lise Meitner Tenure-Track Fellowship (2022, declined)
• National Geographic Explorer (2019)
• Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award, American Society of Naturalists (2015)
• Junior Research Fellowship, St John's College, University of Oxford (2015)

Grants & Supervision

Lucy has secured >€1.5 M from the European Research Council (2022-2027 “CULTURES ADAPT”), the Cultural Evolution Society, German Science Foundation (DFG), Israeli Science Foundation, UK NERC, and National Geographic. She currently supervises four PhD students (Fontana, Bolcato, Dorepalli, Rose) and two post-docs (Penndorf, Chimento) across Zurich and Canberra, and mentors numerous Honours & Masters students.

Labs & Teams

She leads the Cognitive and Cultural Ecology (CCE) Lab, an international team embedded in the University of Zurich and ANU, and collaborates closely with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour (as Alumna Group Leader) and Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour (University of Konstanz).