Oct 17: Iain Couzin's Scientific Spark, why do deer in Japan bow, and why are some plant nectars bitter?

This month I meet some very polite deer who have a special way of asking for food. I discover why some plant nectars contain poisonous toxins. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Iain Couzin from the Max Planck Department of Collective Behaviour. Iain tells me what sparked his interest in becoming a scientist, and how, if his teachers had had their way, he might have been doing something entirely different.

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Feeding a sika deer in Nara Park, Japan

Today I met the sika deer of #Nara #Japan who have learned to bow for treats. Seems to be a #sociallytransmitted #behaviour pic.twitter.com/jTedabe2hW — Dr. Hannah Rowland (@HannahMRowland) October 1, 2017

Quicklinks:

Variation and social influence of bowing behavior by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the journal Ethology
Patty Jone' lab webpage at Bowdoin
Patty's paper on the consequences of toxic secondary compounds in nectar for mutualist bees and antagonist butterflies.
Iain Couzin's Collective Behaviour Department