Mr Will Allen

Research summary

My research interest is in explaining diversity in the colours and patterns of animals in order to tackle some of the outstanding problems of animal colouration. I have pursued this through my PhD by investigating the ecological and behavioural factors which drive the evolution of detailed differences in the visual appearance of patterning in cats (Allen, Cuthill, Scott-Samuel & Baddeley, 2010), North American and Australian snakes (in preparation), and the tones across the dorsal and ventral surfaces of 120 deer-like animals (in preparation). Through this research I have employed a range of techniques including comparative analyses, mathematical modelling of biological pattern ...

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Biography

I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2005 with a BSc (Hons) in Experimental Psychology. My final year dissertation was on microsaccade characteristics in migraineurs and their relationship with illusory experiences. I returned to Bristol in 2007 to do a Vision Research MRes. I did a project with Roland Baddeley which developed a new method for measuring visual prior knowledge, and another with Innes Cuthill investigating the principle of differential blending in disruptive camouflage. I am now in the final year of my BBSRC funded PhD investigating animal camouflage colouration, supervised by Innes Cuthill (Biological Sciences) and Nick Scott-Samuel ...

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Recent publications

• Allen, WL, Cuthill, IC, Scott-Samuel, NE & Baddeley, RJ. ‘Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids’, Proceedings of the Royal Society London B, 278, (pp. 1373-1380), 2011

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View complete publications list in the University of Bristol publications system