
Dr Stephen Montgomery
PhD, BA
Current positions
Associate Professor in Evolutionary Neurobiology and Behaviour
School of Biological Sciences
Contact
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Research interests
I study the evolution of brains and behaviour. I am particularly interested in how brains adapt to different environments, how changes in brain structure produce behavioural differences, and how selection navigates developmental and functional constraints that may limit or channel the adaptive response.
I take a comparative approach to tackling these questions, comparing molecular and phenotypic data across species. Much of my work in mammals has focused on identifying genes associated with the evolution of brain size, and investigating the causes and consequences of co-evolution between different regions of the brain, and between brain and body size. I also have side interests in dwarfism, animal play, and human evolution.
Currently, Neotropical butterflies are the major focus of my research. I study two tribes of mimetic butterflies, the Ithomiini and Heliconiini. The diversification of these butterflies has often involved ecological adaptation to different habitat types and ecological niches. As a result they show a range of derived behavioural traits including sensory adaptations and novel foraging behaviours. This pattern of ecological adaptation make these butterflies an ideal case study in ecological neurobiology.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Genetic architecture of brain evolution during ecological divergence
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Biological SciencesDates
01/04/2023 to 31/03/2026
Neurological adaptation and ecological specialisation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Biological SciencesDates
02/09/2019 to 31/01/2024
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2023Long-term spatial memory, across large spatial scales, in Heliconius butterflies
Current Biology
No evidence of social learning in a socially roosting butterfly in an associative learning task
Biology Letters
Parallel evolution of behavior, physiology, and life history associated with altitudinal shifts in forest type in Heliconius butterflies
Evolution
Patterns of host plant use do not explain mushroom body expansion in Heliconiini butterflies
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Pattern variation is linked to anti-predator coloration in butterfly larvae
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences