Topics

At the Unit of Ethology and Ecology, we are interested in a wide variety of themes for bachler, master, and doctoral theses alike. However, we always assign a thesis based on the students’ personal interests and abilities.  That is why we do not offer free topics here, but we present selected examples of recently successfully defended theses. Based on these, you can make an idea of what we study, which animals we work with, and what methodological approaches we employ. Nevertheless, we are also open to new topics. If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us!

 

DANIEL FRYNTA

Bachelor theses:

• Adaptive radiation of the genus Rattus
• Orientation of rodents in 3D environment focusing on vertical dimension
• Juvenile coloration of lizards

Master theses:

• The role of commensalism on vertical activity in exploration tests: a comparison of 12 populations of the genus Acomys
• Social interactions and morphometric analysis of populations of Blue-Tongued Skink (Tiliqua gigas)
• UV signs in coloration of common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)
• Effects of melanin-based coloration and commensalism on performance in behavioural tests: a comparative study
• Repeatability and personality in tests of exploratory behaviour

Dissertations:

• Phylogenetic relationships and evolution of the genus Acomys (Rodentia: Muridae)
• Body surfaces of reptiles as projection screens of evolution
• Mice and Rats: Space, Smell and Methods of Detection
• Body size as an implicit factor: case studies of life-history strategies and behaviour
• Sexual size dimorphism and related phenomena in ungulates

 

ALICE EXNEROVÁ

Available topics can be found here.

Bachelor theses:

• Evolution and function of imperfect mimics in Müllerian and Batesian complexes
• Automimicry — intraspecific variation in antipredatory defences
• Mechanisms and effectiveness of antipredatory defences within red-and-black mimetic complex
• Evolution and function of polymorphism in warningly coloured prey
• Effect of chromatic component on function of antipredatory warning signals

Master theses:

• Interspecific comparison of social learning of food aversions in tits
• Category discrimination in avian predators: formation of natural categories of unpalatable prey
• Effect of type of discrimination task on rate and effectiveness of discrimination learning to avoid aposematic prey in avian predators
• Behaviour of avian predators to seed bugs (Lygaeoidea): effectiveness of chemical defence
• Effect of social learning on avoidance of aposematic prey in avian predators

Dissertations:

• Factors influencing effectiveness of aposematic signals against avian predators
• Spiders as senders and receivers of antipredatory warning signals
• Factors influencing variability i behaviour towards novel and aposematic prey in tits (Paridae)

 

EVA LANDOVÁ

Bachelor theses:

• Ontogeny of animal personality
• The effect of stress in early ontogeny on behavioural characteristics of rodents
• The impact of hierarchy in birds on various parameters of fitness
• Animals as prioritized stimuli in human mind
• Food neophobia and food preference in rodents (Rodentia) and its interaction with social learning

Master theses:

• Ontogeny of personality or repeatability in behavioral and cognitive tests
• Interaction between hierarchy, personality traits and melanin-based colouration in pigeons (Columba livia domestica)
• Experimental evaluation of prioritization of animal stimuli by human
• Aspects of spatial orientation of the Leopard gecko Eublepharis macularius
• Positive and negative attitudes towards animals

Dissertations:

• Behaviour and ecology of leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

 

JAN HAVLÍČEK

Bachelor theses:

• Homosexuality in primates
• Mechanisms of human body odour production
• Mechanisms of assortative mating in humans
• Association between human body odour and health status
• Sexual imprinting in humans in comparative perspective

Master theses:

• Effect of Breastfeeding Morphology on Breastfeeding Initiation
• Relationship between reactivity of immune system and quality of human body odour
• Effect of hormonal contraception use during relationship formation on subsequent relationship satisfaction
• Mate choice based on olfactory imprinting-like effect
• Changes in preferences for heterozygosity in MHC genes across the menstrual cycle

Dissertations:

• Perception of individual variation in body odour in human adults

 

ROMAN FUCHS

Bachelor theses:

• Faces recognition as a distinctive cognitive process
• Recognition of predators in vertebrates: innated or learned?
• Categorization abilities in primates
• Biology of three-toed woodpecker

Master theses:

• The role of the face and the body size in predators’ recognition by untrained birds
• Are body size and specific species colouration important cues for predator recognition by their potencial prey?
• Reaction of Palearctic and Nearctic chickadees to sympatric and allopatric predators using feeder experiments: do regional differences in recognition of predators and determination of threat they are posing exist?
• The use of amodal completion inpredators recognition: effect on risk taking

Dissertations:

• Programmes of monitoring of bird occurrence and abundance as a source of ecological data
• Ecology and behaviour of two European pipit species
• Dichromatism in Passerine Males and other aspects of sexual selection

 

TEREZA NEKOVÁŘOVÁ

Bachelor theses:

• Manipulation of physical environment and cognition in primates: Ontogenetic development
• Mirror neuron system: Mechanisms and functions
• Social cognition in birds: Testing under laboratory conditions
• Animal models of episodic and autobiographic memory
• Color vision in primates: Neurobiology and behavior

Master theses:

• Effect of stress level on operant conditioning
• Ontogenesis of episodic memory in preschool children
• Relative numerosity discrimination in primates
• Inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats
• Animal model of schizophrenia and time-space integration in the role of AAPA

 

PETRA FRÝDLOVÁ

Bachelor theses:

• Self-assessment and mutual-assessment ability in squamate reptiles
• Hunting mechanism and visual perception of prey in amphibians
• The Potential of computed tomography in the research of vertebrates
• Factors influencing flight-initiation distance in reptiles and the comparison with endotherm vertebrates
• Ecological and phylogenetic effects determining variation of growth patterns in amniotes

Master theses:

• Evolution of prey-catching behaviour in poikilothermic vertebrates and its relationship with predator’s visual perception
• Evaluation of hybridization effect on fitness of eyelid geckos (Eublepharis, Gekkota) by performance tests

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