For example, I adapt to Edmonton's winters by making ad hoc trips to the tropics. Here is what I looked like after two weeks in Maui. Our interest here is how animals alter their behavior to achieve the efficient recovery of food resources. We have been using an operant paradigm, in which concurrent schedules change as reinforcers are earned. We have just recently begun to look at open-field behaviors as well.
Spatial behaviors require accurate localization of objects around an animal.
Michael Snyder has begun a series of studies looking at how water striders locate food items on the surface of the water that surrounds them. This topic may seem unrelated to my other interests, but we believe that gambling may be related to the mechanisms that once governed foraging behaviors in humans. In collaboration with Edward Cornell we have been looking at how children and adults find their way in both novel and familiar environments. We hope that our research will ultimately assist police service agencies in optimizing the search for lost individuals. Place recognition and way finding by children and adults.