Meeting Abstract

S4.2  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Perceptual Biology and Social Ecology RYAN, MJ; University of Texas/STRI mryan@mail.utexas.edu

The manner by which an animal senses its surrounding biological and abiological environment influences where, how, and with whom it fits. Different animals might occur in the same place and have similar social systems, but their Umwelts might differ substantially. Here I review and extend how sensory, neural, and cognitive biases influence an animal’s mate preferences. I then extend this idea to aspects of the animal’s niche and its general social environment.