Prof. Amiyaal Ilany

I integrate behavioral ecology, network science, and social science, to study broad aspects of social behavior in the wild. I use empirical and theoretical methods to better understand behavioral phenomena. Much of my research focuses on the study of social networks and on principles of animal communication. Students in my lab can do field work on rock hyraxes in Ein Gedi, where we have been monitoring a population for more than 20 years, and/or analyze the data we collected and develop theoretical models. I am interested in questions such as:

- How do social networks affect longevity and reproductive success?
- What is the role of social associations in shaping the microbiome?
- How do communication patterns interact with social structure?
- How do males and females choose who to mate with?
- What is the structure of different signals and how did they evolve?

Potential students are welcome to develop their own projects on any relevant study system.