Dr. Jim Barnett
Dr. Jim Barnett
Research interests
In the Behavioural & Sensory Ecology Lab, we are interested in understanding and protecting biodiversity from the scale of individuals to ecosystems. We use visual ecology and animal colouration to explore how spatial and temporal variation in environment, biodiversity, and behaviour leads to diversification both within and between species.
Our work combines field and laboratory experiments with computational modelling to investigate how colouration interacts with other behavioural, morphological, and physiological traits. These data allow us to ask how animals perceive their surroundings, make decisions with limited or conflicting information, and respond to changes in community structure, predation risk, and the visual background.
We are interested in all species, but much of our research focuses on amphibians, insects, and their avian predators.
Prior to joining Trinity College Dublin in 2023, I completed my PhD at the University of Bristol (UK, 2012-2016) and held postdoctoral positions at McGill University (QC Canada, 2016-2018), McMaster University (ON Canada, 2019-2022), and the University of Helsinki (Finland, 2023).
