I am interested in the behavioural ecology of animals, their vocal communication, and particularly how it relates to their distribution in space. Some animals have habitat requirements that are scarce in the environment, or spread out, so that the animals have to move around to meet their needs. Populations become more or less isolated and aspects of their behaviour - such as their vocalisations - may diverge. Examples of isolated habitats include boulder piles for hyraxes, and breeding pools for salamanders.

Specifically, I am looking at how the patterns of vocalisations of the hyrax vary with their location, and whether nearby animals "learn" particular songs from their neighbours.

I am also interested in the mathematical modelling of the effect of environmental change on the ecology of such species, and to predict the outcome of environmental disturbance. Man-made environmental changes can destroy these micro-habitats, or multiply them. How does this affect the migratory or foraging behaviour of these animals, and is it likely to cause conservation problems (for endangered species) or unwanted proliferation (for pest species)?

Invited:

Kershenbaum A., Stone L., Kotler B.P., Blaustein L. (2011) Predation risk can drive cycles in zoonotic disease prevalence.  Naomi Bouskila Prize for best student paper in zoology, 48th Meeting of the Israel Zoological Society

Participant:

Kershenbaum A., Ilany A., Blaustein L., Geffen E. (2011) Syntactic structure in the vocalizations of the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis).  3rd Symposium on Acoustic Communication by Animals, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Kershenbaum A., Spencer M., Blaustein L., Cohen J.E. (2011) Modelling evolutionarily stable strategies in oviposition site selection, with varying risks of predation and intraspecific competition.  British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, University of Sheffield, UK

Kershenbaum A., Kershenbaum A., Blaustein L. (2011) Den site selection by the rock hyrax - a preference for artificial sites.  Israel Society for Ecology and Environmental Sciences Annual Meeting, Megiddo, Israel

Kershenbaum A., Blaustein L., Andersen, M. (2010) Migration speed across a patchy environment – modelling the effect of anthropogenic landscape changes.  American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting, San Diego

Kershenbaum A. (2010) Patch connectivity and its implications for migration speed.  Israel Society for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Annual Meeting, Be'er Sheva

Kershenbaum A. (2009) The Delaunay Triangulation – a powerful tool for the ecologist.  46th Meeting of the Israel Zoological Society

Kershenbaum A., Stone L., Kotler B.P., Blaustein L. (2008a) A preliminary mathematical model of the dynamics of the Leishmania parasite amongst migrating populations of rock hyrax.  Annual meeting of the Israel Society of Parasitology Protozoology and Tropical Diseases

Kershenbaum A., Stone L., Kotler B.P., Blaustein L. (2008b) Preliminary modeling of the Leishmania dynamics among migrating hyrax populations: How can group behaviour affect disease dynamics? 45th Meeting of the Israel Zoological Society

BBC Science & Environment April 2012 The rock hyrax surprises with syntax skills

The New York Times Science April 2012 Looks Like a Rodent, Croons Like a Bird

BBC Nature, August 2011 Hyraxes: why Israel's 'rock rabbits' have become pests