Adaptive search strategies in dynamic environments: comparative decision-making in hunter-gatherers and chimpanzees

Humans evolved to solve complex search problems under ecological uncertainty, yet most models of decision-making overlook the environmental structures that shaped these adaptations. This project examines how real-world search strategies vary across ecologies and species, focusing on foragers living in environments ranging from dense Congo rainforest to open seascapes and savannahs, and comparing them with wild chimpanzees. It asks: (1) how individuals balance exploration and exploitation when resources differ in visibility, predictability, and distribution; (2) how social learning opportunities influence these choices—whether it pays to follow others or to search independently, and how this changes with age; and (3) what key similarities and differences exist between human and chimpanzee search strategies, shedding light on the evolution of adaptive decision-making.

The student will compile existing GPS and behavioural datasets from hunter-gatherer (BaYaka in Congo and Hadza in Tanzania) and chimpanzee studies (via co-supervision at Queen Mary and UCL), complemented by new field data in one ecological context—either the BaYaka rainforest or the Bajau in Maritime Southeast Asia (established by the primary supervisor). Analyses will apply movement-ecology and agent-based modelling to quantify patch choice, route selection, social-network patterns of search, and decision flexibility across environments and species, linking individual decisions to collective outcomes.

By embedding decision-making within ecological context, the project will reveal how adaptive search strategies evolve and persist. Findings will inform evolutionary theory, support biodiversity conservation by documenting behavioural flexibility amid habitat and livelihood loss, and advance understanding of the ecological processes underpinning human and non-human adaptation.