Abstract:

I will provide an update on the various chapters proposed for my Ph.D. thesis, which focuses on investigating the decoy effect in zebrafish social choices. Specifically, I will discuss the single-dimensional single-animal decoy effect, two-dimensional single-animal decoy effect, decoy effect in collective decision-making of groups, and investigations into inter-individual differences. In this talk, I'll showcase the novel setups and experiments conducted over the past three years to dissect the notorious decoy effect using the zebrafish model system.

About the Speaker:

Abhishek is a PhD student in Bittu K. Rajaraman’s Lab. He holds a Master's degree in Ecology from Pondicherry University. His interest in fish cognition developed during his master’s dissertation at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. For his PhD work at Bittu’s lab, he focuses on the question of 'rationality' in shoaling decisions in zebrafish as a model system. In addition to studying animal behavior, he is passionate about making the practice of science frugal and democratic. He also appreciates various forms of art, particularly Qawwali music and Hindustani poetry.