About the event
Birds flying together create one of nature’s most compelling orchestrations — a symphony of flocks in motion.
Dr Steve Portugal’s research explores how individual birds coordinate their flight dynamics within groups, blending biomechanics, physiology and collective behaviour to reveal the emergent rhythms of avian ensembles.
In this talk, Dr Portugal explains how birds maintain cohesion and navigate complex landscapes, while balancing aerodynamic costs and social benefits. This research not only deciphers the mechanics of group flight, but highlights how simple local interactions can coalesce into coordinated, adaptive global patterns.
Speaker
Dr Steve Portugal is a comparative ecophysiologist. His research is located at the interface of the physiology, sensory ecology and behaviour of vertebrates. Dr Portugal is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, and Tutorial Fellow at St Hugh’s College. The common theme of his work focuses on how animals adapt their behaviour and ecology to the challenges of their environment, within the constraints of their own physiological and anatomical limitations. Such questions are particularly important in the light of global environmental change and exploitation of natural resources, in the emerging field of conservation physiology.
Event information
- Tickets for this event are £5. Please note: tickets are non-refundable.
- You can attend this event in person at the Weston Library or watch the livestream.
Attend in person
Watch the livestream
- You can also register to watch this event live via Zoom. You will receive instructions for joining the Zoom webinar in your confirmation email.
- All times listed are UK time.
- Please note: the event will only be available live; it will not be recorded.
