Lucy A. Bates
| Lucy A. Bates | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Oxford; University of St Andrews |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Research on elephant cognition, culture and conservation |
Lucy A. Bates is a cognitive ethologist and senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Portsmouth. Her research focuses on the evolution of social cognition in mammals, particularly elephants, and on how knowledge of animal behaviour can inform the conservation and management of savannah elephant populations.[1][2]
Early life and education
Bates holds a BA in experimental psychology and an MSc in human biology from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in behavioural ecology (evolutionary biology) from the University of St Andrews.[1] In a sworn affidavit, she states that she completed her BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology at Oxford in 2000, her MSc in Human Biology in 2001, and her PhD in Evolutionary Biology at St Andrews in 2005.[3]
Career
Bates's first postdoctoral position was at the University of St Andrews, where she worked on a Leverhulme Trust-funded project on social cognition in savannah elephants in collaboration with the Amboseli Trust for Elephants.[1] She subsequently worked as a consultant on conservation projects in southern Africa before returning to academic research as a Daphne Jackson Trust Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, focusing on culture and social learning in elephants.[1][4][5]
Beyond academia, Bates has worked with organisations including the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, ElephantVoices and Save the Elephants, and has served on committees advising on elephant behaviour and management.[3] She later joined the University of Portsmouth, where she is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences and a member of the Centre for Comparative & Evolutionary Psychology.[1][2]
Research
Bates's research lies within cognitive ethology, the study of animal minds through their natural behaviour. Her work has examined social knowledge and relationships within elephant family groups, vocal and gestural communication, leadership and decision-making, and the cultural transmission of knowledge in wild elephant populations.[1][2][6]
She has co-authored influential articles and reviews on elephant cognition, including work comparing elephant intelligence with that of primates and examining empathy, social learning and communication in African elephants.[7][8][9][10][11]
Her later work has addressed knowledge transmission, culture and the consequences of social disruption in wild elephants, as well as multimodal communication and audience-directed signals in semi-captive elephants.[12][13]
Bates has also contributed a book chapter on elephant cognition to The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior and co-authored work on the evolution of intelligence in mammals.[14][15]
Her work forms part of a broader programme in cognitive ethology, alongside contemporary ethological treatments of imprinting and early learning in animals and humans.[16][17]
Public communication and policy
Bates is active in public communication of science, contributing essays on elephant behaviour and conservation to outlets such as The Conversation and other specialist publications.[2] She has also provided expert evidence on elephant cognition and welfare in legal proceedings, including affidavits submitted on behalf of the Nonhuman Rights Project in cases concerning captive elephants.[3]
Selected works
- Byrne, R. W.; Bates, L. A. (2007). "Sociality, evolution and cognition". Current Biology. 17 (16): R714–R723. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.069.
- Bates, L. A.; Poole, J. H.; Byrne, R. W. (2008). "Elephant cognition". Current Biology. 18 (13): R544–R546. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.04.019.
- Bates, L. A. et al. (2008). "Do elephants show empathy?" Journal of Consciousness Studies. 15 (10–11): 204–225.
- Bates, L. A. et al. (2010). "Why do African elephants (Loxodonta africana) simulate oestrus? An analysis of longitudinal data". PLOS ONE. 5 (4): e10052. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010052.
- Byrne, R. W.; Bates, L. A.; Moss, C. J. (2009). "Elephant cognition in primate perspective". Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews. 4: 65–79. doi:10.3819/ccbr.2009.40009.
- Bates, L. A. (2020). "Cognitive abilities in elephants". In: Workman, L.; Reader, W.; Barkow, J. H. (eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
See also
- Elephant cognition
- Cognitive ethology
- Animal cognition
- Elephant conservation
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Dr Lucy Bates". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Lucy Bates". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Joint Affidavit of Lucy Bates and Richard M. Byrne" (PDF). Nonhuman Rights Project. 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ "Conservation research at the heart of international policy". Daphne Jackson Trust. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ "People – Mammal Communication and Cognition Research". University of Sussex. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ "Elephants: social and cultural knowledge". University of Sussex. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ↑ Byrne, Richard W.; Bates, Lucy A. (2007). "Sociality, evolution and cognition". Current Biology. 17 (16): R714–R723. Bibcode:2007CBio...17.R714B. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.069. PMID 17714665.
- ↑ Bates, Lucy A.; Poole, Joyce H.; Byrne, Richard W. (2008). "Elephant cognition". Current Biology. 18 (13): R544–R546. Bibcode:2008CBio...18.R544B. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.04.019. PMID 18606119.
- ↑ Bates, Lucy A.; Lee, Phyllis C.; Njiraini, Norah; Poole, Joyce H.; Sayialel, Katito; Sayialel, Soila; Moss, Cynthia J.; Byrne, Richard W. (2008). "Do elephants show empathy?". Journal of Consciousness Studies. 15 (10–11): 204–225.
- ↑ Bates, Lucy A.; Handford, Rosie; Lee, Phyllis C.; Njiraini, Norah; Poole, Joyce H.; Sayialel, Katito; Sayialel, Soila; Moss, Cynthia J.; Byrne, Richard W. (2010). "Why do African elephants (Loxodonta africana) simulate oestrus? An analysis of longitudinal data". PLOS ONE. 5 (4): e10052. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...510052B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010052. PMID 20383331.
- ↑ Byrne, Richard W.; Bates, Lucy A.; Moss, Cynthia J. (2009). "Elephant cognition in primate perspective". Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews. 4: 65–79. doi:10.3819/ccbr.2009.40009.
- ↑ Bates, Lucy A.; Fishlock, Victoria; Plotnik, Joshua; de Silva, Shermin; Shannon, Graeme (2025). "Knowledge transmission, culture and the consequences of social disruption in wild elephants". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 380 (1907): 20240132. doi:10.1098/rstb.2024.0132. PMID 40308137 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Eleuteri, Vesta; Bates, Lucy A.; Rendle-Worthington, Jake; Hobaiter, Catherine; Stoeger, Angela (2024). "Multimodal communication and audience directedness in the greeting behaviour of semi-captive African savannah elephants". Communications Biology. 7 (1). doi:10.1038/s42003-024-06133-5. PMC 11082179 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38724671 Check|pmid=value (help). Unknown parameter|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ Bates, Lucy (2020). "Cognitive abilities in elephants". In Workman, Lance; Reader, Will; Barkow, Jerome H. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior. Cambridge University Press. pp. 14–22. doi:10.1017/9781108131797.003. ISBN 978-1-108-13179-7. Search this book on
- ↑ Bates, Lucy A.; Byrne, Richard W. (2020). "The evolution of intelligence: reconstructing the pathway to the human mind". In Workman, Lance; Reader, Will; Barkow, Jerome H. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior. Cambridge University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Chamberlain, Mac L.; Kacelnik, Alex; Bush, Autumn; Hauber, Mark E. (2024). "A systematic review of methodologies for studying behavioral imprinting". Ethology. 130 (1): e13416. Bibcode:2024Ethol.130E3416C. doi:10.1111/eth.13416.
- ↑ Pollard, Max Freedom (2025). ElementOP: The Imprinting Process In Humans. Heritage Press. ISBN 9798179013280. Search this book on
External links
- Staff profile at the University of Portsmouth
- Research profile at the University of Portsmouth
- ORCID record
Category:Ethologists Category:Academics of the University of Portsmouth Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:Women psychologists Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
