Overview

My research program explores how wildlife adapt to rapid environmental change, with a focus on the emerging threats posed by synthetic and psychoactive chemical pollution. I am particularly interested in how these contaminants reshape interactions within and between species, driving changes in behavioural individuality and ecosystem dynamics. My goal is to uncover how changes to these interactions affects not just individual survival and reproduction, but also populations and communties

I am passionate about harnessing cutting-edge research methods such as remote animal tracking and computer automation to study animal behaviours and movement across diverse contexts. I am also intrested in using tools in metascience to synthesise and integrate existing knowledge in ecology and ecotoxicology, making it more accessible to environmental practitioners. By merging insights from controlled experiments, meta-analyses, and field observations, I hope to provide a holistic understanding of animal adaptation in human-altered environments and what this means for the integrity of ecological systems into the future

Research themes

  1. Emergence and Function of Behavioural Individuality

  2. Behavioural Ecotoxicology

    • Bridging the social gap in chemical pollution research

    • Behavioural pathways to community-level impacts

  3. Metascience and Evidence Synthesis

Emergence and Function of Behavioural Individuality

Across the animal kingdom, individuals within populations exhibit distinctive patterns of behaviour, akin to human personality. These consistent individual differences in behaviour - such as how individual respond to threats - are fundamental to ecological adaptation and evolutionary change. I am interested in exploring the mechansims driving behavioural individuality, with a focus on human-induced factors like pollution and urbanisation. By exploring how these stressors shape behavioural diversity, I aim to redefine how behavioural variation contribute to species’ adaptability to rapdily changing ecosystems.

Example publications

  1. Spiegel O*, Michelangeli M*, Sinn DL, Payne E, Janine-Rose VK, Kirkpatrick J, Harbusch M, Sih A (2024) Resource manipulation reveals interactive phenotype-dependent foraging in free-ranging lizards. Journal of Animal Ecology, 93, 1108-1122 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14128 | PDF (*co-first authors)

  2. Michelangeli M, Payne E, Spiegel O, Sinn D, Leu S, Gardner M, Sih A. (2022) Personality, spatiotemporal ecological variation, and resident/explorer movement syndromes in the sleepy lizard, Journal of Animal Ecology, 91, 210-223, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13616|PDF

  3. Ortiz-Jimenez C, Michelangeli M, Pendleton E, Sih A, Smith J (2022). Behavioural correlations across multiple stages of the antipredator response: do animals that escape sooner, hide longer? Animal Behaviour, 185, 175-184, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.001|PDF

  4. Michelangeli M, Goulet CG, Kang HS, Wong BBM, Chapple DG (2018) Integrating thermal physiology within a syndrome: locomotion, personality and habitat selection in an ectotherm, Functional Ecology, 32, 970–981, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13034|PDF

Behavioural Ecotoxicology

Globally, wildlife are increasingly exposed to synthetic chemicals, many with psychoactive properties. My research investigates how these contaminants influence complex wildlife behaviours and ecological interactions. By combining laboratory experiments with real-world field studies and ecological sampling, I aim to deepen our understanding of how chemical-induced behavioural changes can manifest at both population and community levels. The ultimate goal is to generate new insights and tools for integrating behavioural data into chemical risk modelling, thereby potentially shaping environmental policies that govern chemical emissions.

Bridging the social compLexity gap in ecotoxicology

Despite social interactions being critical to survival and reproduction in most animals, ecotoxicology often overlooks the effects of pollutants on social dynamics. My work leverages computer automation to study how chemical pollutants impact animal group behaviours, structures, and outcomes, shedding light on how these contaminants can disrupt vital social processes and cause cascading population effects.

Example publications

  1. Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Pinter-Wollman N, Ioannou C, McCallum ES, Bertram MG, Brodin T (2022) Predicting the impacts of chemical pollutants on animal groups, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 37, 789-802, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.009|PDF

  2. Munson A*, Michelangeli M*, Sih A (2021) Stable social groups foster conformity and among-group differences, Animal Behaviour, 174, 197–206, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.02.011|PDF (*co-first authors)

  3. Bertram MG, Tomkins P, Saaristo M, Martin JM, Michelangeli M, Tomkins RB, Wong BBM (2020). Disruption of male mating strategies in a chemically compromised environment, Science of the Total Environment, 703:134991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134991|PDF

Behavioural pathways to community-level impacts

Behavioural changes driven by chemical contaminants could have ripple effects through entire communities, altering species interactions, movement patterns, and food web dynamics. I use remote animal tracking systems, mescosm studies, and ecological sampling to examine these potential cascading impacts. I also focus on how pollutants affect species distributions over time and space, aiming to provide new information into how chemical stressors reshape ecosystems from the ground up.

Example publications

  1. Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Robson S, Cerveny D, Walsh R, Richmond EK, Grace MR, Brand JA, Bertram MG, So SYS, Brodin T, Wong BBM (2024) Pharmaceutical pollution alters the structure of freshwater communities and hinders their recovery from a fish predator, Environmental Science & Technology, 58, 13904-13917 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c02807 | PDF

  2. Bose PH, McCallum ES, Avramovic M, Bertram MG, Lotta Blom E, Cerveny D, Gronlund SN, Leander J, Lundberg P, Martin JM, Michelangeli M, Persson L, Brodin T, Pharmaceutical pollution disrupts the behaviour and predator-prey interactions of two widespread aquatic insects, iScience, 25, 105672, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105672|PDF

  3. Bertram MG, Martin JM, McCallum ES, Alton LA, Brand JA, Brooks BW, Cerveny D, Fick J, Ford AT, Hellström G, Michelangeli M et al. (2022) Frontiers in quantifying wildlife behavioural responses to chemical pollution, Biological Reviews, 97, 1346-1364, https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12844|PDF

  4. Brand JA, Bertram MG, Cerveny D, McCallum ES, Hellström G, Michelangeli M, Palm D, Brodin T. (2024). Psychoactive pollutant alters movement dynamics of fish in a natural lake system. Proc R Soc B: Biol Sci. 291(2036):20241760. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1760 | PDF

Metascience and evidence synthesis

I am interested in employing techniques in metascience to synthesise and integrate evidence across ecology and ecotoxicology. By systematically reviewing and analysing existing data, we can uncover patterns in the literature, and spotlight knowldege gaps and inconsistencies that need addressing. My goal is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of complex ecological issues such as chemical pollution, and to make published empirical research more accessible and useful to decision-makers in environmental management and conservation.

Example publications

  1. Martin JM, Michelangeli M, Bertram MG, Blanchfield PJ, Brand JA, Brodin T, Brooks BW, Cerveny D, Fergusson KN, Lagisz M, Lovin LM, Ligocki IY, Nakagawa S, Ozeki S, Sandoval-Herrera N, Scarlett KR, Sundin J, Tan H, Thoré ESJ, Wong BBM, McCallum ES (PREPRINT) Evidence of the impacts of pharmaceuticals on aquatic animal behaviour (EIPAAB): a systematic map and open access database. EcoEvoRxiv | PDF

  2. Bertram MG, Ågerstrand M, Thoré ESJ., Allen J, Balshine S, Brand JA, Brooks BW, Dang Z, Duquesne S, Ford AT, Hoffmann F, Hollert H, Jacob S, Kloas W, Klüver N, Lazorchak J, Ledesma M, Maack G, Macartney EL, Martin JM, Melvin SD, Michelangeli M, Mohr S, Padilla S, Pyle G, Saaristo M, Sahm R, Smit E, Steevens JA, Van den Berg S, Vossen LE, Wlodkowic D, Wong BBM, Ziegler M, Brodin T (2024). EthoCRED: a framework to guide reporting and evaluation of the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity studies. Biological Reviews, * See also the EthoCRED evaluation method website: ethocred.org