麻豆传媒

Qualifications

PhD in Biology, University of St Andrews

MSc in Ecosystem Studies, University of Tokyo

BSc in Ecoregion Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology

Previous Positions

Lecturer in Animal Behaviour & Cognition (fixed-term, part-time), University of St Andrews

Temporary Research Assistant, 麻豆传媒

BBSRC Discovery Fellow, University of St Andrews

JSPS Overseas Research Fellow, University of St Andrews

Biology lecturer and tutor, University of St Andrews

I have a broad interest in the ecology and evolution of animal behaviour, with particular focus on object manipulation by animals without hands.

Many animals manipulate diverse objects including food and nest materials to survive and breed successfully. I am interested in why animals like birds and insects are so good at manipulation, even though they lack hands like ours and only have simple manipulators like bills and mandibles (Sugasawa et al. 2021 Proc Roy Soc B). With NUAcT Fellowship, I am currently working to expand my study system to insects such as bumblebees and praying mantises, to investigate how insects use their body parts to handle food items like flowers and prey. Further, to better understand the bill dexterity in birds and its ecological significance, I have been studying nest building (Sheard et al. 2023 Philos Trans R Soc B) and tool use (Sugasawa et al. 2017 Curr Biol) for the past decade.

Additionally, I have a keen interest in migration, in particular long-distance migration in Asian raptors. Every year, billions of animals travel between their breeding and wintering sites over thousands of kilometres. I am interested in studying which factors influence long-distance migration, and how migratory behaviour evolved, using wonderful data from Asian Flyways. ​In collaboration with Prof. Hiroyoshi Higuchi (Tokyo), we found that migration of Oriental honey buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) is highly repeatable but only in spring when they forage during extended stopovers, potentially due to their specialist diet (Sugasawa & Higuchi 2019 Biol Lett).

MMB8043: Comparative Cognition: Information Processing in Humans and Other - contributing lecturer

PSY3097: Psychology Empirical Project - supervisor

I also supervise PhD/MSc projects as a primary or secondary supervisor.

Previous lectures at the University of St Andrews and the University of Lincoln:

Animal Behaviour, Animal Cognition, Animal Culture

• Articles

  • Sugasawa S. . Learning & Behavior 2025, Epub ahead of print.
  • Sugasawa, S, Hansell, M, Reilly, M, Healy, SD. . Journal of Avian Biology 2025, (2), e03438.
  • Sheard C, Stott L, Street SE, Healy SD, Sugasawa S, Lala KN. . Journal of Animal Ecology 2024, 93(6), 691-704.
  • Sheard C, Street SE, Evans C, Lala KN, Healy SD, Sugasawa S. . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2023, 378(1884), 20220147.
  • Sugasawa S, Pritchard DJ. . Ecological Research 2022, 37(3), 316-324.
  • Healy SD, Sugasawa S, Tello-Ramos MC, Pritchard DJ. . Current Opinion in Behavioural Sciences 2022, 44, 101106.
  • van der Wal, JEM, Spottiswoode, CN, Sugasawa, S. . Nature Ecology & Evolution 2022, 6, 830–831.
  • Sugasawa S, Webb B, Healy SD. . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2021, 288(1947), 20203184.
  • Breen, AJ, Sugasawa, S, Healy, SD. . Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 2021, 9, 635802.
  • Sugasawa S, Edwards SC, Stanforth R, Bruton E, Hansell M, Reilly M, Healy SD. . Ibis 2021, 163(4), 1457-1462.
  • Sugasawa S, Higuchi H. . Biology Letters 2019, 15(6).
  • St Clair JJH, Klump BC, Sugasawa S, Higgott CG, Colegrave N, Rutz C. . Nature Ecology and Evolution 2018, 2, 441–444​.
  • Sugasawa S, Klump BC, St Clair J, Rutz C. . Current Biology 2017, 27, 3885-3890.
  • Rutz C, Sugasawa S, van der Wal JEM, Klump BC, St Clair J. . Royal Society Open Science 2016, 3, 160439.
  • St Clair J, Klump BC, van der Wal JEM, Sugasawa S, Rutz C. . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2016, 118.
  • Rutz C, Klump BC, Komarczyk L, Leighton R, Kramer J, Wischnewski S, Sugasawa S, Morrissey MB, James R, St Clair J, Switzer RA, Masuda BM. . Nature 2016, 537, 403-407.
  • Klump BC, Sugasawa S, St Clair J, Rutz C. . BMC Biology 2015, 13, 97.

• Book Chapter

  • Tello-Ramos MC, Sugasawa S, Dibia MF, Hunter K. . In: Hepp, A; Eggermont, M; Shyam, V, ed. Biomimicry for Materials, Design and Habitats. Elsevier, 2022.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Sugasawa S, Yamaguchi N, Higuchi H. . In: British Ornithologists' Union Proceedings – The Ecology & Conservation of Migratory Birds. 2011.