Jessica Zwarg
Research interests
Overall, I am fascinated by how social information is transferred between individuals and how it influences behaviour and personality. I am particularly interested in why animals behave the way they do and in the mechanisms underlying their individual choices and decision-making processes. In my PhD project, I am excited to explore these questions from a new perspective by studying the role of emotions and emotional contagion in the social life of Barbary macaques using methods such as infrared thermography.
Academic career:
- Aug. 2026 - Present: PhD student (Department of Behavioral Ecology, Georg-August-
Universität, Germany)
Project: Emotions and emotional contagion in the social life of Barbary macaque - Oct. 2023 – Jul. 2026: M.Sc., Biosciences (University of Münster, Germany)
Thesis title: Of foraging and friends: What does exploration mean in the context of
exploitation and sociality - Oct. 2020 – Sept. 2023: B.Sc., Biosciences (University of Münster, Germany)
Thesis title: Exploration of space: how general are individual differences across
environments?
Publications and presentations:
- Zwarg J, van Boerdonk D, Varga M, Palme R & Dammhahn M (2026) Of foraging and friends: Individual differences in exploration across contexts of exploitation and sociality. 20th International Society for Behavioural Ecology, Turin (poster)
- Zwarg J, van Boerdonk D, Varga M, Palme R & Dammhahn M (2026) Partners in exploration: Individual differences in exploration across contexts of sociality. Annual Meeting of the Ethological Society, Grünau im Almtal (poster)
- Bäcker J, Zwarg J, van Boerdonk D & Dammhahn M (2024) Exploring exploration: How general are individual differences in exploration behaviour? Annual Meeting of the Ethological Society, Münster (poster)