Research Projects
Behavioural and physiological desiccation avoidance mechanisms in mosquito pupae
2025 – NOW
Detailed description following soon!
The schooling behaviour of Caribbean reef squid in 3D space
2022 – 2025
Many squid species show remarkable schooling behaviour. As part of my current Research Assistant position at the University of Cambridge (UK), I am investigating the schooling behaviour of the Caribbean reef squid Sepioteuthis sepioidea using stereo-footage of schooling squids I recorded in Curaçao. Using stereophotogrammetry and 3D-reconstuction approaches, I am establishing spatial properties of the schooling behaviour in three-dimensional space, such as the nearest neighbour distances and angles, as well as the degree of polarised orientation amongst squid individuals.
The impact of dynamic illumination on the behaviour of marine animals
2020 – 2024
Shallow aquatic environments are prone to dynamically moving light patterns termed ‘caustics’, which been shown to impair the visual perception of fish species. Within my PhD research at the University of Cambridge (UK), I asked whether caustics also affect marine invertebrates, such as cephalopods or crustaceans, or whether they can mitigate the impact of this type of dynamic lighting on their perception and behaviour.
Drerup C., How M.J & Herbert-Read J.E. (2025) Visual contrast from background features and dynamic illumination contributes to three-dimensional camouflage in cuttlefish. Journal of Experimental Biology 228, jeb249713. Doi: 10.1242/jeb.249713
Drerup C., Herbert-Read J.E. & How M.J. (2025) Motion after-effects induced by dynamic illumination in crab vision. Ecology and Evolution 15, e71426. Doi: 10.1002/ece3.71426
Drerup C. (2024) Dynamic lighting and its impact on the behaviour of marine invertebrates. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. (Embargoed until: 2025-07-19)
Drerup C., Dunkley K., How M.J. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2024) Cuttlefish adopt disruptive camouflage under dynamic lighting. Current Biology 34, 3258-3264. Doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.015
Drerup C., How M.J. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2024) Dynamic visual noise has limited influence on the habitat selection and behavioural activity of crustaceans and cephalopods. Ethology 130, e13432. Doi: 10.1111/eth.13432
Drerup C., How M.J. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2023) Visual noise from caustic flicker does not affect the hunting success of cuttlefish. Animal Behaviour 202, 59-72. Doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.06.002
Venables S.V., Drerup C., Powell S.B., Marshall N.J., Herbert-Read J.E. & How M.J. (2022) Polarization vision mitigates visual noise from flickering light underwater. Science Advances 8, eabq2770. Doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2770
Shadowing behaviour in trumpetfish
2021 – NOW
Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) often swim in close proximity to larger fish which has been suggested to enable them to remain concealed alongside the other animal as it approaches its prey. In this project, led by Dr Sam Matchette, we experimentally tested whether this ‘shadowing behaviour’ actually allows trumpetfish to approach their prey more closely without being detected. Following our finding that trumpetfish indeed gain closer access to prey via shadowing (Matchette et al., 2023), Sam continued to study the behavioural ecology of trumpetfish, e.g., by investigating whether we see differences in the frequency and success rate of shadowing between the three colour morphs found within this species.
Key references:
Matchette S.R., Schneider J., Drerup C., Winters S., Radford A.N. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2025) Antagonistic effects of predator colour morph abundance and saliency on prey anti-predator responses. Behavioral Ecology 36, araf059. Doi: 10.1093/beheco/araf059
Matchette S.R., Drerup C., Davidson I.K., Simpson S.D., Radford A.N. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2023) Predatory trumpetfish conceal themselves from their prey by swimming alongside other fish. Current Biology 33, R801-R802. Doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.075
Matchette S.R., Mitchell E.G. & Herbert-Read J.E. (2022) Spatial clustering of trumpetfish shadowing behaviour in the Caribbean Sea revealed by citizen science. Marine Biology 169, 71. Doi: 10.1007/s00227-022-04057-4
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The behavioural ecology of bobtail squids
2018 – 2022
Bobtail squids (Cephalopoda: Sepiolida) are growing in popularity as model organisms, not least because of their well-studied symbiotic relationship with light producing bacteria. However, little is known about their behavioural ecology. As part of my M.Sc. thesis at the University of Algarve (Portugal), I went to Okinawa (Japan) to study the behavioural ecology of Eumandya parva (previously Euprymna parva; Drerup et al., 2020), as well as to Italy to investigate the burying behaviour of bobtail squids. Additionally, I used citizen-science observations to describe the behavioural ecology of wild individuals of Rossia macrosoma from Scottish water (Drerup et al., 2021). After finishing my M.Sc. thesis, I summarised our knowledge of the ecology of bobtail squids in a review paper (Drerup, 2022).
Key references:
Drerup C. (2022) The behavioural ecology of Sepiolidae (Cephalopoda: Sepiolida): a review. Molluscan Research 42, 185-204. Doi: 10.1080/13235818.2022.2107503
Drerup C., Jackson A., Rickard C., Skea M. & Cooke G.M. (2021) Field observations on the behavioural ecology of the stout bobtail squid Rossia macrosoma (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) from Scottish waters. Marine Biodiversity 51, 57. Doi: 10.1007/s12526-021-01202-y
Drerup C., Sykes A.V. & Cooke G.M. (2020) Behavioural aspects of the spotty bobtail squid Euprymna parva (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 530-531, 151442. Doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151442
Drerup C. (2019) Habitat Preference and Behavioural Ecology of Bobtail Squids (Sepiolidae). MSc thesis, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
The Cephalopod Citizen Science Project
2017 – 2022
Citizen science has become a popular way of bringing public communities and scientific research closer. Together with Dr Gavan Cooke, I co-founded the ‘Cephalopod Citizen Science Project‘ in 2017 to connect researchers investigating cephalopod ecology with public stakeholders interested in cephalopods, such as the SCUBA diving community or fishermen. Primarily using social media based platforms, our project not only aimed at helping divers to understand how to best interact with cephalpods in the wild, but we also used their photo and video material provided to describe novel insights in the life history and behaviour of UK cephalopod species.
Key references:
Laptikhovsky V., Cooke G., Drerup C., Jackson A., MacLeod E., Robin J.-P., Sheerin E., Power A.-M. & Pierce G.J. (2023) Spatial and temporal variability of common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, L. spawning grounds off North Europe. Fisheries Research 263, 106688. Doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106688
Barrett C.J., Bensbai J., Broadhurst M.K., Bustamante P., Clark R., Cooke G.M., Di Cosmo A., Drerup C., Escolar O., Fernández-Álvarez F.A., Ganias K., Hall K.C., Hanlon R.T., Hernández-Urcera J., Hua Q.Q.H., Lacoue-Labarthe T., Lewis J., Lishchenko F., Maselli V., Moustahfid H., Nakajima R., O’Brien C.E., Parkhouse L., Pengelly S., Pierce G.J., Ramírez J.G., Robin J.P., Sajikumar K.K., Sasikumar G., Smith C.L., Villanueva R. & Yến D.T.H. (2022) Cuttlefish conservation: a global review of methods to ameliorate unwanted fishing mortality and other anthropogenic threats to sustainability. ICES Journal of Marine Science 79, 2579–2596. Doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsac200
Laptikhovsky V., Allcock A.L., Barnwall L., Barrett C., Cooke G., Drerup C., Firmin C., Lozach S., MacLeod E., Oesterwind D., Petroni M., Robin J.-P., Sheerin E., Power A.-M. & Pierce G.J. (2022) Spatial and temporal variability of spawning and nursery grounds of Loligo forbesii and Loligo vulgaris squids in ecoregions of Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 79, 1918-1930. Doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsac128
Laptikhovsky V., Cooke G., Barrett C., Lozach S., MacLeod E., Oesterwind D., Sheerin E., Petroni M., Barnwall L., Robin J.-P., Allcock L. & Power A.-M. (2021) Identification of benthic egg masses and spawning grounds in commercial squid in the English Channel and Celtic Sea: Loligo vulgaris vs L. forbesii. Fisheries Research 241, 106004. Doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106004
Drerup C. & Cooke G.M. (2021) Shoaling behaviour in the European cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. Ethology 127, 1101-1108. Doi: 10.1111/eth.13226
Drerup C., Jackson A., Rickard C., Skea M. & Cooke G.M. (2021) Field observations on the behavioural ecology of the stout bobtail squid Rossia macrosoma (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) from Scottish waters. Marine Biodiversity 51, 57. Doi: 10.1007/s12526-021-01202-y
Christian Drerup 