Marie Habedank

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About

Marie Habedank is a behavioral ecologist whose research explores the mechanisms of social influence and collective movement in animal groups, with a particular focus on the role of physical traits and individual variation. Her most-cited work, "Guppies Prefer to Follow Large (Robot) Leaders Irrespective of Own Size" (2020, 21 citations), provides a landmark contribution to understanding leadership dynamics by using robotic fish to disentangle the effects of body size from correlated behaviors. This innovative study demonstrated that guppies consistently follow larger robotic leaders, regardless of their own size, revealing a robust preference for size-based cues in social decision-making. Habedank’s work bridges experimental ethology and robotics, offering powerful tools to test causal hypotheses in animal behavior. Her findings have implications for fields ranging from collective behavior to evolutionary biology, shedding light on how physical traits shape social hierarchies and group coordination. Through her precise experimental designs and interdisciplinary approach, Habedank continues to advance our understanding of the subtle rules that govern leadership and followership in the natural world.