Fiona Backhouse

Bio
I have a background in animal behavioural ecology and a particular interest in animal vocalisations. I am passionate about wildlife conservation, and view much of my research from a conservation perspective. I received a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University in 2016, completing Honours on the role of environmental heterogeneity on the reproductive success of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus). I then spent several months working as a field assistant in Scotland, first on blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) near Edinburgh, then on Soay sheep in the remote St Kilda archipelago.
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I undertook my PhD in the Lab of Animal Ecology during 2018-2022, working on geographic variation in the vocalisations of male Albert’s lyrebirds (Menura alberti). Following this, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the USA researching the form and evolution of the complex multimodal displays of the lyrebirds. I now work as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment under a new project investigating the origins and maintenance of vocal mimicry in Australian songbirds.
Research
I have interests in animal behaviour, spatial ecology, and conservation, and my research attempts to bridge these topics with a focus on two main research areas:

Avian vocal mimicry. The vocal imitations of other species occurs in almost half of all songbird families, yet for many species its function and evolution remains puzzling. Research on vocal mimicry among species has produced different hypotheses for its function, and even within species, such as the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), vocal mimicry may have multiple functions. My research aims to shed light on the form, function, and evolution of mimicry in a number of Australian vocal mimics, including the lyrebirds, in order to understand the evolution of vocal mimicry as a behaviour.
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Animal vocal cultures and conservation. Recent arguments in conservation biology have suggested a move from a purely genetic focus to include diversity of cultural traits such as communication. A growing number of studies have found that vocal cultures of birds can be impacted by threatening processes such as habitat fragmentation and population decline. I am interested in understanding these impacts through the perspectives of both conserving animal vocal cultures and understanding how animal vocalisations can be used as a tool to inform conservation.
Academic Publications
BACKHOUSE, F., MIRANDO, H., HERWOOD, T., ODOM, K.J., DALZIELL, A.H. & WELBERGEN, J.A. (2024). Display court ecology in male Albert's lyrebirds. Emu - Austral Ornithology, 125:80-87
FU, C., WANG, X., BACKHOUSE, F. & LI, Z. (2024). Learning mimetic cuckoo call innovations from neighbours in a Chinese songbird. Scientific Reports​, 14:24079
BACKHOUSE, F., WELBERGEN, J.A., ROBINSON, B.W. & DALZIELL, A.H. (2024). Performative manipulation of the environment by displaying Albert's lyrebirds. The American Naturalist, 204:181-190
HUGHES. E.J.,  AUSTIN, V.I., BACKHOUSE, F., MAISEY, A.C., LOPEZ, K.A., MIKLES, C.S., ODOM, K.J., WELBERGEN, J.A. & DALZIELL, A.H. (2023). Preferred nesting habitat of the slow-breeding superb lyrebird is rare and was disproportionately impacted by Australia's "Black Summer" megafires (2019-2020) within a World Heritage Area. Ornithological Applications, 125: duad027
​​BACKHOUSE, F., WELBERGEN, J. A. , MAGRATH, R. D. & DALZIELL, A. H. (2023) Depleted cultural richness of an avian vocal mimic in fragmented habitat. Diversity and Distributions, 29:109-122
​BACKHOUSE, F., DALZIELL, A. H., MAGRATH, R. D. & WELBERGEN, J. A. (2022) Higher-order sequences of vocal mimicry performed by male Albert's lyrebirds are socially transmitted and enhance acoustic contrast. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 289: 20212498
BACKHOUSE, F., DALZIELL, A. H., MAGRATH, R. D., RICE, A. N., CRISOLOGO, T. L. & WELBERGEN, J. A. (2021). Differential geographic patterns in song components of male Albert’s lyrebirds. Ecology and Evolution, 11:2701-2716
The Conversation
​BACKHOUSE, F., ​DALZIELL, A., MAGRATH, R. & WELBERGEN, J. A. Listen to the Albert’s lyrebird: the best performer you’ve never heard of. The Conversation, 14-4-2022
Grants and Awards
2018 Project Funding from BirdLife Northern NSW
Media
​The other lyrebird and its anthems - Off Track - ABC Radio National
A male Albert's lyrebird near Killarney
A male lyrebird performing on his platform in the Border Ranges National Park on 3 July 2018
An example whistle song from the Border Ranges National Park
​Recorded on 21 June 2018
A male Albert's lyrebird in Main Range National Park (Goomburra section)
A female lyrebird attending her nestling in Main Range National Park (Goomburra section) on 1 September 2018
An example mimicry sequence from Tamborine National Park
Recorded on 18 May 2018