Rate My Professor Rachael Shaw

Dr Rachael Shaw is a Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. She earned her BSc in Biology from the University of Auckland, where an elective in Psychology sparked her interest in comparative cognition. She completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Cambridge, employing behavioural experiments to investigate the cognitive abilities of Eurasian jays. Following her doctoral studies, Shaw returned to New Zealand in 2013 and served briefly as a Scientific Advisor for Greenpeace NZ. In 2014, she joined Victoria University of Wellington as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences. Her research trajectory advanced significantly in 2017 when she received the prestigious Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from Royal Society Te Apārangi, a five-year award supporting innovative independent research. Promoted to Senior Lecturer, she continues to lead studies on avian cognition in natural environments.

Shaw's research specializations centre on the causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive performance among wild New Zealand birds, including toutouwai (North Island robins) and kākā (parrots). Her work explores memory retention, tool use, learning, spatial cognition, and decision-making, often using innovative field experiments at sites like Zealandia ecosanctuary. Notable publications include 'Memory performance influences male reproductive decisions' in Current Biology (2019), which demonstrated how associative memory affects mate choice in toutouwai; 'Long-term memory for a learned behaviour in a wild bird' in Biology Letters (2020), revealing toutouwai's ability to remember cached food locations for up to 11 months; and 'Animal tool use: Many tools make light work for wild parrots' in Current Biology (2021), documenting efficient multi-tool use by kākā. These contributions have advanced understanding of cognitive evolution and ecology in free-living animals, garnering international media attention and influencing conservation strategies for endemic species. Shaw also supervises PhD students, teaches courses in behaviour and conservation ecology, and collaborates on interdisciplinary projects funded by national grants.