Areas of expertise

• Vision Science 111303
• Adaptive Agents And Intelligent Robotics 080101
• Animal Behaviour 060801
• Sensory Systems 110906
• Invertebrate Biology 060808
• Comparative Physiology 060604
• Animal Neurobiology 060805
• Animal Physiology Biophysics 060601
• Animal Structure And Function 060807
• Image Processing 080106
• Animal Physiology Systems 060603
• Ethology And Sociobiology 060304
• Sensory Processes, Perception And Performance 170112
• Physiology 0606
• Zoology 0608

Research interests

Biography

Researcher's projects

Publications

• Cormans, M & Zeil, J 2023, 'Digger wasps Microbembex monodonta SAY (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) rely exclusively on visual cues when pinpointing their nest entrances', PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science), vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1-18.
• Zeil, J 2023, 'Views from �crabworld�: the spatial distribution of light in a tropical mudflat', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 209, pp. 859-876.
• Wallace, J, Dreyer, D, Reber, T et al. 2023, 'Camera-based automated monitoring of flying insects in the wild (Camfi). II. flight behaviour and long-term population monitoring of migratory Bogong moths in Alpine Australia', Frontiers in Insect Science, vol. 3.
• Zeil, J 2022, 'Visual Navigation: Properties, acquisition and use of views', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 209, pp. 499â514.
• Pisokas, I, Rossler, W, Webb, B et al. 2022, 'Anesthesia disrupts distance, but not direction, of path integration memory', Current Biology, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 445-452.
• Murray, T, Kocsi, Z, Dahmen, H et al 2020, 'The role of attractive and repellent scene memories in ant homing (Myrmecia croslandi)', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 223, pp. 18pp.
• Kocsi, Z, Murray, T, Dahmen, H et al. 2020, 'The Antarium: A Reconstructed Visual Reality Device for Ant Navigation Research', Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 14, pp. 15pp.
• Iglesias, T, Boal, J, Frank, M et al 2019, 'Cyclic nature of the REM sleep-like state in the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 222, no. 1, pp. 1-9.
• Schulte, P, Zeil, J & Sturzl, W 2019, 'An insect-inspired model for acquiring views for homing', Biological Cybernetics, vol. 113, no. 4, pp. 439-451.
• Zeil, J & Fleischmann, P 2019, 'The learning walks of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)', Myrmecological News, vol. 29, pp. 93-110.
• Zeil, J 2018, 'Orientation, navigation, and search', in Brian Fath (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ecology (Second Edition), Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 290-300.
• Ribi, W & Zeil, J 2018, 'Diversity and common themes in the organization of ocelli in Hymenoptera, Odonata and Diptera', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 204, no. 5, pp. 505-517pp.
• Shamsyeh Zahedi, M & Zeil, J 2018, 'Fractal dimension and the navigational information provided by natural scenes', PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science), vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 1-19pp.
• Collett, T & Zeil, J 2018, 'Insect learning flights and walks', Current Biology, vol. 28, no. 17, pp. 984-988pp.
• Jayatilaka, P, Murray, T, Narendra, A et al 2018, 'The choreography of learning walks in the Australian jack jumper ant Myrmecia croslandi', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 221, no. 20, pp. 1-18pp.
• Schwarz, S, Mangan, M, Zeil, J et al 2017, 'How Ants Use Vision When Homing Backward', Current Biology, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 401-407.
• Ogawa, Y, Ribi, W, Zeil, J et al 2017, 'Regional differences in the preferred e-vector orientation of honeybee ocellar photoreceptors', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 220, no. 9, pp. 1701-1708pp.
• Ramirez Esquivel, F, Leitner, N, Zeil, J et al 2017, 'The sensory arrays of the ant, Temnothorax rugatulus', Arthropod Structure and Development, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 552-563pp.
• Ribi, W & Zeil, J 2017, 'Three-dimensional visualization of ocellar interneurons of the orchid bee Euglossa imperialis using micro X-ray computed tomography', Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 525, pp. 3581-3595.
• Murray, T, Zeil, J & Magrath, R 2017, 'Sounds of Modified Flight Feathers Reliably Signal Danger in a Pigeon', Current Biology, vol. 27, no. 22, pp. 3520-3525.
• Murray, T & Zeil, J 2017, 'Quantifying navigational information: The catchment volumes of panoramic snapshots in outdoor scenes', PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science), vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 1-24pp.
• Sturzl, W, Zeil, J, Boeddeker, N et al 2016, 'How Wasps Acquire and Use Views for Homing', Current Biology, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 470-482pp.
• Raderschall, C, Narendra, A & Zeil, J 2016, 'Head roll stabilisation in the nocturnal bull ant Myrmecia pyriformis: implications for visual navigation', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 219, no. 10, pp. 1449-1457.
• Narendra, A, Greiner, B, Ribi, W et al 2016, 'Light and dark adaptation mechanisms in the compound eyes of Myrmecia ants that occupy discrete temporal niches', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 219, no. 16, pp. 2435-2442.
• Ogawa, Y, Narendra, A, Zeil, J et al 2015, 'Three spectrally distinct photoreceptors in diurnal and nocturnal Australian ants', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 282, no. 1808, pp. 20150673-20150673.
• Ribi, W & Zeil, J 2015, 'The visual system of the Australian 'Redeye' cicada (Psaltoda moerens)', Arthropod Structure and Development, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 574-586pp.
• Sturzl, W, Grixa, I, Mair, E et al 2015, 'Three-dimensional models of natural environments and the mapping of navigational information', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, pp. Published online: 12 April 2015.
• White, T, Zeil, J & Kemp, D 2015, 'Signal design and courtship presentation coincide for highly biased delivery of an iridescent butterfly mating signal', Evolution, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 14-25.
• Zeil, J, Ribi, W & Narendra, A 2014, 'Polarisation Vision in Ants, Bees and Wasps', in Gabor Horvath (ed.), Polarized Light and Polarization Vision in Animal Sciences, Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 41-60.
• Cheung, A, Collett, M, Collett, T et al 2014, 'Still no convincing evidence for cognitive map use by honeybees', PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 111, no. 42, pp. e4396-e4397.
• Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2014, 'Path integration, vision, and decision-making in fiddler crabs', in Charles Derby and Martin Thiel (ed.), Nervous Systems and Control of Behavior, The Natural History of the Crustacea (Volume 3), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 484-508.
• Zeil, J, Narendra, A & Sturzl, W 2014, 'Looking and homing: how displaced ants decide where to go', Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society: B- Biological Sciences, vol. 369, no. 1636, pp. 20130034-20130034.
• Jayatilaka, P, Raderschall, C, Narendra, A et al 2014, 'Individual foraging patterns of the jack jumper ant Myrmecia croslandi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)', Myrmecological News, vol. 19, pp. 75-83.
• Alkaladi, A & Zeil, J 2014, 'Functional Anatomy of the Fiddler Crab Compound Eye (Uca vomeris: Ocypodidae, Brachyura, Decapoda)', Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 522, no. 6, pp. 1264-1283.
• Samet, N, Zeil, J, Mair, E et al 2014, 'Ground-nesting insects could use visual tracking for monitoring nest position during learning flights', 13th International Conference on the Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2014, ed. A P del Pobil, E Chinellato, E Matinez-Martin, J Hallam, E Cervera, A Morales, Springer Verlag, Switzerland, pp. 108-120.
• Ramirez-Esquivel, F, Zeil, J & Narendra, A 2014, 'The antennal sensory array of the nocturnal bull ant Myrmecia pyriformis', Arthropod Structure and Development, vol. 43, pp. 543-558.
• Alkaladi, A, How, M & Zeil, J 2013, 'Systematic variations in microvilli banding patterns along fiddler crab rhabdoms', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 199, no. 2, pp. 99-113.
• Viollet, S & Zeil, J 2013, 'Feed-forward and visual feedback control of head roll orientation in wasps (Polistes humilis, Vespidae, Hymenoptera)', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 216, no. 7, pp. 1280-1291.
• Narendra, A, Gourmaud, S & Zeil, J 2013, 'Mapping the navigational knowledge of individually foraging ants, Myrmecia croslandi', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 280, no. 1765, pp. 20130683-20130683.
• Reid SF, Narendra A, Taylor RW, Zeil J. 2013. 'Foraging ecology of the night-active bull ant Myrmecia pyriformis', Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 170-177.
• Zeil, J 2012, 'Visual homing: an insect perspective', Current Opinion in Neurobiology, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 285-293.
• Smolka, J, Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2011, 'Natural visual cues eliciting predator avoidance in fiddler crabs', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 278, no. 1724, pp. 3584-3592.
• Ribi, W, Warrant, E & Zeil, J 2011, 'The organization of honeybee ocelli: Regional specializations and rhabdom arrangements', Arthropod Structure and Development, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 509-520.
• Jayatilaka P, Narendra A, Reid SF, Cooper P & Zeil J. 2011, 'Different effects of temperature on foraging activity schedules in sympatric Myrmecia ants', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 214, pp. 2730-2738.
• Narendra, A, Reid, SF, Greiner, B, Peters RA, Hemmi JM, Ribi WA & Zeil J 2011, 'Caste-specific visual adaptations to distinct daily activity schedules in Australian Myrmecia ants', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 278: 1141-1149.
• Reid SF, Narendra A, Hemmi JM & Zeil J 2011, 'Polarised skylight and the landmark panorama provide night-active bull ants with compass information during route following', Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 363-370.
• Schwarz S, Narendra A & Zeil J. 2011, 'The properties of the visual system in the Australian desert ant Melophorus bagoti', Arthropod Structure and Development 40:128-134.
• Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2010, 'Crabs and Their Visual World', in Breed M.D. and Moore J. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Academic Press, London, UK, pp. 411-420.
• Zeil, J 1998, 'Homing in fiddler crabs (Uca lactea annulipes and Uca vomeris: Ocypodidae)', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 183, no. 3, pp. 367-377.
• Voss, R & Zeil, J 1998, 'Active vision in insects: An analysis of object-directed zig-zag flights in wasps (Odynerus spinipes, Eumenidae)', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 182, no. 3, pp. 377-387.
• Zeil, J, Boeddeker, N & Sturzl, W 2009, 'Visual homing in insects and robots', in D Floreano, J-C Zufferey, M V. Srinivasan, C Ellington (ed.), Flying Insects and Robots, Springer, Berlin/Heidelburg, Germany, pp. 87-100.
• How, M, Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2009, 'Variability of a dynamic visual signal: the fiddler crab claw-waving display', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 195, pp. 55-67.
• Zeil, J, Boeddeker, N & Hemmi, J 2009, 'Visually Guided Behavior', in George Adelman and Barry H. Smith (ed.), Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (3rd ed), Elsevier, USA, pp. 369-380.
• Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2009, 'The topography of vision', Kagaku, vol. 79, no. 6, pp. 667-673.
• Zeil, J 2008, 'Orientation, Navigation and Searching', in Sven Jorgensen, Brian Fath (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ecology, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 2596-2608.
• Stuerzl, W, Cheung, A, Zeil, J et al 2008, 'The information content of Panoramic Images I: The rotational errors and the similarity of views in rectangular experimental arenas', Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal behavior processes, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1-14.
• Peters, R, Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2008, 'Image motion environments: background noise for movement-based animal signals', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 194, pp. 441-456.
• Zeil, J, Boeddeker, N & Hemmi, J 2008, 'Vision and the organization of behaviour', Current Biology, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 320-323.
• How, M, Hemmi, J, Zeil, J et al. 2008, 'Claw waving display changes with receiver distance in fiddler crabs, Uca perplexa', Animal Behaviour, vol. 75, pp. 1015-1022.
• Cheung, A, Stuerzl, W, Zeil, J et al 2008, 'The Information Content of Panoramic Images II: View-Based Navigation in Nonrectangular Experimental Arenas', Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal behavior processes, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 15-30.
• Stuerzl, W, Soccol, D, Zeil, J et al. 2008, 'Rugged, obstruction-free, mirror-lens combination for panoramic imaging', Applied Optics, vol. 47, no. 32, pp. 6070-6078.
• How, M, Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2007, 'Differences in context and function of two distinct waving displays in the fiddler crab, Uca perplexa (Decapoda: Ocypodidae)', Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 137-148.
• Peters, R, Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2007, 'Signaling against the Wind: Modifying Motion-Signal Structure in Response to Increased Noise', Current Biology, vol. 17, pp. 1231-1234.
• Greiner, B, Narendra, A, Reid, S et al 2007, 'Eye structure correlates with distinct foraging-bout timing in primitive ants', Current Biology, vol. 17, no. 20, pp. R879-880.
• Zeil, J, Boeddeker, N, Hemmi, J et al 2007, 'Going Wild: Toward an Ecology of Visual Information Processing', in Geoffrey North, Ralph Greenspan (ed.), Invertebrate Neurobiology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, pp. 381-403.
• Stuerzl, W & Zeil, J 2007, 'Depth, contrast and view-based homing in outdoor scenes', Biological Cybernetics, vol. 96, pp. 219-531.
• Zeil, J, Hemmi, J & Backwell, P 2006, 'Fiddler crabs', Current Biology, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. R40-R41.
• Vladusich, T, Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2006, 'Honeybee odometry and scent guidance', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 209, pp. 1367-1375.
• Detto, T, Backwell, P, Hemmi, J et al. 2006, 'Visually mediated species and neighbour recognition in fiddler crabs (Uca mjoebergi and Uca capricornis)', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 273, pp. 1661-1666.
• Zeil, J & Hemmi, J 2006, 'The visual ecology of fiddler crabs', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 192, pp. 1-25.
• Hemmi, J, Marshall, J, Pix, W et al 2006, 'The variable colours of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris and their relation to background and predation', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 209, pp. 4140-4153.
• Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2005, 'Animals as prey: perceptual limitations and behavioural options', Marine Ecology - Progress Series Online, vol. 287, pp. 274-278.
• Zeil, J 2005, 'Book Review: Complex Worlds from Simpler Nervous Systems', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. tba, pp. 1771-1772.
• Vladusich, T, Hemmi, J, Srinivasan, M et al. 2005, 'Interactions of visual odometry and landmark guidance during food search in Honey bees', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 208, pp. 4123-4135.
• Zanker, J & Zeil, J 2005, 'Movement-induced motion signal distributions in outdoor scenes', Network: Computation in Neural Systems, vol. 16, pp. 357-376.
• Boeddeker, N, Lindemann, J, Egelhaaf, M et al 2005, 'Responses of blowfly motion-sensitive neurons to reconstructed optic flow along outdoor flight paths', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 191, no. 12, pp. 1143-1155.
• Detto, T, Zeil, J, Magrath, R et al 2004, 'Sex, size and colour in a semi-terrestrial crab, Heloecius cordiformis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)', Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, vol. 302, pp. 1-15.
• Stavenga, D, Stowe, S, Siebke, K et al 2004, 'Butterfly wing colours: Scale beads make white pierid wings brighter', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 271, pp. 1577-1584.
• Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2003, 'Burrow surveillance in fiddler crabs (I) Description of behaviour', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 206, pp. 3935-3950.
• Zeil, J, Hofmann, M & Chahl, J 2003, 'Catchment areas of panoramic snapshots in outdoor scenes', Journal of the Optical Society of America A, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 450-469.
• Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2003, 'Burrow surveillance in fiddler crabs (II) The sensory cues', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 206, pp. 3951-3961.
• Hemmi, J & Zeil, J 2003, 'Robust judgement of inter-object distance by an arthropod', Nature, vol. 421, pp. 160-163.
• Zeil, J & Layne, J 2002, 'Path integration in fiddler crabs and its relation to habitat and social life', in K Wiese (ed.), Crustacean Experimental Systems in Neurobiology, Springer, Berlin, pp. 227-246.
• Zanker, J & Zeil, J 2002, 'An analysis of the motion signal distributions emerging from locomotion through a natural environment', Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), vol. 2525, pp. 146-156.
• Zanker, J & Zeil, J, eds, 2001, Motion Vision: Computational, Neural, and Ecological Constraints, Springer, Berlin, Germany.
• Eckert, M & Zeil, J 2001, 'Towards an ecology of motion vision', in Zanker, J M & Zeil J (ed.), Motion Vision: Computional, Neural and Ecological Constraints, Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp. 333-369.
• Zanker, J & Zeil, J 2001, 'Processing motion in the real world', in Zanker, J M & Zeil J (ed.), Motion Vision: Computional, Neural and Ecological Constraints, Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp. 1-9.
• Zeil, J & Hofmann, M 2001, 'Signals from Crabworld: cuticular reflections in a Fiddler crab colony', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 204, pp. 2561-2569.
• Pix, W, Zanker, J & Zeil, J 2000, 'The optomotor response and spatial resolution in the visual system of male Xenos vesparum (Strepsiptera).', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 203, pp. 3397-3409.
• Zeil, J 2000, 'Depth cues, behavioural context, and natural illumination: Some potential limitations of video playback techniques.', Acta Ethologica, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 39-48.
• Oliveira, R, Rosenthal, G, Schlupp, I et al 2000, 'Considerations on the use of video playbacks as visual stimuli: The Lisbon workshop consensus', Acta Ethologica, vol. 3, pp. 61-65.
• Land, M, Gibson, G, Horvat, J et al 1999, 'Fundamental differences in the optical structure of the eyes of nocturnal and diurnal mosquitoes', Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, vol. 185, pp. 91-103.