Dr Pawel Fedurek

Senior Lecturer

Psychology Stirling

Dr Pawel Fedurek

Contact details

About me

I completed my first degree in Biology followed by MSc in Human Biology (both at the University of Wroclaw, Poland) and MSc in Evolutionary Psychology (University of Liverpool, UK). I did my PhD in Psychology at the University of York, UK (2013), looking at vocal interactions in wild chimpanzees. I then held postdoc positions at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2013-2016), exploring social correlates of chimpanzee vocal behaviour, and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (2016-2018), investigating the ultimate and proximate mechanisms of social bonding in chimpanzees. I am a holder of Qualified Teacher Status (General Teaching Council for England). I joined the University of Stirling as a Lecturer in Psychology in January 2019.

My research has centred around vocal behaviour in non-human primates, particularly chimpanzees, and I have done extensive fieldwork on several communities of wild chimpanzees in Uganda. The topic of particular interest has been the link between the structure and function of vocal sequences. My research also addresses chimpanzee conservation and human-wildlife interface. More recently, I established the Crow Behaviour and Cognition Project studying the carrion crows residing on the University's campus. I am the leader of the Behaviour and Evolution Research Group. I am the PI of the collaborative, cross-faculty Nature Emergency research cluster and a founding member of the LifeSpan Lab. I welcome applications for PhD projects related to animal behaviour and conservation.

Other Academic Activities

Editorial Board Member, Communications Biology

Professional membership

Elected member of the RSE Young Academy of Scotland
The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Higher Education Academy

General Secretary of the Primate Society of Great Britain
Primate Society of Great Britain

Outputs (41)

Article

Long arcuate fascicle in wild and captive chimpanzees as a potential structural precursor of the language network

Becker Y, Eichner C, Paquette M, Bock C, Girard-Buttoz C, Jäger C, Gräßle T, Deschner T, EBC Consortium, Gunz P, Wittig RM, Crockford C, Friederici AD & Anwander A (2025) Long arcuate fascicle in wild and captive chimpanzees as a potential structural precursor of the language network. Nature Communications, 16 (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59254-8

Article

Chimpanzee drumming shows rhythmicity and subspecies variation

Eleuteri V, van der Werff J, Wilhelm W, Soldati A, Crockford C, Desai N, Fedurek P, Fitzgerald M, Graham KE, Koops K, Pruetz J, Samuni L, Slocombe K, Stoeger A, Wilson ML, Wittig RM, Zuberbühler K, Camara HD, Mamy G, Ravignani A & Hobaiter C (2025) Chimpanzee drumming shows rhythmicity and subspecies variation. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019

Article

Brain structure and function: a multidisciplinary pipeline to study hominoid brain evolution

Friederici AD, Wittig RM, Anwander A, Eichner C, Gräßle T, Jäger C, Kirilina E, Lipp I, Düx A, Edwards LJ, Girard-Buttoz C, Jauch A, Kopp KS, Paquette M & EBC Consortium (2024) Brain structure and function: a multidisciplinary pipeline to study hominoid brain evolution. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 17, Art. No.: 1299087. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2023.1299087

Article

Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees

Tkaczynski PJ, Mafessoni F, Girard-Buttoz C, Samuni L, Ackermann CY, Fedurek P, Gomes C, Hobaiter C, Löhrich T, Manin V, Preis A, Valé PD, Wessling EG, Wittiger L & Zommers Z (2023) Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees. Communications Biology, 6, Art. No.: 565. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04909-9

Book Chapter

Affiliative Bond

Fedurek P (2022) Affiliative Bond. In: Vonk J & Shackelford T (eds.) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior: Springer Publishing Company, pp. 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_717-1

Article

Patterns of urinary cortisol levels during ontogeny appear population specific rather than species specific in wild chimpanzees and bonobos

Tkaczynski PJ, Behringer V, Ackermann CY, Fedurek P, Fruth B, Girard-Buttoz C, Hobaiter C, Lee SM, Löhrich T, Preis A, Samuni L, Zommers Z, Zuberbühler K, Deschner T & Wittig RM (2020) Patterns of urinary cortisol levels during ontogeny appear population specific rather than species specific in wild chimpanzees and bonobos. Journal of Human Evolution, 147, Art. No.: 102869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102869

Article

Shifts in Female Facial Attractiveness during Pregnancy

Danel DP, Kalinowski K, Nowak-Szczepanska N, Ziomkiewicz-Wichary A, Apanasewicz A, Borysławski K, Kozieł S, Kornafel D & Fedurek P (2020) Shifts in Female Facial Attractiveness during Pregnancy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (14), Art. No.: 5176. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145176

Article

Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach

Sonnweber R, Araya-Ajoy YG, Behringer V, Deschner T, Tkaczynski P, Fedurek P, Preis A, Samuni L, Zommers Z, Gomes C, Zuberbühler K, Wittig RM & Crockford C (2018) Circadian Rhythms of Urinary Cortisol Levels Vary Between Individuals in Wild Male Chimpanzees: A Reaction Norm Approach. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6, Art. No.: 85. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2018.00085

Book Chapter

Vocal Grooming

Zuberbuhler K & Fedurek P (2016) Vocal Grooming. In: Shackleford T & Weekes-Shackleford V (eds.) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3315-1