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What is the relationship between predator and prey? How do they survive in such challenging habitats? Find out the answers to these questions and much more by ordering this free, double-sided, interactive poster produced by The Open University.

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Go behind the scenes of The Hunt

Dr Miranda Dyson, Senior Lecturer in Biology

I received my formal education in South Africa. My postgraduate work at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg focussed on breeding behaviour and communication in African frogs with emphasis on female mate choice in the African reed frog, Hyperolius marmoratus. After completing my  PhD in 1988, I took up a postdoctoral position at the University of Natal in Durban working on reproductive behaviour and mate choice in the fiddler crab, Uca vocans. Before taking up my post at the Open University, I worked on gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor and Hyla chrysoscelis) with Professor Carl Gerhardt at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, mate choice in Mojorcan midwife toads (Alytes muletensis), in collaboration with Professor Tim Halliday and Dr Sarah Bush (The Open University) and auditory perceptual abilities of barn owls (Tyto alba) with Professor Georg Klump (Technische Universitat, Munich). 

On joining the OU in 1995, I continued my research on African reed frogs in South Africa and supervised PhD projects investigating  the reproductive biology of the midwife toad, Alytes muletensis, duetting behaviour in an African shrike, the bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus),  microhabitat requirements of the Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) and the conservation of the endangered Madagascan tortoise, Pyxis arachniodies.

Read Miranda's academic profile and find out more about her research here: http://www.open.ac.uk/people/mld5

Dr Vicky Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Biology

I joined the OU in late 2006 from the Department of Metabolic Medicine, Imperial College London. Prior to that I have held positions at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) field station and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). 

I am on the SRF (Society for Reproduction & Fertility) Council of Management.

My research interests are very broadly in the areas of:

Endocrinology of pregnancy and lactation and the regulation of appetite
Metabolic adjustments to the increased appetite of pregnancy and lactation

My current research concerns hormonal changes and interactions during mammalian pregnancy and lactation, focusing on appetite regulation by gastrointestinal hormones such as peptide YY and ghrelin. Pregnancy and lactation are physiological states characterised by metabolic changes associated with increased appetite and feeding behaviour. These occur due to changes in the setpoints of a number of orexigenic (appetite-stimulating) and anorexigenic (appetite-suppressing) signals as well as increased body weight, partly due to the promotion of adipose tissue accretion in early gestation to meet increased metabolic demands. Understanding the mechanisms behind these physiological shifts and the influence of maternal energy status on developing offspring may provide important insights for human health management.
 
Research areas cover: hormone interactions during different metabolic states, focusing on appetite regulation by gut-brain hormones, especially during development, pregnancy and lactation. Subject specialities include: reproductive physiology; endocrinology; nutrition; metabolism; obesity.

Read Vicky's academic profile and find out more about her research here: http://www.open.ac.uk/people/vjt63