PhD Candidate
Biology Cluster
Mammal Communication
Email: fabio.elleon(at)oeaw.ac.at
Academic Background
In 2018, Fabio completed a first-level Master’s course in Management and Conservation of Environment and Wildlife, with a thesis on Alpine ibex behavior (time budget). He previously completed a Master’s degree in Evolution of Animal and Human Behavior, with a field-research thesis on Madagascar lemur bioacoustics, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. In addition to these projects, he has joined several research teams during his academic career, working as a research assistant both overseas and in Italy.
Current Research
Fabio Elleon is working on the project “The adaptive function of the cheetah’s contact chirp.” The project investigates the potential role of vocal crypsis in cheetah vocal communication for predator avoidance. Its main objective is to determine whether cheetah contact calls, specifically high-pitched chirps, are less detectable or interpretable by lions, potentially functioning as a form of acoustic crypsis to reduce eavesdropping and predation risk. The study focuses on playback experiments with free-ranging lion prides in the Ongava Game Reserve (Namibia) and two other reserves in South Africa. A variety of cheetah vocalizations, competitor calls, and bird sounds will be used as playback stimuli to analyze lions’ behavioral responses.