Ecology and Evolutionary Biology MRes/PhD Supervisors
Evolutionary Biology Supervisors
- Ylenia Chiari (Vertebrate morphological and physiological evolution. Vertebrate conservation biology). My research uses an integrative evolutionary framework to understand the causes and consequences of morphological, physiological, and genetic variation in vertebrates. My group focuses on two overarching themes: (1) identifying the genetic and environmental contribution on phenotypic evolution, and (2) applying genetic and -omic tools to conservation.Major research topics include the molecular and genomic basis of variation in longevity and cancer prevalence across vertebrates; rapid adaptation to captivity and its implications for conservation and reintroduction programmes; the effects of climate change on organismal physiology, behaviour, and ecology; the mechanisms underlying variation in animal colouration and its functional consequences; and conservation genetics and genomics of endangered species. Our work focuses almost exclusively on vertebrates, with a particular emphasis on reptiles.
- Angus Davison (Evolution, Genetics, Snails, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Colour, Asymmetry)
- Paul Dyer (Fungal Biology, Food Mycology, Genetics, Genomics, Mould-ripened Cheese)
- Sara Goodacre (Spiders/spider silk genetics and evolution)
- (social evolution, cooperation, conflict, kin discrimination, comparative analysis, fieldwork, behavioural experiments). I am interested in the evolution of social traits - those that positively or negatively impact the fitness of other individuals. My research focuses both on the processes shaping cooperative and competitive traits over evolutionary timescales and on the decision-making processes guiding social interactions. To investigate these topics, I currently use a combination of lab- and field-based experiments with arthropods, fish and plants, as well as comparative analysis and meta analysis.
- Tom Hartman (Protists, Microscopy, palaeontology, chromosomes, genome size, meiosis, natural history, photography, 3D scanning).
- Andrew MacColl (Ecology and evolution in three-spined stickleback).
- Tamsin Majerus (Ladybird colour-pattern polymorphism; genetic control; male-killing bacteria; sexual selection).
- Jasmine Ono (yeast, genetics, evolution, adaptation, speciation, ploidy, hybridisation, Saccharomyces, Candida). I'm an evolutionary geneticist, working primarily with yeasts. My research focuses on the genetics of adaptation and speciation, probing the specifics of how evolution can and does proceed. Using the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, and their close relatives, my lab does evolution experiments as well as analyses existing species differences to test evolutionary theory.
- Andrew Renault (Drosophila, germ cells, cell migration, embryogenesis).
Animal Behaviour Supervisors
- Kate Durrant (Sexual selection. Sperm competition. Insect behaviour. Communication in birds. Mate choice). I am broadly interested in the processes and consequences of sexual selection, often described as Darwin’s second great idea. My work focuses on understanding why some individuals are more successful at passing on their genes than others, and what evolutionary forces shape these differences across species. Central to my research is the study of post copulatory mechanisms, particularly sperm competition, which offers a powerful framework for examining how reproductive traits evolve after mating has occurred. I investigate the physiological, morphological, and behavioural traits influenced by sexual selection, with a particular emphasis on insects and birds. These groups display striking diversity in reproductive strategies, providing excellent opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses and to understand how reproductive traits respond to selective pressures. My research combines fieldwork and laboratory experiments, allowing me to study natural reproductive processes while also conducting controlled manipulations to uncover causal mechanisms. I often work with non model organisms, which present both challenges and exciting opportunities for insight. This approach also intersects with conservation: many species of ecological concern display complex mating systems, and understanding their reproductive biology can inform management strategies aimed at maintaining viable populations. By integrating sexual selection research with conservation perspectives, I aim to contribute to both fundamental evolutionary biology and the preservation of biodiversity.
- (social evolution, cooperation, conflict, kin discrimination, comparative analysis, fieldwork, behavioural experiments). I am interested in the evolution of social traits - those that positively or negatively impact the fitness of other individuals. My research focuses both on the processes shaping cooperative and competitive traits over evolutionary timescales and on the decision-making processes guiding social interactions. To investigate these topics, I currently use a combination of lab- and field-based experiments with arthropods, fish and plants, as well as comparative analysis and meta analysis.
- Tom Reader (Animal signals, mimicry, rewilding, harvest mouse, entomology, reedbeds, artificial intelligence, biodiversity monitoring, predator-prey interactions). I am an evolutionary and behavioural ecologist. My main research interests are understanding the evolution of visual, olfactory and acoustic signals in animals, the conservation impact of "rewilding", and the ecology and conservation of reedbeds and harvest mice. I do empirical and theoretical research with a range of study species from hoverflies to crab spiders, and hyaenas to ancient trees. I am currently especially interested in the role that Artifical Intelligence can play in studying evolutionary and ecological phenomena, by automating and deconstructing the process of species recognition.
Conservation Biology Supervisors
- Ylenia Chiari (Vertebrate morphological and physiological evolution. Vertebrate conservation biology). My research uses an integrative evolutionary framework to understand the causes and consequences of morphological, physiological, and genetic variation in vertebrates. My group focuses on two overarching themes: (1) identifying the genetic and environmental contribution on phenotypic evolution, and (2) applying genetic and -omic tools to conservation.Major research topics include the molecular and genomic basis of variation in longevity and cancer prevalence across vertebrates; rapid adaptation to captivity and its implications for conservation and reintroduction programmes; the effects of climate change on organismal physiology, behaviour, and ecology; the mechanisms underlying variation in animal colouration and its functional consequences; and conservation genetics and genomics of endangered species. Our work focuses almost exclusively on vertebrates, with a particular emphasis on reptiles.
- Angus Davison (Evolution, Genetics, Snails, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Colour, Asymmetry).
- Kate Durrant (Sexual selection. Sperm competition. Insect behaviour. Communication in birds. Mate choice). I am broadly interested in the processes and consequences of sexual selection, often described as Darwin’s second great idea. My work focuses on understanding why some individuals are more successful at passing on their genes than others, and what evolutionary forces shape these differences across species. Central to my research is the study of post copulatory mechanisms, particularly sperm competition, which offers a powerful framework for examining how reproductive traits evolve after mating has occurred. I investigate the physiological, morphological, and behavioural traits influenced by sexual selection, with a particular emphasis on insects and birds. These groups display striking diversity in reproductive strategies, providing excellent opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses and to understand how reproductive traits respond to selective pressures. My research combines fieldwork and laboratory experiments, allowing me to study natural reproductive processes while also conducting controlled manipulations to uncover causal mechanisms. I often work with non model organisms, which present both challenges and exciting opportunities for insight. This approach also intersects with conservation: many species of ecological concern display complex mating systems, and understanding their reproductive biology can inform management strategies aimed at maintaining viable populations. By integrating sexual selection research with conservation perspectives, I aim to contribute to both fundamental evolutionary biology and the preservation of biodiversity.
- Andrew MacColl (Ecology and evolution in three-spined stickleback).
- Tom Reader (Animal signals, mimicry, rewilding, harvest mouse, entomology, reedbeds, artificial intelligence, biodiversity monitoring, predator-prey interactions). I am an evolutionary and behavioural ecologist. My main research interests are understanding the evolution of visual, olfactory and acoustic signals in animals, the conservation impact of "rewilding", and the ecology and conservation of reedbeds and harvest mice. I do empirical and theoretical research with a range of study species from hoverflies to crab spiders, and hyaenas to ancient trees. I am currently especially interested in the role that Artifical Intelligence can play in studying evolutionary and ecological phenomena, by automating and deconstructing the process of species recognition.
- Angus Davison (Evolution, Genetics, Snails, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Colour, Asymmetry)
- Kate Durrant (Sexual selection. Sperm competition. Insect behaviour. Communication in birds. Mate choice). I am broadly interested in the processes and consequences of sexual selection, often described as Darwin’s second great idea. My work focuses on understanding why some individuals are more successful at passing on their genes than others, and what evolutionary forces shape these differences across species. Central to my research is the study of post copulatory mechanisms, particularly sperm competition, which offers a powerful framework for examining how reproductive traits evolve after mating has occurred. I investigate the physiological, morphological, and behavioural traits influenced by sexual selection, with a particular emphasis on insects and birds. These groups display striking diversity in reproductive strategies, providing excellent opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses and to understand how reproductive traits respond to selective pressures. My research combines fieldwork and laboratory experiments, allowing me to study natural reproductive processes while also conducting controlled manipulations to uncover causal mechanisms. I often work with non model organisms, which present both challenges and exciting opportunities for insight. This approach also intersects with conservation: many species of ecological concern display complex mating systems, and understanding their reproductive biology can inform management strategies aimed at maintaining viable populations. By integrating sexual selection research with conservation perspectives, I aim to contribute to both fundamental evolutionary biology and the preservation of biodiversity.
- Paul Dyer (Fungal Biology, Food Mycology, Genetics, Genomics, Mould-ripened Cheese.)
- (social evolution, cooperation, conflict, kin discrimination, comparative analysis, fieldwork, behavioural experiments). I am interested in the evolution of social traits - those that positively or negatively impact the fitness of other individuals. My research focuses both on the processes shaping cooperative and competitive traits over evolutionary timescales and on the decision-making processes guiding social interactions. To investigate these topics, I currently use a combination of lab- and field-based experiments with arthropods, fish and plants, as well as comparative analysis and meta analysis.
- Hanna Hartikainen (Aquatic disease ecology).
- Hannah Jackson (Bioinformatics, ecology, evolution).
- Andrew MacColl (Ecology of wild vertebrates).
- Ian Mellor (Chemical ecology of neurotoxins).
- Tom Reader (Animal signals, mimicry, rewilding, harvest mouse, entomology, reedbeds, artificial intelligence, biodiversity monitoring, predator-prey interactions). I am an evolutionary and behavioural ecologist. My main research interests are understanding the evolution of visual, olfactory and acoustic signals in animals, the conservation impact of "rewilding", and the ecology and conservation of reedbeds and harvest mice. I do empirical and theoretical research with a range of study species from hoverflies to crab spiders, and hyaenas to ancient trees. I am currently especially interested in the role that Artifical Intelligence can play in studying evolutionary and ecological phenomena, by automating and deconstructing the process of species recognition.
Evolutionary Ecology Supervisors
- Ylenia Chiari (Vertebrate morphological and physiological evolution. Vertebrate conservation biology). My research uses an integrative evolutionary framework to understand the causes and consequences of morphological, physiological, and genetic variation in vertebrates. My group focuses on two overarching themes: (1) identifying the genetic and environmental contribution on phenotypic evolution, and (2) applying genetic and -omic tools to conservation.Major research topics include the molecular and genomic basis of variation in longevity and cancer prevalence across vertebrates; rapid adaptation to captivity and its implications for conservation and reintroduction programmes; the effects of climate change on organismal physiology, behaviour, and ecology; the mechanisms underlying variation in animal colouration and its functional consequences; and conservation genetics and genomics of endangered species. Our work focuses almost exclusively on vertebrates, with a particular emphasis on reptiles.
- (DNA recombination, biochemistry, bacterial genetics, CRISPR-Cas, transposon, evolution).
- Angus Davison (Evolution, Genetics, Snails, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Colour, Asymmetry).
- Kate Durrant (Sexual selection. Sperm competition. Insect behaviour. Communication in birds. Mate choice). I am broadly interested in the processes and consequences of sexual selection, often described as Darwin’s second great idea. My work focuses on understanding why some individuals are more successful at passing on their genes than others, and what evolutionary forces shape these differences across species. Central to my research is the study of post copulatory mechanisms, particularly sperm competition, which offers a powerful framework for examining how reproductive traits evolve after mating has occurred. I investigate the physiological, morphological, and behavioural traits influenced by sexual selection, with a particular emphasis on insects and birds. These groups display striking diversity in reproductive strategies, providing excellent opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses and to understand how reproductive traits respond to selective pressures. My research combines fieldwork and laboratory experiments, allowing me to study natural reproductive processes while also conducting controlled manipulations to uncover causal mechanisms. I often work with non model organisms, which present both challenges and exciting opportunities for insight. This approach also intersects with conservation: many species of ecological concern display complex mating systems, and understanding their reproductive biology can inform management strategies aimed at maintaining viable populations. By integrating sexual selection research with conservation perspectives, I aim to contribute to both fundamental evolutionary biology and the preservation of biodiversity.
- (social evolution, cooperation, conflict, kin discrimination, comparative analysis, fieldwork, behavioural experiments). I am interested in the evolution of social traits - those that positively or negatively impact the fitness of other individuals. My research focuses both on the processes shaping cooperative and competitive traits over evolutionary timescales and on the decision-making processes guiding social interactions. To investigate these topics, I currently use a combination of lab- and field-based experiments with arthropods, fish and plants, as well as comparative analysis and meta analysis.
- Hanna Hartikainen (Aquatic disease ecology).
- Tom Hartman (Protists, Microscopy, palaeontology, chromosomes, genome size, meiosis, natural history, photography, 3D scanning).
- Andrew MacColl (Ecology of wild vertebrates).
- Ian Mellor (Chemical ecology of neurotoxins).
- Tom Reader (Animal signals, mimicry, rewilding, harvest mouse, entomology, reedbeds, artificial intelligence, biodiversity monitoring, predator-prey interactions). I am an evolutionary and behavioural ecologist. My main research interests are understanding the evolution of visual, olfactory and acoustic signals in animals, the conservation impact of "rewilding", and the ecology and conservation of reedbeds and harvest mice. I do empirical and theoretical research with a range of study species from hoverflies to crab spiders, and hyaenas to ancient trees. I am currently especially interested in the role that Artifical Intelligence can play in studying evolutionary and ecological phenomena, by automating and deconstructing the process of species recognition.