About
I then turned to African wasps, as a Marie Curie Fellow at Columbia (New York City) and a Junior Fellow of the Simons Society, working in Cameroon and South Africa
Hi! My PhD explored social behaviour in the paper wasps of Central and South America
Polistes canadensis, Panama
Belonogaster juncea, Kenya
In 2024, I'll be starting as a new Lecturer - get in touch if you're interested in joining a new group!
Searching for wasps at the margins of the Sahel, in Far-North Cameroon, 2023
wasping
verb
[ wosp-ing ]
1. the painful habit of chasing wasps for science
Wasp fieldwork is always full of surprises. For an account of why it's worth it (despite the stings), see https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/altruism-among-the-u-bends
Polistes satan, Brazil
Dja, Cameroon
Tagging wasps in Panama
Cameroon
Belonogaster at the NHM, London (Photo: Cintia Oi)
Tagging wasps in Yaounde
Why?
Research questions
What links climate and cooperation?
Across social animals, links are emerging between climatic variation and the evolution of sociality. My research aims to contribute to this debate using experiments and theoretical modelling.
What role do threats and coercion play in social evolution?
Can organisms use Machiavellian tactics to coerce others into cooperation? I have recently published on the evolution of 'blackmail' between family members, and I am developing experiments in the evolution of dominance hierarchies.
RFID radio-tag on a wasp in French Guiana
What explains paradoxical acts of cooperation?
Some social behaviours seem especially challenging to explain. I'm intrigued by these surprising acts of cooperation. My research includes using RFID radio-tags and longitudinal monitoring to solve the enigma of paper wasps helping neighbour colonies in Central America
Where?
Currently working in:
I'm looking to form collaborations on Belonogaster wasps with African biologists in other countries across the continent. Do get in touch if interested in discussing more!
Cameroon
Working with Professor Maurice Tindo (University of Douala) and Professor Paul Serge Masse (University of Yaounde 1)
South Africa
Working with Professor Christian Pirk and Dr Quentin Guignard (University of Pretoria)
Kenya
Forming new collaboration with Mpala Research Centre and National Museums of Kenya
2021-now Marie Curie Global Fellow, Columbia University (USA) & University of Bristol (UK)
2021-now Junior Fellow of Simons Society of Fellows, Columbia University (USA)
2019-2020 Postdoc, Radford Lab, University of Bristol (UK)
2015-2019 PhD, University of Bristol (UK). Supervisors: Prof Seirian Sumner (UCL) and Prof
Andy Radford (Bristol)
2014 Field assistant, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama
2010-2013 BA (Hons.) Biological Sciences, University of Oxford (UK)
Awards
2022 West-Eberhard Award (International Union for the Study of Social Insects)
2020 John C Marsden Medal (Linnean Society)
2020 Thomas Henry Huxley Award (Zoological Society of London)
2020 Life Sciences Faculty Thesis Prize (University of Bristol)