Moving pictures

I've had the fortune to feature in a couple of videos recently. The first was for one of the "Countdown to COP26" videos that the School of Biological Sciences here at Aberdeen made to build up to the COP26 meeting in Glasgow I talk about what I do at the department, how my work links … Continue reading Moving pictures →

Emma joins the lab

Emma Bleakley has recently joined the lab as a distance PhD student. Her project is "Social Networks Across the Tree of Life", and will involve the analysis of social data across a range of taxa. In this post Emma gives a little insight into the path she followed before joining EEL. As the newest member … Continue reading Emma joins the lab →

Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution webinar

Recently I gave an online talk about some of my research for the Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution seminar series. I spoke about my work on the social spider Anelosius eximius in Ecuador with James L. L. Lichtenstein and others. I cover work from two papers, the first estimating selection on collective prey attack for … Continue reading Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution webinar →

Interview by Philip Neilson

I have just been lucky enough to be interviewed by Philip Neilson, a student at the University of Aberdeen, ahead of my department seminar here. Philip conducted a really great interview, he had read several of my papers, and asked really good and insightful questions. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am very pleased to be … Continue reading Interview by Philip Neilson →

An indirect origin

This post is about what indirect genetic effects are, and where they came from. It's about an interesting evolutionary process, and a bit of sleuthing into the depths of a library to find a dusty old book. A direct genetic effect is what you think of when the classic "nature vs nurture" debate comes up. … Continue reading An indirect origin →

The incoming global protein shortage

A few years ago I applied for a Policy internship with, funded by NERC. I would've taken a break from my PhD and spent 3 months learning about the role science plays in making policy (which may seem like a joke at the moment, sadly). Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful, but the processes was valuable anyway. … Continue reading The incoming global protein shortage →

Squirrel camp and the Sun

You may be wondering why squirrel camp is primarily powered by solar. Perhaps you didn’t know that; well, now you do, and you can begin wondering. Or maybe you are reading this without even knowing what squirrel camp is. In that case, all you need to know is that it is a happy place filled … Continue reading Squirrel camp and the Sun →

The legend of the lynx, and the long length of Lloyd

There was once a time when the ground of the forest was clear, and trappers and other users of the forest could cover miles in a day without breaking a sweat. There were no snaking, snagging branches catching your boots or tripping your step. Through this marvellous woodscape strode a great hero by the name … Continue reading The legend of the lynx, and the long length of Lloyd →

Coyote and Squirrel Camp

Time was, before social media, global warming or Donald Trump, that there were a lot more dangerous animals around squirrel camp. 10-foot beavers would chomp off campers’s heads, giant mosquitos would drink their blood with a single slurp, great ostrich-sized predatory grouse would ambush campers with a loud thud and peck out their large intestines, … Continue reading Coyote and Squirrel Camp →

How Squirrel Camp got its bear fence

Squirrel camp, like many wilderness camps, has an electrical fence surrounding it. Normally they are called bear fences, but they can in fact keep many kinds of animals out. There was a time in fact, where there was no fence at all. The bears knew all the food in camp was safely locked away in … Continue reading How Squirrel Camp got its bear fence →