I am an evolutionary biologist interested in how environmental change alters animal behaviour and whether animal behaviour can aid or hinder adaptation to environmental change. My research integrates behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology, ecophysiology, and developmental biology. Some major themes in my work are reproductive behaviour (mating and parental care), social interactions, and phenotypic plasticity. Over the course of my academic career, I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of study species in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. These projects have included observational studies, fieldwork, multi-generational laboratory experiments, and molecular techniques.
NEWS
November 2019 ― I gave an invited seminar at The James Hutton Institute
November 2019 ― I gave an invited seminar at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I was visiting Prof Alison Bell's lab to learn some new neurogenomic methods
October 2019 ― I gave an invited seminar at University of Edinburgh
October 2019 ― I have joined University of Aberdeen as a Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Conservation!
September 2019 ― New preprint on metabolic adaptation to elevated temperatures in threespine sticklebacks
August 2019 ― I attended the European Society for Evolutionary Biology Meeting in Turku, Finland, where I gave a talk on the effects of temperature on social behaviour and organised a symposium on sexual selection and reproductive strategies
August 2019 ― New paper in Evolution & Development on how phenotypic plasticity can initiate developmental bias
July 2019 ― I gave a plenary talk at the British Ecological Society Undergraduate Summer School in Millport, UK
July 2019 ― I gave a talk on how metabolic rate evolves in response to elevated temperature at the SEB Annual Meeting in Seville, Spain
June 2019 ― I have been awarded a SULSA Early Career Exchange Grant to visit Prof Alison Bell's lab at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
May 2019 ― I gave a presentation on biparental care in burying beetles at the Pint of Science Festival
April 2019 ― I presented a poster on the effects of temperature on social behaviour at the ASAB Meeting in York, UK
March 2019 ― I received an Early Career Researcher Prize from the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA)! You can watch my winning presentation here.