Science Communication
Here you can find a selection of my public talks and lectures on a wide range of topics, including my own research.
Disguised by difference - phenotypic polymorphism as a means of camouflage
Even the most peaceful pastoral country scene is a battleground, where animals, exhausted and on the edge of starvation, scrape a living evading constant threat from predators. Camouflage is a frequently deployed strategy to evade detection by enemies, but sometimes blending in with the environment is not enough. Sometimes, looking unusual is the best way to hide, and difference is the best disguise...
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This talk was delivered as part of the excellent EntoLive series from the 'Biological Recording Company'.
Is timing everything and how can spring-feeding caterpillars get it right?
Timing is all-important in nature. Environments change though time as well as through space, and insofar as animals and plants have to adapt to different places they must also adapt to different times. Spring conditions are very different from winter - today Britain is mild and damp, three hundred million years ago, it was a steamy swamp.
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The cyclical nature of the seasons means that animals can synchronise their life history to match the most favourable conditions. In spring, plants begin to grow after a long winter hibernation, and insects emerge to exploit this new resource and feed on them.
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But with a warming climate and increasingly unpredictable weather, how will species make sure they get their timing right? Might these changes disrupt delicately balanced and synchronised ecosystems? Or might some species be more resilient than we previously thought?
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This invited lecture to the Linnean Society of London was based on some of my PhD research.​
Predators, perception, and polymorphism - some defensive functions of colouration in butterflies and moths
The colour patterns of butterfly and moth wings has been a subject of enduring fascination for naturalists down the centuries. Understanding the mysteries of their origins and functions has been key to unravelling the evolutionary process itself. Henry Walter Bates, the renowned nineteenth century entomologist, who spend years deep in the dank recesses of the Amazon jungle studying butterflies wrote, of their wing patterns: "on these expanded membranes Nature writes, as on a tablet, the story of the modifications of species."​
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In this keynote talk for the Butterfly Conservation Scotland 2024 Spring Gathering, I explore some of the most obscure functions of butterfly and moth wing colours, including concealed bright colours and polymorphism.