Prof Andrew Bourke
| Job Title | Contact | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Professor in Evolutionary Biology |
A dot Bourke at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 1868 |
Biology 01.56 |
Career
- Professor in Evolutionary Biology, University of East Anglia (2006-present)
- Reader, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London (2003-2006)
- Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London (2000-2002)
- Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London (1992-2000)
- Junior Research Fellow (Jesus College), University of Cambridge (1988-1991)
ResearcherID
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/E-5271-2011
Website
Key Research Interests
Current Research Projects
- Effect of social conflict on ageing in bumble bees
- Reproductive conflicts over male production in bumble bees
- Conflicts over reproduction and sex ratio in multiple-queen ants
- Differential gene expression in queen-worker caste determination in bumble bees
- Conservation ecology and genetics of scarce bumble bees and ants
- Investigating effectiveness of agri-environment schemes for bumble bees using genetic methods
Life in our research group
Our laboratory work is based on captive colonies of ants and bumble bees. The ants are collected from the field and we either rear our own bumble bee colonies from wild-caught queens or buy in colonies from commercial suppliers. Our study methods include direct observation and filming to investigate within-nest behaviour and the monitoring of wild-reared bumble bee nests placed outside to look at behaviour in a field setting. They also include microsatellite genotyping to measure relatedness in our study colonies or to investigate space use by free-flying bees, and (with collaborators) RT-PCR to measure expression levels of candidate genes. As a research group we hold a weekly meeting and group lunch to troubleshoot problems and discuss the latest research by ourselves and others. In addition, we benefit from the lively and supportive research environment provided by the Organisms and Environment Research Theme, CEEC and the BIO School as a whole, as well as the wider Norwich Research Park. Each of these organizations runs seminar programs and social events. Everyone in the group is encouraged to attend and present at national and international conferences such as meetings of ASAB, BES, ESEB, ISBE and IUSSI.PhD Positions
Please email me to discuss PhD opportunities and projects within the School of Biological Sciences.Postdocs & Fellows
I am happy to discuss ideas for research collaboration, postdoctoral projects and independent fellowships. My group has previously hosted fellows funded by the Academy of Finland and the British Ecological Society, while fellowship schemes such as those of the EU, NERC and the Royal Society also represent excellent routes for supporting the type of research that we carry out.Teaching Activities
- Social Evolution (BIO-3C38)
- Mathematics and Statistics (BIO-1A6Y)
Article
Bourke, AFG (2013) Genes and queens. Nature, 493. pp. 612-613.
Bourke, AFG (2012) Kin selection. Oxford Bibliographies Online: Ecology.
Broadbent, AAD and Bourke, AFG (2012) The bumblebee Bombus hortorum is the main pollinating visitor to Digitalis purpurea (Common Foxglove) in a U.K. population. Journal of Pollination Ecology, 8. pp. 48-51.
Friend, LA and Bourke, AFG (2012) Absence of within-colony kin discrimination in a multiple-queen ant, Leptothorax acervorum. Ethology, 118. pp. 1182-1190. ISSN 1439-0310
Zanette, LRS, Miller, SDL, Faria, CMA, Almond, EA, Huggins, TJ, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2012) Reproductive conflict in bumblebees and the evolution of worker policing. Evolution, 66. pp. 3765-3777. ISSN 1558-5646
Carvell, C, Osborne, JL, Bourke, AFG, Freeman, SN, Pywell, RF and Heard, MS (2011) Bumble bee species' responses to a targeted conservation measure depend on landscape context and habitat quality. Ecological Applications, 21 (5). pp. 1760-1771. ISSN 1051-0761
Bourke, A (2011) The validity and value of inclusive fitness theory. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 278. pp. 3313-3320.
Carvell, C, Jordan, WC, Bourke, AFG, Pickles, R, Redhead, JW and Heard, MS (2011) Molecular and spatial analyses reveal links between colony-specific foraging distance and landscape-level resource availability in two bumblebee species. Oikos. no-no. ISSN 00301299 (In Press)
Charman, TG, Sears, J, Green, RE and Bourke, AFG (2010) Conservation genetics, foraging distance and nest density of the scarce Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus). Molecular Ecology, 19 (13). pp. 2661-2674. ISSN 09621083
Rees, SD, Orledge, GM, Bruford, MW and Bourke, AFG (2010) Genetic structure of the Black Bog Ant (Formica picea Nylander) in the United Kingdom. Conservation Genetics, 11 (3). pp. 823-834.
Bourke, AFG (2009) The kin structure of sexual interactions. Biology Letters, 5 (5). pp. 689-692.
Lopez-Vaamonde, C, Raine, NE, Koning, JW, Brown, RM, Pereboom, JJM, Ings, TC, Ramos-Rodriguez, O, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2009) Lifetime reproductive success and longevity of queens in an annual social insect. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22 (5). pp. 983-996.
Charman, TG, Sears, J, Bourke, AFG and Green, RE (2009) Phenology of Bombus distinguendus in the Outer Hebrides. The Glasgow Naturalist, 25. pp. 35-42.
Bourke, AFG (2008) Social evolution: daily self-sacrifice by worker ants. Current Biology, 18 (23). pp. 1100-1101.
Heard, MS, Carvell, C, Carreck, NL, Rothery, P, Osborne, JL and Bourke, AFG (2007) Landscape context not patch size determines bumble-bee density on flower mixtures sown for agri-environment schemes. Biology Letters, 3 (6). pp. 638-641.
Bourke, AFG (2007) Social evolution: community policing in insects. Current Biology, 17 (13). pp. 519-520.
Bourke, AFG (2007) Kin selection and the evolutionary theory of aging. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 38. pp. 103-128.
Lopez-Vaamonde, C, Brown, RM, Lucas, ER, Pereboom, JJM, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2007) Effect of the queen on worker reproduction and new queen production in the bumble bee Bombus terrestris. Apidologie, 38 (2). pp. 171-180.
Hammond, RL, Bruford, MW and Bourke, AFG (2006) A test of reproductive skew models in a field population of a multiple-queen ant. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 61 (2). pp. 265-275.
Pereboom, JJM, Jordan, WC, Sumner, S, Hammond, RL and Bourke, AFG (2005) Differential gene expression in queen-worker caste determination in bumble-bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 272 (1568). pp. 1145-1152. ISSN 0962-8452
Lopez-Vaamonde, C, Koning, JW, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2004) A test of information use by reproductive bumblebee workers. Animal Behaviour, 68 (4). pp. 811-818.
Lopez-Vaamonde, C, Koning, JW, Brown, RM, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2004) Social parasitism by male-producing reproductive workers in a eusocial insect. Nature, 430 (6999). pp. 557-560. ISSN 0028-0836
Chapman, RE, Wang, J and Bourke, AFG (2003) Genetic analysis of spatial foraging patterns and resource sharing in bumble bee pollinators. Molecular Ecology, 12 (10). pp. 2801-2808. ISSN 0962-1083
Lopez-Vaamonde, C, Koning, JW, Jordan, WC and Bourke, AFG (2003) No evidence that reproductive bumblebee workers reduce the production of new queens. Animal Behaviour, 66 (3). pp. 577-584.
Hammond, RL, Bruford, MW and Bourke, AFG (2003) Male parentage does not vary with colony kin structure in a multiple-queen ant. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 16 (3). pp. 446-455.
Holehouse, KA, Hammond, RL and Bourke, AFG (2003) Non-lethal sampling of DNA from bumble bees for conservation genetics. Insectes Sociaux, 50 (3). pp. 277-285.
Bourke, AFG (2002) Genetics of social behaviour in fire ants. Trends in Genetics, 18 (5). pp. 221-223.
Hammond, RL, Bruford, MW and Bourke, AFG (2002) Ant workers selfishly bias sex ratios by manipulating female development. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 269 (1487). pp. 173-178. ISSN 0962-8452
Chapman, RE and Bourke, AFG (2001) The influence of sociality on the conservation biology of social insects. Ecology Letters, 4 (6). pp. 650-662.
Hammond, RL, Bourke, AFG and Bruford, MW (2001) Mating frequency and mating system of the polygynous ant, Leptothorax acervorum. Molecular Ecology, 10 (11). pp. 2719-2728.
Bourke, AFG (2001) Reproductive skew and split sex ratios in social Hymenoptera. Evolution, 55 (10). pp. 2131-2136.
Bourke, AFG and Ratnieks, FLW (2001) Kin-selected conflict in the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 268 (1465). pp. 347-355.
Bourke, AFG (2001) Social insects and selfish genes. Biologist, 48. pp. 205-208.
Book Section
Bourke, AFG (2005) Genetics, relatedness and social behaviour in insect societies. In: Insect Evolutionary Ecology. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 1-30. ISBN 978-0851998121
Bourke, AFG (2004) Social Insects. In: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia 2nd edition. Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan, Michigan, pp. 67-73. ISBN 978-0787657796
Book
Bourke, AFG (2011) Principles of Social Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 978-0199231164
External Activities and Indicators of Esteem
- International Union for the Study of Social Insects, President, North-west European Section, 2007-2009
- Editor-in-Chief, Behavioral Ecology, 2004-2006; Editor, Behavioral Ecology, 2000-2004
- Editorial Board, Insectes Sociaux, 2000-2006
- Editorial Board, Ecology Letters, 2010-present
- Member, NERC Peer Review College, 2005-2009
- Panel Evaluator, European Research Council, 2007
- Member, Ecology Grant Assessment Panel, Research Council for Biosciences and Environment, Academy of Finland, Helsinki, 2005
- Independent Advisor to European Commission, Mid-Term Review of EU-Improving Human Potential 'INSECTS' Network, Laufen, Germany, 2003
Administrative Posts/Responsibilities
- Member, BIO Promotions Committee
- Member, BIO Board of Examiners
- Coordinator, BIO Open Lectures
- Module organizer, Social Evolution (BIO-3C38)
