Professor David Hosken

About me:

I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests, but I am primarily interested in sexual phenotypes, particularly those associated with sexual selection and sexual conflict, and in the genotype-phenotype link. I also work on the genetics of sexual selection, sperm competition, inbreeding, metabolism, and intra-locus sexual conflict. I am particularly interested in DDT-resistance alleles in Drosophila because of the sexually antagonistic selection they generate. I also work on bat ecology and aging. I am a member of the Evolution research group and am based in Cornwall. I previously worked in Switzerland, Germany and the USA after completing my studies in Australia.

I am currently one the DPVCs in the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy.

Interests:

Most of my work is focused on sexual selection, particularly sperm competition and sexual conflicts.

For those with an interest in reproductive biology, sperm competition and sperm, please see Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective. Elsevier. Birkhead, T.R., Hosken, D.J. & Pitnick, S. (eds) (2009) see Borders.co.uk or Elsevier.com Includes chapters on sperm proteome, history of spermatology, origins of sperm, sperm competition, sperm-egg interactions to name a few and for a report on recent sexual conflict work please see: New Scientist.

For those more broadly interested in sexual selection see our book Genotype by Environment Interactions and Sexual Selection. Hunt J & Hosken DJ (2014).

For more detail on my research interests see:

https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=YeJ4MkYAAAAJ&view_op=list_works

Qualifications:

1992 BSc University of Western Australia
1998 PhD University of Western Australia

Career:

2024. Fellow of the Linnean Society, London.

2022-present. Deputy-Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy

2020-2023. President, Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (https://www.asab.org).

2019-2022. Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Cornwall

2015-2019. Dean of Strategic Development, Cornwall

2015 Leverhulme Research Fellowship

2013 Zoological Society of London, Scientific Medal

2010-present Chair in Evolutionary Biology

2010-2014 Director of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation

2004-2010 Reader in Evolution, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, UK

1999-2004 Assistant, Zoological Museum, University of Zurich, Switzerland

1999 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Chicago, USA

1999 Alexander Von Humboldt Research Fellow, University of Konstanz, Germany

1997-1998 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Zurich, Switzerland