Dr Sarah Hodge

About me:

I am an Associate Professor in Biosciences at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus and am heavily involved in both undergraduate and MSc teaching, having previously held Director of Education and programme lead roles for Biosciences on this campus. I am currently joint Deputy Head of Department for the Centre of Ecology & Conservation. I also lead on widening participation activities within the department and provide pastoral support to International Students.

My research background lies in understanding the causes and consequences of conflict over reproduction in cooperative animal societies. In particular, I am interested in understanding how conflicts over reproduction are resolved, and the consequences that variation in reproductive skew has for the extent that individuals cooperate and compete. Much of my research to date has used a combination of field experiments and long term life-history data in two cooperative mammal species, the high-skew meerkat (Suricatta suricata) and the low-skew banded mongoose (Mungos mungo).

I also have an interest in conservation, and have run a number of projects investigating the impacts of human activities on British mammal populations. These include projects studying the influence of habitat management on harvest mice, water shrews, hedgehogs and small mammal populations in general. These projects are largely conducted alongside undergraduate and masters students.

2012: Senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2004: PhD University of Cambridge

1996: BSc University of Bristol

2022-present Joint Deputy Head of Department for Biosciences Penryn (CEC)

2020-present Associate Professor, Centre for Eclogy & Conservation, University of Exeter

2019-2022 Joint Director of Education for Biosciences Penryn (CEC)

2017-2019 Joint Director of Education for CLES Penryn (CEC and CGES)

2012-2020 Senior Lecturer, Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter

2012 Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2010-2012: Lecturer, Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter

2008-2010: NERC funded post doc, Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter “Reproductive conflict in the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose” with Dr Mike Cant.

2004-2008: NERC funded post doc, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. “Intrasexual selection and reproductive strategies in cooperative meerkats” with Prof Tim Clutton-Brock.

2000-2004: PhD Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. “The evolution of cooperation in the communal breeding banded mongoose”

I was away on maternity leave from March 2014 to January 2015. Between 2015 and 2018 I worked 0.6 FTE and 2018-2020 0.8 FTE. I am currently 0.8 FTE.