Dr Thomas O'Shea-Wheller

About me:

I am interested in the complex interactions that govern collective behaviour, ecology, and self-organisation within social insects. My research centres upon the intersection between fundamental investigations of colony functioning, and applied work in ecology and epidemiology. I utilise ants, honey bees, bumble bees, and termites as models to assess network dynamics, with a focus on the role of interindividual heterogeneity.

Currently, I am involved in projects pertaining to honey bee epidemiology and genetics, the dynamics of parasite-pathogen interactions within insect colonies, the effect of mosquito control compounds upon bumble bees, and the detection and behavioural classification of invasive hornets using artificial intelligence.

The central aim of my research is to leverage an understanding of the rules underpinning complex systems; both to solve real-world challenges, and enhance mechanistic knowledge at a variety of scales. I value social insect models, as they provide tractable and fascinating tools with which to investigate applied and fundamental questions in biology.

Orchid ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5537-2659

Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3pPvPfIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

1. Pollinator health and epidemiology
2. Collective behaviour in social insects
3. Vespa velutina as an invasive species
4. Behavioural heterogeneity
5. AI-assisted tracking and detection

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2017 PhD (University of Bristol) Biology

2013 BSc (University of Exeter) Biosciences

2021-Present Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Exeter

2018-2021 Postdoctoral Researcher-Project Manager, Louisiana State University