Dr Andrew Young
Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology
A.J.Young@exeter.ac.uk
01326 254241
Daphne du Maurier 3043
Daphne du Maurier Building, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
Overview
I am an Evolutionary Biologist with an interest in Social Evolution and Senescence (Ageing)
My group use long-term field studies of wild social vertebrates (e.g. weaver birds in the Kalahari desert and European badgers here in the UK) and laboratory studies of social microbes to advance our understand of sociality and ageing.
For more info see www.animalsocieties.org
I am based at Exeter's Centre for Ecology & Conservation (#ExeterCEC) in Cornwall, UK
I am the Director of our renowned MSc in Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology
And I support the Research Fellowship programmes of the Royal Society and the BBSRC.
I am also a passionate educator, ecologist and adventurer, enjoying teaching and discovery in the wild as much as the class-room. Most of my research is conducted in the Kalahari desert, but I have taught fieldcourses in a wide variety of places, from Costa Rica, Kenya & India to Scotland, Switzerland & the Isles of Scilly, right here on our doorstep in Cornwall.
I lead the following taught modules & am a Fellow of Higher Education Academy
MSc - Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology: Frontiers & Approaches
L2 - Animal Ecophysiology
L2 - Isles of Scilly Fieldcourse (St Agnes)
Away from the office, I am a rock climber, sea kayaker, photographer, mammalwatcher & father of twins.
Check out these recent findings from our research on cooperative Kalahari weaver birds:
Mothers in a cooperatively breeding bird lay larger eggs when they'll have more help feeding their nestlings
PLOS Biology
Cooperative breeding allows a Kalahari bird to cope with unpredictable rainfall
Science Advances
Do get in touch if you're interested in joining the group or our MSc in Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology
Qualifications
2003 PhD Zoology, University of Cambridge
1997 BA (Hons), University of Cambridge
Career
2016-now Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Exeter
2010-2016 BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellow, Exeter
2007-2010 NERC Blue Skies Research Fellow, Exeter
2004-2007 Magdalene College Research Fellow, Cambridge
2000-2003 PhD, Cambridge
I started my career in Cambridge, completing my Honours degree and PhD at St John's, and then holding a Fellowship at Magdalene. I then won a NERC Blue Skies Research Fellowship to move to Exeter’s newly formed Centre for Ecology and Conservation in Cornwall in 2007, to set up the sparrow weaver project, followed by a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellowship in 2010.
Links
Research group links
Research
Research interests
My group investigate the Evolution and Mechanisms of Social Behaviour & Senescence (Ageing) using wild social vertebrates and microbes as model systems
Check out www.animalsocieties.org for the low down!
I am particularly interested in the evolution of cooperation, social conflict and senescence and the interactions between these phenomena. My group take an integrative approach, asking both evolutionary and mechanistic questions, given the potential for mechanistic insights to shed light on evolutionary constraints and the origins of variation. We test evolutionary and mechanistic hypotheses through a combination of long-term longitudinal life-history, behavioural and molecular (e.g. genomics, endocrine and oxidative stress, and telomere biology) analyses, targeted field experiments, and experimental evolution in the laboratory.
We use natural populations of social vertebrates and laboratory studies of microbes as our main study systems. One of our primary model systems is our long-term study of sparrow weaver societies in the Kalahari desert.
Check out two recent findings from our work on cooperative Kalahari weaver birds:
Mothers in a cooperatively breeding bird lay larger eggs when they'll have more help feeding their nestlings
PLOS Biology
Cooperative breeding allows a Kalahari bird to cope with unpredictable rainfall
Science Advances
Do get in touch if you are interested in joining the group!
Research projects
COOPERATION
- The Evolution of Cooperation in Unpredictable Enivornments
- The Evolution of Sex Differences in Cooperation
- The Genetic Architecture of Cooperation
- The Evolution of Plasticity in Cooperation in Animals and Microbial Lineages
SENESCENCE
- The Evolution of Senescence in Social Organisms
- The Mechanisms of Senescence in Natural Animal Populations
- Parental Age effects on Offspring Performance: Evolution & Mechanisms
- The Evolution of Age-Structured Heterogeneity within Microbial Lineages
Research networks
COOPERATION & SENESCENCE IN KALAHARI SPARROW-WEAVER SOCIETIES
Pablo Capilla Lasheras, Alastair Wilson, Ben Ashton, Joao Passos, Xavier Harrison, Marc Naguib, Jon Blount, Nigel Bennett & Simone Meddle
MICROBIAL SENESCENCE & COOPERATION
Stefano Pagliara, Angus Buckling, Bram Kuijper
SENESCENCE IN EUROPEAN BADGERS
Dez Delahay, Robbie McDonald, TJ McKinley, Dave Hodgson
SENESCENCE IN RACE-HORSES
Patrick Sharman & Alastair Wilson
Links
Publications
Journal articles
Chapters
External Engagement and Impact
Committee/panel activities
Research Council Responsibilities:
Royal Society Newton Fellowship Committee 2018-Present
BBSRC Future Leader Fellowship (FLF) mentoring 2015-2018
External Examination of Post-graduate Research Theses:
S. Ravindran, University of Edinburgh, UK (PhD)
T. Brown, University of East Anglia, UK (PhD)
P. Roskell, University of Lancaster, UK (MbyRes)
L. Fitzpatrick, University of Tasmania, Australia (PhD)
M. Brachet, University of Pretoria, South Africa (PhD)
A. Sibma, University of Sheffield, UK (PhD)
M. Roast, Universtiy of Melbourne, Australia (PhD)
S. Kroeger, University of Aberdeen, UK (PhD)
N. Khwaja, University of Sheffield, UK (PhD)
C. Christensen, University of Bristol, UK (MbyRes)
M. Paquet, CEFE CNRS Montpellier, France (PhD)
A. Sibun, University of Bristol, UK (MbyRes)
L. Grinsted, Aarhus Univeristy, Denmark (PhD)
K.L. Edwards, University of Liverpool, UK (PhD)
H.J. Nichols, University of Cambridge, UK (PhD)
F.J. De Haas van Dorsser, University of Cambridge, UK (PhD)
Scientific Committees:
International Society for Behavioural Ecology 2016
International Mammological Congress 2013
Editorial responsibilities
Refereeing for the following journals: Aging Cell, American Naturalist, Animal Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology, Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology, Biology Letters, Conservation Physiology, Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology, Hormones & Behavior, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Biodiversity Management & Forestry, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Journal of Zoology, Journal of Mammalogy, Nature Communications, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Physiology & Behavior, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Science.
Refereeing for book publishers: Cambridge University Press
Reviewing research grants: BBSRC, NERC, Royal Society, Leverhulme Trust, NRF
Invited lectures
I have given invited seminars at >25 research institutions in the UK and overseas
Invited Keynotes & Public Engagement Lectures
European Society for Behaviour and Cognition, St Andrews
Ethological Society, Hamburg
Zoological Society of London Communicating Science Series, London
Social Interactions Conference in Neuchatel, Switzerland
Biodemography of Ageing, Longevity and Sociality, Azores
ASAB Easter Meeting, Nottingham
Chicago Zoological Society
Media Coverage
International media coverage
National Geographic magazine, Scientific American, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, Nature, Science, Science News, Science Illustrated, CBS Radio (Canada), BBC Radio, I Fucking Love Science, Mail on Sunday, Quo, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, Die Press, Süddeutsche Zeitung and others.
Research photography
Nature, Science, BBC Wildlife, TREE, Natural History, The Daily Telegraph, Africa Geographic, Biology Letters, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Ethology, Hormones & Behavior, BBC Knowledge, Science Illustrated, Science News, Quo, World Birdwatch and in books by Orion and Cambridge University Press
Scientific consulting
National Geographic, BBC Natural History Unit, Oxford Scientific Films and Tigress Productions
Teaching
I very much enjoy teaching in the class-room and the field, and my teaching portfolio reflects this...At Masters level, I am the Director of the Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology MSc Programme and lead its core taught module Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology: Frontiers & Approaches (BIOM4046)
I also lead our second-year undergraduate Isles of Scilly Fieldcourse (St Agnes), in which we explore the challenges of conducting ecological field studies in the wild, and of quantifying and preserving biodiversity, drawing inspiration from the stunning natural environments of the Scilly archipelago on our doorstep here in Cornwall.
And I also lead second-year Animal Ecophysiology (BIO2427), in which we explore the interactions between evolution and mechanisms; both how adaptation has shaped physiological mechanisms and how key physiological processes may constrain and thereby explain evolutionary outcomes.
I also contribute to Research Week at the very start of first year, when we introduce our new cohorts of students to the fun & frolics of conducting short ecological research projects here in Cornwall. I also run Third year Research Projects, typically conducting experimental investigations of territorial behaviour in European robins right here on our Cornwall campus. And I act as pastoral Tutor to many of our Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology Masters students.
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Modules
2024/25
- BIO2427 - Animal Ecophysiology
- BIO2458 - Scillies St Agnes Field Course
- BIOM4046 - Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology: Frontiers and Approaches
Supervision / Group
Postgraduate researchers
- William Singleton (PhD 2021-25, Exeter) The evolution and mechanisms of senescence in microbial lineages
- Melanie Weedon (PhD 2017-23, Exeter) The mechanisms and transgenerational effects of senescence in wild European badgers
Alumni
- Chris Beirne (PhD 2011-14, Exeter, with Dez Delahay of FERA)The mechanisms of senescence in wild European badgers
- Chris Beirne (BBSRC Post-doctoral Research Associate) Mechanisms of senescence in wild social vertebrates
- Antony Brown (PhD 2017-21, Exeter) Kin competition and senescence in a wild social bird
- Pablo Capilla Lasheras (PhD 2016-19, Exeter) The Evolution of Cooperation in Variable Environments
- Dominic Cram (PhD 2013) Load-lightening, oxidative stress and the evolution of avian cooperation
- Xavier Harrison (BBSRC Post-doctoral Research Associate) Patterns of parentage in sparrow weaver societies: cause and implications for mate choice, dispersal and cooperation
- Rafael Mares (PhD 2012) Extra-territorial prospecting and territory defence in cooperatively breeding meerkats
- Olivia O Callaghan (MbyRes 2019-21, Exeter) The evolution of cooperation via group augmentation and workload-lightening
- Jenni Sanderson (PhD 2013) The regulation of cooperation and conflict in banded mongoose societies
- Faye Thompson (PhD 2017, Exeter, with Mike Cant) Dispersal, inter-group conflict and population dynamics in banded mongooses
- Lindsay Walker (PhD 2012-16, Exeter, with Nick Royle) Early life effects on parental and cooperative care in sparrow weaver societies
- Alice Williams (PhD 2014-2018, Exeter with Tom Currie) The evolution of sociopolitical complexity in humans
- Emma Wood (PhD 2017, Exeter) Causes and fitness consequences of telomere dynamics in a wild social bird
- Jenny York (PhD 2012) The regulation and function of dawn song in sparrow-weaver societies