Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Professor Michael Cant

Professor Michael Cant

Professor of Evolutionary Biology

 M.A.Cant@exeter.ac.uk

 01326 253771

 Daphne du Maurier 3048

 

Daphne du Maurier Building, University of Exeter,  Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK

Overview

Latest News: Michael was awarded a €3 million ERC Advanced Grant for a project titled "Intergroup conflict and the evolution of animal societies" (INTERGROUP). For further details see press release here.

Research overview: Life forms are a nested hierarchy of cooperative teams: teams of replicating molecules, genes, chromosomes, cells, and individuals. Understanding how these teams form, cooperate and resolve conflicts is an exciting frontier of research for biologists working at all levels of biological organisation, from genes to societies. I study these questions in cooperative animal societies which are particularly tractable systems to test theories about how cooperation and conflict evolve, and why individuals vary so much in their behaviour. The goal is to uncover general principles that explain patterns of social behaviour across taxa, from insects to humans, and to understand how different types of animal society evolved. 

One of my main research organisms is the banded mongoose, a cooperative mammal that lives in mixed-sex groups of around 20 individuals throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This species is very unusual because all adult females in each group mate and give birth together on the same day, but the communal litter is raised by the entire group.  I run a long-term study of a population of around 250 animals in Queen Elizabeth National Park, western Uganda. We use this population to study social and transgenerational influences on aging and life history, the causes and consequences of within- and intergroup conflict, and the evolution of helping behaviour.

In addition to banded mongooses I work on a population of paper wasps in southern Spain with Prof Jeremy Field (Exeter, Biosciences), and on a population of resident killer whales off the northwest coast of the USA with Prof Darren Croft (Exeter, Psychology). My main collaborator for theoretical work is Prof Rufus Johnstone (Cambridge, Zoology). Together we have developed theoretical models to understand competition within groups, and life history evolution in humans and other long-lived social animals. For further information and publications on all my research see my group website socialisresearch.org.

I am a member of the Behaviour research group, and the Human Biological and Cultural Evolution Group. For publications, videos and further information on my research see my group website here.

News: October 2023. Michael gave an invited lecture at a conference on "Nonlinear systems in Ecology, Biology, Economics and Physics" in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of mathematician Professor Messoud Efendiev.

April 2023: Michael was invited to give a plenary lecture for the Humbolt Research Award Winners Symposium in Bamberg, Germany. 

New book published (2021): The Evolution of Social Behaviour by Michael Taborsky, Michael Cant, and Jan Komdeur. Cambridge University Press

Media: 2021. Michael Cant and Patrick Green gave a joint Long Term Animal Research Seminar on warfare, mongooses, and group adaptation. 2019. Watch Michael talk about 'Kinship Dynamics and the Evolution of Social Life Histories' at the Zoo and Wildlife Research Symposium, Berln Oct 2019 (starts 1h:16). Listen to Michael on Radio 4's The Human Hive; or to his audio diary from Uganda on NERC's Planet Earth website (starts 2:45). Read about his recent research on why only humans and two species of whale have evolved menopause; how banded mongoose 'escorts' pass on foraging traditions to the offspring in their care; and the conflicts that lie beneath the surface of apparently cooperative animal societies.

Qualifications

1999 PhD, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge 

1994 Postgraduate Certificate in Biotechnology Training, University of Leicester 

1993 BSc(Hons) Zoology 1st Class, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Career

2024 ERC Advanced Grant
2022 Humboldt Research Award, Germany
2021 Leverhulme International Fellowship, University of Goettingen, Germany
2020 Wiko Fellowship, Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany
2015 Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
2013 ERC Consolidator Grant
2013 Professor of Evolutionary Biology
2011 Associate Professor
2007 Royal Society University Research Fellow, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus
2003 Royal Society University Research Fellow, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
2001 Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow. Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, New York, USA
1999 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biology, University College London

Links

Research group links

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Research

Research interests

I work on the evolution of conflict and cooperation in animal societies using a combination of field-based research and game-theoretical modelling. Field studies focus on two model systems: cooperatively breeding banded mongooses in Uganda, and paper wasps in southern Spain. I have also recently started a project on intergroup conflict in termites. My current interests include:

  • Intergroup conflict and the evolution of social cohesion
  • Conflict over reproduction in cooperative societies
  • Development and aging in social organisms
  • Demography and kin selection
  • The evolution of menopause and human life history

Research projects

Banded Mongoose Research Project (See www.socialisresearch.org)

Banded mongooses live in highly cooperative groups of twenty or more adults of both sexes, plus offspring. They are unusual among cooperative vertebrates because multiple females in each group reproduce together in each breeding attempt. I began working on banded mongooses in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, in 1995, and the population has been studied continuously since then. We now have a continuous database with information on behaviour and life history from birth to death for over 2000 individuals. We are currently investigating mechanisms of reproductive control; early-life influences on future social behaviour; social influences on aging and physiological senescence; and the hormonal basis of helping behaviour. Full details of the project can be found on our project website (see the link above).

Social evolution in primitively eusocial insects

I have worked extensively with Prof Jeremy Field at the University of Sussex to develop and test theory about the evolution of social behaviour in small animal societies, using paper wasps as a model system. In this species, foundresses form small groups in early spring and cooperate to build a nest and provision developing larvae. Even though all the females are mated and could potentially breed, on each nest typically one 'dominant' female lays most of the eggs while the other 'subordinate' foundresses do most of the work of finding food and expanding the nest. We have shown using simple removal experiments that individual females adjust their helping effort and aggression according to their probability of inheriting the nest in future, should the dominant die. Specifically, foundresses help less, and become more aggressive, as they approach the front of the social queue to inherit the top breeding position. These are the patterns our simple models predict, if the wasps are maximizing their inclusive fitness. An important outstanding question is how females resolve conflicts so that the group remains stable. How are conflicts settled? Why do some subordinates lay eggs in the nest, whereas others do not? Do wasps 'negotiate' over how hard they will work, or how many eggs they will lay? How do dominant females deter subordinates from challenging their position?

The evolution of menopause and human life history

An enduring puzzle of human life history is why women cease reproduction mid-way through life. This mismatch between reproductive and somatic senescence is extremely rare: among mammals only killer whales and pilot whales are known to exhibit a similar pattern. In collaboration with Dr Rufus Johnstone at the University of Cambridge I have developed a series of new models which suggest that the evolution of menopause may be linked to demography. In particular, our models predict that unusual patterns of dispersal predispose humans, and some toothed whales, to early reproductive cessation and late life helping.

Evolutionary principles of war and peace

I have recently become interested in intergroup conflict as a unifying factor in the evolution of individuality, social cohesion and biological complexity. Humans are often cited as among the most cooperative of animals, but the flipside is that they are also among the most discriminatory, hostile, and violent towards people they perceive as outsiders. The idea that warfare among ancestral human bands increased social cohesion and promoted cooperation has been around for centuries, and was discussed extensively by Darwin in his 1871 book The Descent of Man. Intergroup conflict is also widespread in other animals, and varies in frequency and intensity for reasons that are not well understood. In the last twenty years the idea that warfare shaped the evolution of human societies has been formalised in population genetic and game theoretical models which examine the spread of cooperative alleles on an evolutionary time scale, i.e., over hundreds or thousands of generations. But we have surprisingly little theory to understand the behavioural causes and consequences of intergroup conflict – how individuals and groups should respond to attacks, or to rapid changes in their ecological and social environment that occur within the lifetime of group members. Together with Rufus Johnstone I am working on new theoretical models to address this issue, with the aim of testing them across a range of social organisms, from social insects to primates, including humans.

Research networks

Rufus Johnstone, Hazel Nichols, Marta Manser, Neil Jordan, Sarah Hodge, Darren Croft, Dan Franks, Joe Hoffman, Jon Blount, Patrick Green

Research grants

  • 2024 ERC Advanced Investigator Award
    n/a
  • 2023 The Leverhulme Trust
    The role of mutualisms in social evolution and behaviour
  • 2019 Natural Environment Research Council
    Leaders of war: the evolution of collective decision-making in the face of intergroup conflict
  • 2019 Natural Environment Research Council
    The evolution of sex differences in mammalian social life histories.
  • 2018 Natural Environment Research Council
    The ecology and evolution of intergroup conflict in animal societies: theory and tests
  • 2016 Natural Environment Research Council
    Transgenerational costs of reproduction and the evolution of life histories
  • 2012 Natural Environment Research Council
    Early life influences on the development of cooperation in wild mammals
  • 2012 ERC Consolidators Grant
    Social development and life history evolution in cooperative mammals: an integrated approach
  • 2009 Natural Environment Research Council
    Social influences on aging in a wild cooperative mammal
  • 2008 Natural Environment Research Council
    Adaptive suppression of subordinate reproduction in cooperative mammals
  • 2007 Natural Environment Research Council
    Reproductive conflict in cooperative mammal societies: an experimental approach
  • 2007 Royal Society University Research Fellowship
    The evolution of cooperation and conflict in animal societies
  • 2002 Royal Society University Research Fellowship
    The evolution of cooperation and conflict in animal societies
  • 2000 Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
    Reproductive conflict and the evolution of helping in animal societies

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Publications

Books

Taborsky M, Cant M, Komdeur J (2021). The Evolution of Social Behaviour. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. Abstract.

Journal articles

Birch G, Meniri M, Cant MA, Blount JD (2024). Defence against the intergenerational cost of reproduction in males: oxidative shielding of the germline. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 99(1), 70-84. Abstract.  Author URL.
Shelafoe C, Thompson FJ, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Businge R, Mwesige K, Sanderson JL, Cant MA, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, et al (2023). Caregiver’s cognitive traits are associated with pup fitness in a cooperatively breeding mammal. Scientific Reports, 13(1). Abstract.
Weiss MN, Ellis S, Franks DW, Nielsen MLK, Cant MA, Johnstone RA, Ellifrit DK, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (2023). Costly lifetime maternal investment in killer whales. Curr Biol, 33(4), 744-748.e3. Abstract.  Author URL.
Hudson DW, Hodgson DJ, Cant MA, Thompson FJ, Delahay R, McDonald RA, McKinley TJ (2023). Importance sampling and Bayesian model comparison in ecology and evolution. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14(12), 2994-3006. Abstract.
Cant M (2023). Menopause in chimpanzees. Science, 382(6669), 368-369. Abstract.
Khera M, Arbuckle K, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Mwesige K, Businge R, Blount JD, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2023). Small increases in ambient temperature reduce offspring body mass in an equatorial mammal. Biology letters, 19(11). Abstract.
Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen M, Ellis S, Weiss MN, Towers JR, Doniol-Valcroze T, Franks DW, Cant MA, Ellis GM, Ford JKB, Malleson M, et al (2023). Temporal dynamics of mother-offspring relationships in Bigg’s killer whales: opportunities for kin-directed help by post-reproductive females. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Vitikainen EIK, Meniri M, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Businge R, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Mwesige K, Ahabonya S, Sanderson JL, et al (2023). The social formation of fitness: lifetime consequences of prenatal nutrition and postnatal care in a wild mammal population. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 378(1883). Abstract.  Author URL.
Padget RFB, Cant MA, Thompson FJ (2023). Us, them, and the others: Testing for discrimination amongst outgroups in a single-piece nesting termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis. Ecol Evol, 13(3). Abstract.  Author URL.
Green PA, Thompson FJ, Cant MA (2022). Fighting force and experience combine to determine contest success in a warlike mammal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(25). Abstract.
Sankey DWE, Hunt KL, Croft DP, Franks DW, Green PA, Thompson FJ, Johnstone RA, Cant MA (2022). Leaders of war: Modelling the evolution of conflict among heterogeneous groups. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377(1851). Abstract.
Ellis S, Cant M, Weiss M, Brent L, Meniri M, Thompson F, Croft D (2022). Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nature Ecology and Evolution Abstract.
Garcia Arasco A, Manser M, Watson SK, Kyabulima S, Radford AN, Cant MA, Garcia M (2022). Testing the acoustic adaptation hypothesis with vocalizations from three mongoose species. Animal Behaviour, 187, 71-95. Abstract.
Meniri M, Evans E, Thompson FJ, Marshall HH, Nichols HJ, Lewis G, Holt L, Davey E, Mitchell C, Johnstone RA, et al (2022). Untangling the oxidative cost of reproduction: an analysis in wild banded mongooses. Ecol Evol, 12(3). Abstract.  Author URL.
Nichols HJ, Arbuckle K, Sanderson JL, Vitikainen EIK, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Cant MA, Wells DA (2021). A double pedigree reveals genetic but not cultural inheritance of cooperative personalities in wild banded mongooses. Ecol Lett, 24(9), 1966-1975. Abstract.  Author URL.
Nielsen MLK, Ellis S, Towers JR, Doniol-Valcroze T, Franks DW, Cant MA, Weiss MN, Johnstone RA, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, et al (2021). A long postreproductive life span is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 11(13), 9123-9136.  Author URL.
Marshall HH, Johnstone RA, Thompson FJ, Nichols HJ, Wells D, Hoffman JI, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Sanderson JL, Vitikainen EIK, Blount JD, et al (2021). A veil of ignorance can promote fairness in a mammal society. Nat Commun, 12(1). Abstract.  Author URL.
Weiss MN, Franks DW, Giles DA, Youngstrom S, Wasser SK, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Domenici P, Cant MA, Ellis S, et al (2021). Age and sex influence social interactions, but not associations, within a killer whale pod. Proc Biol Sci, 288(1953). Abstract.  Author URL.
Green PA, Briffa M, Cant MA (2021). Assessment during Intergroup Contests. Trends Ecol Evol, 36(2), 139-150. Abstract.  Author URL.
Green PA, Preston EFR, Nicholl MH, Croft DP, Thompson FJ, Cant MA (2021). Collective defence and behavioural homogeneity during simulated territorial intrusions in banded mongooses (<i>Mungos mungo</i>). ETHOLOGY, 127(10), 886-896.  Author URL.
Khera M, Arbuckle K, Hoffman JI, Sanderson JL, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2021). Cooperatively breeding banded mongooses do not avoid inbreeding through familiarity-based kin recognition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(9). Abstract.
Wells DA, Cant MA, Thompson FJ, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Hoffman JI, Nichols HJ (2021). Extra-group paternity varies with proxies of relatedness in a social mammal with high inbreeding risk. BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY, 32(1), 94-104.  Author URL.
Sheppard CE, Heaphy R, Cant MA, Marshall HH (2021). Individual foraging specialization in group-living species. Animal Behaviour, 182, 285-294. Abstract.
Croft DP, Weiss MN, Nielsen MLK, Grimes C, Cant MA, Ellis S, Franks DW, Johnstone RA (2021). Kinship dynamics: patterns and consequences of changes in local relatedness. Proc Biol Sci, 288(1957). Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Cant MA, Domenici P, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Croft DP (2021). Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(4). Abstract.
Preston EFR, Thompson FJ, Ellis S, Kyambulima S, Croft DP, Cant MA (2021). Network-level consequences of outgroup threats in banded mongooses: Grooming and aggression between the sexes. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 90(1), 153-167.  Author URL.
Preston EFR, Thompson FJ, Kyabulima S, Croft DP, Cant MA (2021). The dynamics of social cohesion in response to simulated intergroup conflict in banded mongooses. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 11(24), 18662-18675.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Cram D, Thompson FJ (2020). Exploitative leaders incite intergroup warfare in a social mammal. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 117(47), 29759-29766.  Author URL.
Wells DA, Cant MA, Hoffman JI, Nichols HJ (2020). Inbreeding depresses altruism in a cooperative society. ECOLOGY LETTERS, 23(10), 1460-1467.  Author URL.
Weiss MN, Franks DW, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Silk MJ, Cant MA, Croft DP (2020). Modelling cetacean morbillivirus outbreaks in an endangered killer whale population. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION, 242  Author URL.
Thompson F, Hunt K, Wright K, Rosengaus R, Cole E, Birch G, Maune A, Cant M (2020). Who goes there? Social surveillance as a response to intergroup conflict in a primitive termite. Biology Letters, 16(7). Abstract.
Birch G, Cant MA, Thompson FJ (2019). Behavioural response of workers to repeated intergroup encounters in the harvester ant Messor barbarus. Insectes Sociaux, 66(3), 491-500. Abstract.
Kuijper ALW, Hanson MA, Vitikainen EIK, Marshall H, Ozanne SE, Cant MA (2019). Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences
Silk MJ, Cant MA, Cafazzo S, Natoli E, McDonald RA (2019). Elevated aggression is associated with uncertainty in a network of dog dominance interactions. Proc Biol Sci, 286(1906). Abstract.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA (2019). Evolution of Menopause. Current Biology
Cant MA, Croft DP (2019). Grandmothering in space and time. Current Biology
Vitikainen E, Thompson F, Marshall H, Cant MA (2019). Live long and prosper: durable benefits of early-life care in banded mongooses. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences
Nattrass S, Croft DP, Ellis S, Cant MA, Weiss MN, Wright BM, Stredulinsky E, Doniol-Valcroze T, Ford JKB, Balcomb KC, et al (2019). Postreproductive killer whale grandmothers improve the survival of their grandoffspring. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 116(52), 26669-26673. Abstract.  Author URL.
Inzani E, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Cant MA, Vitikainen EIK (2019). Spontaneous abortion as a response to reproductive conflict in the banded mongoose. BIOLOGY LETTERS, 15(12).  Author URL.
Marshall H, Inger R, Jackson AL, McDonald R, Thompson F, Cant MA (2019). Stable isotopes are quantitative indicators of diet and trophic niche. Ecology Letters
Wells DA, Cant MA, Nichols HJ, Hoffman JI (2018). A high-quality pedigree and genetic markers both reveal inbreeding depression for quality but not survival in a cooperative mammal. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 27(9), 2271-2288.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Currie TE, Cant MA, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (2018). Analyses of ovarian activity reveal repeated evolution of post-reproductive lifespans in toothed whales. Sci Rep, 8(1). Abstract.  Author URL.
Marshall HH, Griffiths DJ, Mwanguhya F, Businge R, Griffiths AGF, Kyabulima S, Mwesige K, Sanderson JL, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK, et al (2018). Data collection and storage in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies: the Mongoose 2000 system. PLoS One, 13(1). Abstract.  Author URL.
Sheppard CE, Marshall HH, Inger R, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK, Barker S, Nichols HJ, Wells DA, McDonald RA, Cant MA, et al (2018). Decoupling of Genetic and Cultural Inheritance in a Wild Mammal. Current Biology, 28(11), 1846-1850.e2.
Thompson F, Cant MA (2018). Dynamic conflict among heterogeneous groups: a comment on Christensen and Radford. Behavioral Ecology
Sheppard CE, Inger R, McDonald RA, Barker S, Jackson AL, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA, Marshall HH (2018). Intragroup competition predicts individual foraging specialisation in a group‐living mammal. Ecology Letters, 21(5), 665-673. Abstract.
Mitchell J, Kyabulima S, Businge R, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2018). Kin discrimination via odour in the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose. R Soc Open Sci, 5(3). Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant MA, Bradley DL, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (2018). Postreproductive lifespans are rare in mammals. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 8(5), 2482-2494.  Author URL.
Hares MC, Vitikainen EIK, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Blount JD, Cant MA (2018). Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence. EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY, 107, 67-73.  Author URL.
O'Brien S, Luján AM, Paterson S, Cant MA, Buckling A (2017). Adaptation to public goods cheats in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proc Biol Sci, 284(1859). Abstract.  Author URL.
Vitikainen EIK, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Sanderson JL, Bell MBV, Gilchrist JS, Hodge SJ, Nichols HJ, Cant MA (2017). Biased escorts: offspring sex, not relatedness explains alloparental care patterns in a cooperative breeder. Proc Biol Sci, 284(1854). Abstract.  Author URL.
Thompson FJ, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA (2017). Causes and consequences of intergroup conflict in cooperative banded mongooses. Animal Behaviour, 126, 31-40. Abstract.
Thompson FJ, Cant MA, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Sanderson JL, Nichols HJ, Gilchrist JS, Bell MBV, Young AJ, Hodge SJ, et al (2017). Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(20), 5207-5212. Abstract.
Scott K, Heistermann, M, Cant MA, Vitikainen EIK (2017). Group size and visitor number predict faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in zoo meerkats. Royal Society Open Science
Thompson FJ, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Young AJ, Cant MA (2017). Individual and demographic consequences of mass eviction in cooperative banded mongooses. Animal Behaviour, 134, 103-112. Abstract.
Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Mwanguhya F, Businge R, Kyabulima S, Hares MC, Inzani E, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Mwesige K, Nichols HJ, et al (2017). Lifetime fitness consequences of early-life ecological hardship in a wild mammal population. Ecology and Evolution, 7(6), 1712-1724. Abstract.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant MA, Weiss MN, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (2017). Mortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: Sex differences and the importance of resource abundance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1865). Abstract.
Mitchell J, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2017). Pregnancy is detected via odour in a wild cooperative breeder. Biol Lett, 13(11). Abstract.  Author URL.
Croft DP, Johnstone RA, Ellis S, Nattrass S, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Mazzi S, Balcomb KC, Ford JKB, Cant MA, et al (2017). Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Current Biology, 27(2), 298-304.
Mitchell J, Cant MA, Vitikainen EIK, Nichols HJ (2017). Smelling fit: scent marking exposes parasitic infection status in the banded mongoose. Curr Zool, 63(3), 237-247. Abstract.  Author URL.
Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA, Sanderson JL, Mitchell C, Nichols HJ, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Gilchrist JS, Hodge SJ, Johnstone RA, et al (2016). Evidence of Oxidative Shielding of Offspring in a Wild Mammal. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 4
Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA, Sanderson JL, Mitchell C, Nichols HJ, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Gilchrist JS, Hodge SJ, Johnstone RA, et al (2016). Evidence of Oxidative Shielding of Offspring in a Wild Mammal. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 4  Author URL.
Inzani E, Marshall HH, Sanderson JL, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Hodge SJ, Cant MA, Vitikainen EIK (2016). Female reproductive competition explains variation in prenatal investment in wild banded mongooses. Scientific Reports, 6 Abstract.
Mitchell J, Vitikainen EIK, Wells DA, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2016). Heterozygosity but not inbreeding coefficient predicts parasite burdens in the banded mongoose. Journal of Zoology, 302(1), 32-39. Abstract.
Cooney F, Vitikainen EIK, Marshall HH, van Rooyen W, Smith RL, Cant MA, Goodey N (2016). Lack of aggression and apparent altruism towards intruders in a primitive termite. Royal Society Open Science Abstract.
Blount JD, Vitikainen EIK, Stott I, Cant MA (2016). Oxidative shielding and the cost of reproduction. Biological Reviews, 91(2), 483-497. Abstract.
Thompson FJ, Marshall HH, Sanderson JL, Vitikainen EIK, Nichols HJ, Gilchrist JS, Young AJ, Hodge SJ, Cant MA (2016). Reproductive competition triggers mass eviction in cooperative banded mongooses. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1826), 20152607-20152607. Abstract.
Franks DW, Nattrass S, Brent LJN, Whitehead H, Foote AD, Mazzi S, Ford JKB, Balcomb KC, Cant MA, Croft DP, et al (2016). The significance of postreproductive lifespans in killer whales: a comment on Robeck et al.: Table 1. Journal of Mammalogy, 97(3), 906-909.
Marshall HH, Sanderson JL, Mwanghuya F, Businge R, Kyabulima S, Hares MC, Inzani E, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Mwesige K, Thompson FJ, et al (2016). Variable ecological conditions promote male helping by changing banded mongoose group composition. Behav Ecol, 27(4), 978-987. Abstract.  Author URL.
Nichols HJ, Cant MA, Sanderson JL (2015). Adjustment of costly extra-group paternity according to inbreeding risk in a cooperative mammal. Behavioral Ecology, 26(6), 1486-1494. Abstract.
Sanderson JL, Wang J, Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA, Nichols HJ (2015). Banded mongooses avoid inbreeding when mating with members of the same natal group. Molecular Ecology, 24(14), 3738-3751. Abstract.
Brent LJN, Franks DW, Foster EA, Balcomb KC, Cant MA, Croft DP (2015). Ecological Knowledge, Leadership, and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Current Biology, 25(6), 746-750.
Sanderson JL, Nichols HJ, Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Thompson FJ, Walker SL, Cant MA, Young AJ (2015). Elevated glucocorticoid concentrations during gestation predict reduced reproductive success in subordinate female banded mongooses. Biol Lett, 11(10). Abstract.  Author URL.
Croft DP, Brent LJN, Franks DW, Cant MA (2015). The evolution of prolonged life after reproduction. Trends Ecol Evol, 30(7), 407-416. Abstract.  Author URL.
Sanderson JL, Stott I, Young AJ, Vitikainen EIK, Hodge SJ, Cant MA (2015). The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo. Animal Behaviour, 107, 193-200. Abstract.
Donaldson L, Thompson FJ, Field J, Cant MA (2014). Do paper wasps negotiate over helping effort?. Behavioral Ecology, 25(1), 88-94. Abstract.
Thompson FJ, Donaldson L, Johnstone RA, Field J, Cant MA (2014). Dominant aggression as a deterrent signal in paper wasps. Behavioral Ecology, 25(4), 706-715. Abstract.
Nichols HJ, Cant MA, Hoffman JI, Sanderson JL (2014). Evidence for frequent incest in a cooperatively breeding mammal. Biology Letters, 10(12), 20140898-20140898. Abstract.
Sanderson JL, Young AJ, Hodge SJ, Kyabulima S, Walker SL, Cant MA (2014). Hormonal mediation of a carry-over effect in a wild cooperative mammal. Functional Ecology, 28(6), 1377-1386. Abstract.
Cant MA, Nichols HJ, Johnstone RA, Hodge SJ (2014). Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 111(1), 326-330. Abstract.  Author URL.
Port M, Cant MA (2014). Reproductive Competition Among Males in Multimale Groups of Primates: Modeling the Costs and Effectiveness of Conflict. International Journal of Primatology, 35(3-4), 746-763. Abstract.
Bell MBV, Cant MA, Borgeaud C, Thavarajah N, Samson J, Clutton-Brock TH (2014). Suppressing subordinate reproduction provides benefits to dominants in cooperative societies of meerkats. Nat Commun, 5 Abstract.  Author URL.
Green JP, Cant MA, Field J (2014). Using social parasitism to test reproductive skew models in a primitively eusocial wasp. Proc Biol Sci, 281(1789). Abstract.  Author URL.
Cant MA, Vitikainen E, Nichols HJ (2013). Demography and social evolution of banded mongooses. , 45, 407-445. Abstract.
Port M, Cant MA (2013). Longevity suppresses conflict in animal societies. Biol Lett, 9(5). Abstract.  Author URL.
Cant MA, Young AJ (2013). Resolving social conflict among females without overt aggression. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 368(1631). Abstract.  Author URL.
Jansen DAWAM, Cant MA, Manser MB (2013). Testing for vocal individual discrimination in adult banded mongooses. Journal of Zoology, 291(3), 171-177. Abstract.
Nichols HJ, Jordan NR, Jamie GA, Cant MA, Hoffman JI (2012). Fine-scale spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation reflect budding dispersal coupled with strong natal philopatry in a cooperatively breeding mammal. Molecular Ecology, 21(21), 5348-5362. Abstract.
Nichols HJ, Amos W, Bell MBV, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Cant MA (2012). Food availability shapes patterns of helping effort in a cooperative mongoose. Animal Behaviour, 83(6), 1377-1385. Abstract.
Nichols HJ, Bell MBV, Hodge SJ, Cant MA (2012). Resource limitation moderates the adaptive suppression of subordinate breeding in a cooperatively breeding mongoose. Behavioral Ecology, 23(3), 635-642. Abstract.
Jansen DAWAM, Cant MA, Manser MB (2012). Segmental concatenation of individual signatures and context cues in banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) close calls. BMC Biol, 10 Abstract.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Field J (2012). Sex-biased dispersal, haplodiploidy and the evolution of helping in social insects. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1729), 787-793. Abstract.
Cant MA (2012). Suppression of social conflict and evolutionary transitions to cooperation. Am Nat, 179(2), 293-301. Abstract.  Author URL.
Bell MBV, Nichols HJ, Gilchrist JS, Cant MA, Hodge SJ (2012). The cost of dominance: Suppressing subordinate reproduction affects the reproductive success of dominant female banded mongooses. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1728), 619-624. Abstract.
Abbot P, Abe J, Alcock J, Alizon S, Alpedrinha JAC, Andersson M, Andre JB, Van Baalen M, Balloux F, Balshine S, et al (2011). Inclusive fitness theory and eusociality. Nature, 471(7339).
Furrer RD, Kyabulima S, Willems EP, Cant MA, Manser MB (2011). Location and group size influence decisions in simulated intergroup encounters in banded mongooses. Behavioral Ecology, 22(3), 493-500. Abstract.
Hodge SJ, Bell MBV, Cant MA (2011). Reproductive competition and the evolution of extreme birth synchrony in a cooperative mammal. Biology Letters, 7(1), 54-56. Abstract.
Jordan NR, Manser MB, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Rüedi P, Cant MA (2011). Scent marking in wild banded mongooses: 1. Sex-specific scents and overmarking. Animal Behaviour, 81(1), 31-42. Abstract.
Jordan NR, Mwanguhya F, Furrer RD, Kyabulima S, Rüedi P, Cant MA (2011). Scent marking in wild banded mongooses: 2. Intrasexual overmarking and competition between males. Animal Behaviour, 81(1), 43-50. Abstract.
Jordan NR, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Rüedi P, Hodge SJ, Cant MA (2011). Scent marking in wild banded mongooses: 3. Intrasexual overmarking in females. Animal Behaviour, 81(1), 51-60. Abstract.
Cant MA (2011). The role of threats in animal cooperation. Proc Biol Sci, 278(1703), 170-178. Abstract.  Author URL.
Müller CA, Cant MA (2010). Imitation and traditions in wild banded mongooses. Current Biology, 20(13), 1171-1175. Abstract.
Cant MA, Hodge SJ, Bell MBV, Gilchrist JS, Nichols HJ (2010). Reproductive control via eviction (but not the threat of eviction) in banded mongooses. Proc Biol Sci, 277(1691), 2219-2226. Abstract.  Author URL.
Jordan NR, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Rueedi P, Cant MA (2010). Scent marking within and between groups of wild banded mongooses. JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, 280(1), 72-83.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA (2010). The evolution of menopause in cetaceans and humans: the role of demography. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1701), 3765-3771. Abstract.
Nichols HJ, Amos W, Cant MA, Bell MBV, Hodge SJ (2010). Top males gain high reproductive success by guarding more successful females in a cooperatively breeding mongoose. Animal Behaviour, 80(4), 649-657. Abstract.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA (2009). How threats influence the evolutionary resolution of within-group conflict. American Naturalist, 173(6), 759-771. Abstract.
Field J, Cant MA (2009). Social stability and helping in small animal societies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1533), 3181-3189. Abstract.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA (2008). Reproductive conflict and the separation of reproductive generations in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(14), 5332-5336. Abstract.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA (2008). Sex differences in dispersal and the evolution of helping and harming. Am Nat, 172(3), 318-330. Abstract.  Author URL.
Field J, Cant MA (2007). Direct fitness, reciprocity and helping: a perspective from primitively eusocial wasps. Behavioural Processes, 76(2), 160-162.
Buston PM, Reeve HK, Cant MA, Vehrencamp SL, Emlen ST (2007). Reproductive skew and the evolution of group dissolution tactics: a synthesis of concession and restraint models. Animal Behaviour, 74(6), 1643-1654. Abstract.
Buston PM, Cant MA (2006). A new perspective on size hierarchies in nature: Patterns, causes, and consequences. Oecologia, 149(2), 362-372. Abstract.
Cant MA (2006). A tale of two theories: Parent-offspring conflict and reproductive skew. Animal Behaviour, 71(2), 255-263. Abstract.
Cant MA, Shen SF (2006). Endogenous timing in competitive interactions among relatives. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1583), 171-178. Abstract.
Cant MA, English S, Reeve HK, Field J (2006). Escalated conflict in a social hierarchy. Proc Biol Sci, 273(1604), 2977-2984. Abstract.  Author URL.
Field J, Cant MA (2006). Helping effort in primitively eusocial wasps. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 43, 481-487.
Cant, Llop, Field (2006). Individual Variation in Social Aggression and the Probability of Inheritance: Theory and a Field Test. The American Naturalist, 167(6), 837-837.
Cant MA, Llop JB, Field J (2006). Individual variation in social aggression and the probability of inheritance: theory and a field test. Am Nat, 167(6), 837-852. Abstract.  Author URL.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA (2006). Self-serving punishment and the evolution of cooperation. J Evol Biol, 19(5), 1383-1385.  Author URL.
Cant MA, English S (2006). Stable group size in cooperative breeders: the role of inheritance and reproductive skew. Behavioral Ecology, 17(4), 560-568. Abstract.
Cant MA, Field J (2005). Helping effort in a dominance hierarchy. Behavioral Ecology, 16(4), 708-715. Abstract.
Shreeves G, Cant MA, Bolton A, Field J (2003). Insurance-based advantages for subordinate co-foundresses in a temperate paper wasp. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 270(1524), 1617-1622. Abstract.
Cant MA (2003). Patterns of helping effort in co-operatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). Journal of Zoology, 259(2), 115-121. Abstract.
Cant, Reeve (2002). Female Control of the Distribution of Paternity in Cooperative Breeders. The American Naturalist, 160(5), 602-602.
Cant MA, Reeve HK (2002). Female control of the distribution of paternity in cooperative breeders. American Naturalist, 160(5), 602-611. Abstract.
Cant MA, Otali E, Mwanguhya F (2002). Fighting and mating between groups in a cooperatively breeding mammal, the banded mongoose. Ethology, 108(6), 541-555. Abstract.
Cant MA, Otali E, Mwanguhya F (2001). Eviction and dispersal in co-operatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). Journal of Zoology, 254(2), 155-162. Abstract.
Cant MA, Field J (2001). Helping effort and future fitness in cooperative animal societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 268(1479), 1959-1964. Abstract.
Cant, Johnstone (2000). Power Struggles, Dominance Testing, and Reproductive Skew. The American Naturalist, 155(3), 406-406.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA (2000). Power Struggles, Dominance Testing, and Reproductive Skew. Am Nat, 155(3), 406-417. Abstract.  Author URL.
Cant MA (2000). Social control of reproduction in banded mongooses. Anim Behav, 59(1), 147-158. Abstract.  Author URL.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA (1999). Costly young and reproductive skew in animal societies. Behavioral Ecology, 10(2), 178-184. Abstract.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA (1999). Reproductive skew and indiscriminate infanticide. Anim Behav, 57(1), 243-249. Abstract.  Author URL.
Johnstone RA, Cant MA (1999). Reproductive skew and the threat of eviction: a new perspective. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 266(1416), 275-279. Abstract.
Johnstone RA, Woodroffe R, Cant MA, Wright J (1999). Reproductive skew in multimember groups. American Naturalist, 153(3), 315-331. Abstract.
Cant MA (1998). A model for the evolution of reproductive skew without reproductive suppression. Animal Behaviour, 55(1), 163-169. Abstract.
McLachlan A, Cant M (1995). Small males are more symmetrical: mating success in the midge Chironomus plumosus (Diptera:Chrinomidae). Animal Behaviour, 50, 748-755.
McLachlan A, Cant M (1995). Small males are more symmetrical: mating success in the midge Chironomus plumosus L. (Diptera: Chironomidae). Animal Behaviour, 50(3), 841-846.

Chapters

Cant MA, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK (2016). Banded mongooses: demography, life history, and social behavior. In Koenig WD, Dickinson JL (Eds.) Cooperative breeding in vertebrates: studies of ecology, evolution and behavior, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 318-337.
Cant MA (2015). Reproductive suppression. In Whelehan P, Bolin A (Eds.) The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality, Oxford: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Cant MA, Vitikainen E, Nichols HJ (2013). Chapter Six Demography and Social Evolution of Banded Mongooses. In  (Ed) , Elsevier, 407-445.
Cant MA (2013). Cooperative breeding. In  (Ed) The Princeton Guide to Evolution, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cant MA, Gilchrist JS (2013). The banded mongoose (Mungos Mungo). In Kingdon J, Happold D, Butynski TM, Hoffmann M, Happold M, Kalina J (Eds.) The Mammals of Africa V: Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses, London: a & C Black Publishers, 354-360.
Cant MA (2012). Cooperative breeding systems. In Royle NJ, Smiseth PT, Koelliker M (Eds.) The Evolution of Parental Care, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 206-225.
Johnstone RA, Cant, M.A. (2009). Models of reproductive skew: outside options and the resolution of reproductive conflict. In Hager R, Jones CB (Eds.) Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 3-23. Abstract.
Cant MA, Johnstone RA, Russell AF (2009). Reproductive conflict and the evolution of menopause. In Hager R, Jones CB (Eds.) Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates, in Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates: Cambridge University Press, 24-52. Abstract.
Field J, Cant, M.A. (2009). Reproductive skew in primitively eusocial insects: lessons for vertebrates. In Hager R, Jones CB (Eds.) Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 305-334. Abstract.

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External Engagement and Impact

Committee/panel activities

NERC Peer Review College, 2009- present

Panel Member, NERC Standard Research Grant Moderating Panel D Dec 2015

Panel Member, NERC Fellowships panel, June 2011

Panel Member, NERC Standard Research Grant Moderating Panel A June 2010

Panel Member, NERC Standard Research Grant Moderating Panel D Nov 2009

Assessor, Fund for Scientific Research, (F.R.S.-FNRS), Belgium, June 2013 - present

Assessor, Australian Research Council National Competitive Grants, July 2013 - present 

Assessor, ERC LS8 Panel, FP-7 Advanced Research Grants, 2011

Panel Member, Royal Society Working Group on UK/Tanzania Research, London 2008

Panel Member, Royal Society Working Group on UK/Tanzania Research, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania 2008


Invited lectures

I have given over 40 invited seminars at universities worldwide, including the Universities of Harvard, Cornell, Berkeley, UC Davis, Tokyo, Sydney, Oslo, Goettingen, Max Planck Leipzig, Groningen, Zurich, Neuchatel, Bern and Seville.

Plenaries, workshops

2023 Keynote, International Conference on Nonlinear systems in Ecology, Biology, Economics and Physics, Baku, Azerbaijan

2023 Keynote, Humboldt Award Winners Symposium, Bamberg, Germany

2021 Public Lecture, War and peace since life began, Wissenschaftskolleg, Berlin, Germany

2017 Course lecturer, Animal Behavior Workshop, Animal Behavior Society of China, Institute of Zoology, Beijing

2015 Plenary Speaker, 5th Conference of the Animal Behavior Society of China, Beijing

2012 Plenary speaker, Prodoc workshop, Beatenberg, Switzerland

2012 Plenary speaker, Ethology Investigates online conference, Wiley Associates

2011 Plenary speaker, 'Cooperation and conflict',Conference of the Ethological Society, Zurich, Switzerland

2008 Plenary speaker, Meeting of the Japanese Evolution Society, University of Tokyo, Japan

2010 Invited speaker, Behavioural Ecology Workshop, McQuarie University, Sydney Australia

2010 Invited speaker, 'Are Humans Cooperative Breeders?' ISBE Symposium, Perth, Australia

2009 Invited speaker, ESEB Symposium, Evolution of Conflict and Cooperation , Turin, Italy

2008 Invited speaker, ESF Workshop on Evolution of Cooperation and Mutualisms, Lisbon, Portugal

2007 Invited speaker, CUSO Workshop on the Evolution of Cooperation, Bern University, Switzerland

2007 Invited speaker, Evolutionary Biology Graduate Workshop, Bristol University, UK

2000 Invited speaker, Reproductive Skew Workshop, Cornell University, USA


Media Coverage

2009-2010 Series Consultant: Banded Brothers: the mongoose mob

My long term research project on banded mongoose inspired a prime-time BBC2 documentary series which was screened in February and March 2010. The BBC spent six months at the Uganda study site filming the mongooses, resulting in four one-hour documentaries which each drew an audience of 1.5 million in the UK. The series has since been sold to over 20 territories worldwide with an estimated global audience of >20 million. This media impact of my NERC funded research project was featured as the number 1 'Knowledge Transfer Highlight' in NERC's 2010 Annual Report.

Our study of imitation and traditions in banded mongooses (Muller & Cant 2010 Current Biology) was covered by features in New Scientist and Scientific American, The LA Times, New York Times, The Times, The Independent, The Telegraph, and national newspapers worldwide. I have given radio interviews about the banded mongoose work to BBC Radio 4 The Natural History Programme, BBC Radio Cornwall; and a TV interview to BBC Spotlight.

My research on the evolution of menopause was the subject of a full length feature (plus interview) in New Scientist in December 2008, and a feature plus interview in Scientific American. In addition the study was covered by BBC News, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, plus newspapers in 20+ countries worldwide. I also gave live radio interviews about the work (RTE Ireland April 2008; Deutsche Radio Today, April 2008). Follow up research on the evolution of menopause in cetaceans was covered by all major UK national newspapers and BBC News.

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Teaching

Office hours: My normal term-time office hours are 1000-1100 Thursday and 1000-1100 Friday, unless I am away in the field.

Year 2

  • Lecturer: Behavioural Ecology (BIO2430)
  • Lecturer: The Biology of Mammals (BIO2431)

Year 4

  • Module Coordinator: MSc Kenya Field Course (BIOM4019)

Modules

2024/25


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Supervision / Group

Postdoctoral researchers

Postgraduate researchers

Research Technicians

  • Emma Davey

Alumni

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Office Hours:

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