My research interests lie in the study of social evolution and in the conservation ecology and genetics of social insects. I obtained my B.A. in Zoology from the University of Cambridge in 1983 and my Ph.D. from the University of Bath in 1987. After a Junior Fellowship at the University of Cambridge, I moved to the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, in 1992. At the Institute of Zoology, I was first a Research Fellow, then a Senior Research Fellow, then (from 2003) a Reader. In 2006, I came to UEA as Professor of Evolutionary Biology. I was an Editor, then Editor-in-Chief, of the journal 'Behavioral Ecology' from 2000 to 2006. As well as research papers, review articles and book chapters, I have authored or coauthored two books, 'Social Evolution in Ants' (with Nigel Franks, 1995, Princeton University Press) and 'Principles of Social Evolution' (2011, Oxford University Press). Career History 2006 - present: Professor of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, UEA 2003 - 2006: Reader, Institute of Zoology (IoZ), Zoological Society of London (ZSL) 1992 - 2002: Research Fellow then Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, ZSL 1988 - 1991: Junior Research Fellow (Jesus College), Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge 1983 - 1987: Ph.D., School of Biological Sciences, University of Bath 1980 - 1983: B.A. (Hons) Zoology, University of Cambridge

I am an evolutionary biologist and behavioural ecologist interested in the evolutionary, ecological and genetic basis of social behaviour and in the conservation biology of social insects. Particular research areas and activities include:

Empirical studies to test hypotheses from inclusive fitness (kin selection) theory using ants and bumble bees Conceptual, synthetic and empirical studies that apply insights from the study of social evolution to related domains, examples being the evolution of ageing and the major transitions in evolution Developing genetic methods for censusing wild populations of bees with a view to aiding conservation initiatives for these threatened pollinators Assessment of agri-environment schemes for bumble bees and the conservation genetics of scarce or declining social insects

We conduct a mixture of laboratory work and field work in the group. For the laboratory work, we rear colonies of ants in our incubators and we either rear our own bumble bee colonies from wild-caught queens or buy in colonies from commercial suppliers, all of which are then maintained under controlled conditions in BIO's recent Controlled Environment Facility. Our study methods include direct observation and filming to investigate within-nest behaviour and the monitoring of wild-reared bumble bee nests placed outside to look at behaviour in a field setting. They also include microsatellite genotyping to measure within-colony relatedness or to investigate space use by free-flying bees, and (with collaborators) qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq to measure gene expression levels. Field techniques include scoring bee biodiversity as a function of landscape features and detailed studies of plant-bee interactions.

We hold a weekly meeting and group lunch to troubleshoot problems and discuss the latest research by ourselves and others. In addition, we benefit from the lively and supportive research environment provided by the Organisms and Environment Research Theme, CEEC and BIO as a whole, as well as the wider Norwich Research Park. Each of these organizations runs seminar programs and social events. Everyone in the group is encouraged to attend and present at national and international conferences such as meetings of ASAB, BES, ESEB, ISBE and IUSSI.

Redhead, J. W., Dreier, S., Bourke, A. F. G., Heard, M. S., Jordan, W. C., Sumner, S., Wang, J., Carvell, C.(2016)Effects of habitat composition and landscape structure on worker foraging distances of five bumblebee speciesin Ecological Applications26.pp. 726-739 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Lockett, G. A., Almond, E. J., Huggins, T. J., Parker, J. D., Bourke, A. F. G.(2016)Gene expression differences in relation to age and social environment in queen and worker bumble beesin Experimental Gerontology77.pp. 52–61 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Holland, J. G., Bourke, A. F. G.(2015)Colony and individual life-history responses to temperature in a social insect pollinatorin Functional Ecology29.pp. 1209-1217 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Sadd, B. M., Barribeau, S. M., Bloch, G., De Graaf, D. C., Dearden, P., Elsik, C. G., Gadau, J., Grimmelikhuijzen, C. J., Hasselmann, M., Lozier, J. D., Robertson, H. M., Smagghe, G., Stolle, E., Van Vaerenbergh, M., Waterhouse, R. M., Bornberg-bauer, E., Klasberg, S., Bennett, A. K., Câmara, F., Guigó, R., Hoff, K., Mariotti, M., Munoz-torres, M., Murphy, T., Santesmasses, D., Amdam, G. V., Beckers, M., Beye, M., Biewer, M., Bitondi, M. M., Blaxter, M. L., Bourke, A. F., Brown, M. J., Buechel, S. D., Cameron, R., Cappelle, K., Carolan, J. C., Christiaens, O., Ciborowski, K. L., Clarke, D. F., Colgan, T. J., Collins, D. H., Cridge, A. G., Dalmay, T., Dreier, S., Du Plessis, L., Duncan, E., Erler, S., Evans, J., Falcon, T., Flores, K., Freitas, F. C., Fuchikawa, T., Gempe, T., Hartfelder, K., Hauser, F., Helbing, S., Humann, F. C., Irvine, F., Jermiin, L. S., Johnson, C. E., Johnson, R. M., Jones, A. K., Kadowaki, T., Kidner, J. H., Koch, V., Köhler, A., Kraus, F. B., Lattorff, H. M. G., Leask, M., Lockett, G. A., Mallon, E. B., Antonio, D. S. M., Marxer, M., Meeus, I., Moritz, R. F., Nair, A., Näpflin, K., Nissen, I., Niu, J., Nunes, F. M., Oakeshott, J. G., Osborne, A., Otte, M., Pinheiro, D. G., Rossié, N., Rueppell, O., Santos, C. G., Schmid-hempel, R., Schmitt, B. D., Schulte, C., Simões, Z. L., Soares, M. P., Swevers, L., Winnebeck, E. C., Wolschin, F., Yu, N., Zdobnov, E. M., Aqrawi, P. K., Blankenburg, K. P., Coyle, M., Francisco, L., Hernandez, A. G., Holder, M., Hudson, M. E., Jackson, L., Jayaseelan, J., Joshi, V., Kovar, C., Lee, S. L., Mata, R., Mathew, T., Newsham, I. F., Ngo, R., Okwuonu, G., Pham, C., Pu, L., Saada, N., Santibanez, J., Simmons, D., Thornton, R., Venkat, A., Walden, K. K., Wu, Y., Debyser, G., Devreese, B., Asher, C., Blommaert, J., Chipman, A. D., Chittka, L., Fouks, B., Liu, J., O’neill, M. P., Sumner, S., Puiu, D., Qu, J., Salzberg, S. L., Scherer, S. E., Muzny, D. M., Richards, S., Robinson, G. E., Gibbs, R. A., Schmid-hempel, P., Worley, K. C.(2015)The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organizationin Genome Biology16. Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Bourke, A. F. G.(2015)Sex investment ratios in eusocial Hymenoptera support inclusive fitness theoryin Journal of Evolutionary Biology28.pp. 2106-2111 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Carvell, C., Bourke, A. F. G., Osborne, J. L., Heard, M. S.(2015)Effects of an agri-environment scheme on bumblebee reproduction at local and landscape scalesin Basic and Applied Ecology16.pp. 519-530 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Bourke, A. F. G.(2014)The gene’s-eye view, major transitions and the formal darwinism projectin Biology and Philosophy29.pp. 241-248 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Bourke, A. F. G.(2014)Hamilton's rule and the causes of social evolutionin Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences369. Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Zanette, L. R. S., Miller, S. D. L., Faria, C. M. A., Lopez-Vaamonde, C., Bourke, A. F. G.(2014)Bumble bee workers drift to conspecific nests at field scalesin Ecological Entomology39.pp. 347-354 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Dreier, S., Redhead, J. W., Warren, I. A., Bourke, A. F. G., Heard, M. S., Jordan, W. C., Sumner, S., Wang, J., Carvell, C.(2014)Fine-scale spatial genetic structure of common and declining bumble bees across an agricultural landscapein Molecular Ecology23.pp. 3384-3395 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Friend, L. A., Bourke, A. F. G.(2014)Workers respond to unequal likelihood of future reproductive opportunities in an antin Animal Behaviour97.pp. 165-176 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Ferguson-Gow, H., Sumner, S., Bourke, A. F. G., Jones, K. E.(2014)Colony size predicts division of labour in Attine antsin Proceedings of the Royal Society B281. Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Crowther, L. P., Hein, P., Bourke, A. F. G.(2014)Habitat and forage associations of a naturally colonising insect pollinator, the Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorumin PLoS One9. Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Holland, J., Guidat, F., Bourke, A.(2013)Queen control of a key life-history event in a eusocial insectin Biology Letters9.pp. 20130056-20130056 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Bourke, A., Mank, J. E.(2013)Genes and queensin Nature493.pp. 612-613 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Bourke, A.(2012)Kin selectionin Oxford Bibliographies Online: Ecology UEA Repository(Article) Broadbent, A., Bourke, A.(2012)The bumblebee Bombus hortorum is the main pollinating visitor to Digitalis purpurea (Common Foxglove) in a U.K. populationin Journal of Pollination Ecology8.pp. 48-51 UEA Repository(Article) Friend, L., Bourke, A.(2012)Absence of within-colony kin discrimination in a multiple-queen ant, Leptothorax acervorumin Ethology118.pp. 1182-1190 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Zanette, L., Miller, S., Faria, C., Almond, E., Huggins, T., Jordan, W., Bourke, A.(2012)Reproductive conflict in bumblebees and the evolution of worker policingin Evolution66.pp. 3765-3777 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Carvell, C., Jordan, W., Bourke, A., Pickles, R., Redhead, J., Heard, M.(2012)Molecular and spatial analyses reveal links between colony-specific foraging distance and landscape-level resource availability in two bumblebee speciesin Oikos121.pp. 734–742 Full Text UEA Repository(Article)