Dr Francis Gilbert

Research Interests

I study the evolution of ecological and behavioural attributes of organisms, mainly in the field. I am particularly interested in the evolution of life histories and mimicry in insects, coevolution between plants and insects (especially in pollination), and in the importance of habitat fragmentation to populations and conservation.

Current Students

Emad Dawood Abbas (PhD) is creating models of plant distributions under climate change.

Rayan AlAnsari  (PhD) (joint with Sara Goodacre) is studying coevolution of Alkanna and Anthophora in Sinai and Saudi Arabia.

Katalina Bobowik (MRes, joint with Sara Goodacre) is looking at the genetic similarity and population history of South Sinai Bedouin

Lisa Gecchele (MRes, joint with Kate Durrant) studies wolves and other carnivores in South Sinai.

Olivia Norfolk (PhD) is studying the role of Bedouin orchard gardens in enhacing and maintaining biodiversity in the St Katherine Protectorate in Sinai.

Chris Poonian (PhD)  is talking to Bedouin fishermen along the Aqaba coast to document their vanishing way of life.

Andrew Power (MRes) is the first to record the biology and conservation of the Sinai Hairstreak butterfly, endemic to the St Katherine Protectorate of Sinai.

Stine-Marie Simensen (PhD) is studying plant-insect relationships on Sinai milkweed in Egypt. 

Caroline Servaes (PhD joint with Georgina Endfield in Geography) is reading pilgrim accounts of South Sinai to build up a picture of environmental and climate change over the last 1000 year.

Chris Taylor (PhD, joint with Tom Reader) is studying the evolution of imperfect mimicry.

Former students (since 2009)

Nicola Kerr (MSci, 2013) is making species distribution models of the South Sinai fauna and flora.

Haitham Zalat (MRes, 2103) studies the ecology and conservation of Sinai Thyme, Thymus decussatus.

Ahmed El-Gabbas (MRes, 2013).

Katy Thompson (PhD, 2013) is studying the ecology of the Sinai baton blue, the world's smallest butterfly.

Abdlrahman Abdlrahman (PhD, 2011) studied plant-insect interactions in Libya.

Tim Newbold (PhD, 2009) was modelling the distribution of species and biodiversity in Egypt.

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