Professor Ben J Hatchwell
Tel: +44 (0)114 222 4625
Fax: +44 (0)114 222 0002
email : b.hatchwell@sheffield.ac.uk
Career
BA (1984) University of Oxford
PhD (1988) University of Sheffield
Post-doc, University of Cambridge (1988-90)
Post-doc, University of Oxford (1991-93)
Lecturer in Zoology, University of Sheffield (1993-2002)
Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Sheffield (2002-04)
Reader, University of Sheffield (2004-2006)
Professor of Evolutionary Ecology (2007-present)
Key Research Interests
My principal research interest is in social evolution and reproductive strategies. The main approach of my research is to use field observations and experiments to test evolutionary theory. Specific research interests and achievements include:
- The ecological factors that promote the evolution of animal societies
- The influence of individual dispersal decisions on the genetic structure of populations and the consequences for cooperative behaviour
- The alternative reproductive strategies of individuals in cooperative groups and their fitness consequences
- Mechanisms of kin recognition in social animals
- Proximate and ultimate causes of variation in parental investment
I am also interested in avian population ecology, including long-term studies of seabirds and the ecology of urban bird populations. Specific areas of interest include:
- The population dynamics of guillemots using CMR analysis of individually marked birds
- The factors determining the size and permanence of bird populations in the urban environment
- The relationship between urban and rural bird populations
Professional Activities
Editor: Behavioral Ecology (2010-present)
Editor: Animal Behaviour (2005-2008)
Member of Council: Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (2006-2009)
Member of Council: British Ornithologists´ Union (1999-2003)
Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2008-2009)
NERC College Member (2003-2006)
Plenary lecturer: International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress (2008)
Teaching
Professor Ben Hatchwell is L4 Tutor for APS and a member of the APS Teaching Committee.
At Level 1, I teach two practicals in APS130 on the evolutionary process of adaptation in behaviour and morphology. Level 1 tutorials cover a variety of themes relating to evolutionary biology, and my general approach is to encourage students to think critically about the nature of science, to consider the different ways of asking and answering scientific questions, and to develop skills in science communication in various formats.
At Level 2, I teach on two courses, APS209 (Animal Behaviour) and APS261 (Animal Ecology Practicals). I have been fascinated by birds since I was young and becoming a behavioural ecologist was a natural progression from that early obsession. In common with my colleagues in APS, my teaching is research-led, with the ambition of communicating my enthusiasm and knowledge about animal behaviour to students. In APS209, my lectures focus on social evolution and reproductive strategies, reflecting my research interests in these fields. My practicals in APS261 aim to demonstrate the insights that can be gained from the application of simple models in studying the evolution of foraging behaviour. My approach to Level 2 tutorials is similar to that at Level 1, with higher expectations in terms of levels of analysis and critical thought, as well as development of greater skills in analysis and communication.
At Level 3, I coordinate two modules, APS301 (Cooperation & Conflict) and APS320 (Sex & Reproduction). I also teach on APS337 (Behavioural Ecology Field Course to Portugal). The aim of the modules I coordinate is to demonstrate how theory provides the framework that allows us to make sense of the extraordinarily diverse behaviour that exists in the natural world, including our own behaviour. The Portugal field course is a highlight of the teaching year because of the quality of the projects conducted by students, and more importantly, because the opportunity to engage in research offered by such courses is often a critical moment in students’ development as scientists. At Level 3, I also supervise projects and dissertations. The former generally focus on testing optimality models using field experiments on birds, while dissertation students choose their own topic in the field of evolutionary biology.
At Level 4, I coordinate two modules, APS402 (Research Dissertation) and APS406 (Research Project). I usually supervise one Level 4 project student per year, and they are embedded within my research group, working alongside my PhD students on novel questions relating to some aspect of cooperative breeding in birds, involving field observations, experiments and analysis of long-term data.
Research Group
Dr Jess Meade
NERC-funded Post-doctoral Research Associate. Negotiation over investment in biparental birds
Dr René van Dijk
NERC-funded Post-doctoral Research Associate. Cooperative work in social birds: how is a tragedy of the commons averted?
Michelle Simeoni
PhD student (Staff candidate). Dispersal, population structure and inbreeding in long-tailed tits
Ki Baek Nam
PhD student. Parental investment strategies by parents and helpers in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits
Khaled Etayeb
PhD student (co-supervised by Professor Kevin Gaston, Sheffield and Dr Stuart Sharp, Cambridge). Population ecology of the dipper in urban areas
Steph Hodges
PhD student (NERC; co-supervised by Dr Jim Briskie, Otago, New Zealand). Cooperative breeding in the rifleman: alternative routes to cooperation
Jodie Crane
PhD student (University of Sheffield: co-supervised by Dr Andy Russell, University of Exeter). Development and adaptive function of individual- and group-specific calls in a cooperatively breeding bird
Pip Gullett
PhD student (NERC CASE; co-supervised by Dr Karl Evans and Dr Rob Robinson, British Trust for Ornithology). What mechanisms drive avian demographic and population responses to climatic change?
Clare Napper
PhD student (NERC). Kinship and group dynamics in a cooperatively breeding bird.
Jenny KadenResearch Technician (NERC). Cooperative work in social birds: how is a tragedy of the commons averted?
Joel Pick
MBiolSci student. Structure and function of avian nest design
Recent Publications (2001 to 2010)
Evans KL, Chamberlain DE, Hatchwell BJ, Gregory RD & Gaston KJ (2010). What makes an urban bird? Global Change Biology in press
Evans KL, BJ Hatchwell, M Parnell & KJ Gaston (2010). Biotic colonisation of urban areas: the Blackbird Turdus merula as a case study. Biological Reviews 85: 643-667
Hatchwell BJ (2010). Cryptic kin selection: kin structure in vertebrate populations and opportunities for kin-directed cooperation. Ethology 116: 203-216
Lee JW, YK Lee & BJ Hatchwell (2010). Natal dispersal and philopatry in a group-living but non-cooperative passerine bird, the vinous-throated parrotbill. Animal Behaviour 79: 1017-1023
Lee JW, MS Kim & BJ Hatchwell (2010). Parental provisioning behaviour in a flock-living bird: the vinous-throated parrotbill Paradoxornis webbianus. Journal of Ornithology 151: 483-490
Lee JW, M Simeoni, TA Burke & BJ Hatchwell (2010). The consequences of winter flock demography for genetic structure and inbreeding risk in vinous-throated parrotbills, Paradoxornis webbianus. Heredity 104: 472-481
Meade J & BJ Hatchwell (2010). The effect of condition on helping decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behavioral Ecology in press
Meade J, K-B Nam, AP Beckerman & BJ Hatchwell (2010). Consequences of load-lightening for future indirect fitness gains by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird. Journal of Animal Ecology 79: 529-537.
Nam K-B, M Simeoni, SP Sharp & BJ Hatchwell (2010). Kinship affects investment by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 277: 3299-3306.
Chamberlain DE, AR Cannon, MP Toms, DI Leech, BJ Hatchwell & KJ Gaston (2009). Avian productivity in urban landscapes: a review and meta-analysis. Ibis 151: 1-18.
Evans KL, KJ Gaston, A Frantz, M Simeoni, SP Sharp, A McGowan, DA Dawson, K Walasz, J Partecke, T Burke & BJ Hatchwell (2009). Independent colonization of multiple urban centres by a formerly forest specialist bird species. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 276: 2403-2410.
Evans KL, KJ Gaston, SP Sharp, A McGowan, M Simeoni & BJ Hatchwell (2009). Effects of urbanisation on disease prevalence and age structure in blackbird Turdus merula populations. Oikos 118: 774-782.
Evans KL, KJ Gaston, SP Sharp, A McGowan & BJ Hatchwell (2009). The effect of urbanisation on avian morphology and latitudinal gradients in body size. Oikos 118: 251-259
Hatchwell BJ (2009). The evolution of cooperative breeding in birds: kinship, dispersal and life history. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 364: 3217-3227.
Hatchwell BJ, Sharp SP, Simeoni M & McGowan A (2009). Factors influencing overnight loss of body mass in the communal roosts of a social bird. Functional Ecology 23: 367-372
Lee JW, MS Kim, TA Burke & BJ Hatchwell (2009). Extra-pair paternity in a flock-living passerine, the vinous-throated parrotbill Paradoxornis webbianus. Journal of Avian Biology 40: 469-474.
Lee JW, BS Jang, D Dawson, TA Burke & BJ Hatchwell (2009). Fine-scale genetic structure and its consequences in breeding aggregations of a passerine bird. Molecular Ecology 18: 2728-2739.
Simeoni, M, DA Dawson, L Gentle, L Coiffat, K Wolff, KL Evans, KJ Gaston & BJ Hatchwell (2009). Characterization of 38 microsatellite loci in the European blackbird Turdus merula (Turdidae, AVES). Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 1520-1526
Votier SC, BJ Hatchwell, M Mears & TR Birkhead (2009). Changes in the timing of egg-laying of a colonial seabird in relation to population size and environmental conditions. Marine Ecological Progress Series 393: 225-233.
Nakagawa S, JW Lee, BK Woodward, BJ Hatchwell & T Burke (2008). Differential selection according to the degree of cheating in a status signal. Biology Letters 4: 667-669
Sharp SP, M Simeoni & BJ Hatchwell (2008). Dispersal of sibling coalitions promotes helping among immigrants in a cooperatively breeding bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 275: 2125-2130.
Sharp SP, J Hadfield, MB Baker, M Simeoni & BJ Hatchwell (2008). Natal dispersal and recruitment in a social bird. Oikos 117: 1371-1379.
Votier SC, TR Birkhead, D Oro, M Trinder, MJ Grantham, JA Clark, RH McCleery & BJ Hatchwell (2008) Recruitment and survival of immature seabirds in relation to oil spills and climatic variability. Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 974-983
Hatchwell BJ (2007). Avian Reproduction: role of ecology in the evolution of cooperative breeding. Current Biology 17, R845-R847
McGowan A, MK Fowlie, DJ Ross & BJ Hatchwell (2007). Social organization of cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits: flock composition and kinship. Ibis 149: 170-174.
Nakagawa S, DOS Gillespie, BJ Hatchwell & T Burke (2007). Predictable males and unpredictable females: sex differences in repeatability of parental care in a wild bird population. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 1674-1681.
Nakagawa S, N Ockendon, DOS Gillespie, BJ Hatchwell & T Burke (2007). Does the badge of status in house sparrows influence parental care and investment? – an experimental test. Oecologia 153: 749-760.
Nakagawa S, N Ockendon, DOS Gillespie, BJ Hatchwell & T Burke (2007) Assessing the function of house sparrows´ bib size using a flexible meta-analysis method. Behavioral Ecology 18: 831-840.
Simeoni M, DA Dawson, DJ Ross, N Chaline, TA Burke & BJ Hatchwell (2007). Characterization of 20 microsatellite loci in the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus (Aegithalidae: AVES). Molecular Ecology Notes 7: 1319-1322.
Hatchwell BJ & SP Sharp (2006) Kin selection, constraints and the evolution of cooperative breeding in long-tailed tits. Advances in the Study of Behaviour 36: 355-395.
McGowan A, SP Sharp, M Simeoni & BJ Hatchwell (2006). Competing for position in the communal roosts of long-tailed tits. Animal Behaviour 72: 1035-1043.
Sharp SP & BJ Hatchwell (2006). Development of family-specific contact calls in the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus. Ibis 148: 649-656.
Cannon AR, DE Chamberlain, MP Toms, BJ Hatchwell & KJ Gaston (2005). Trends in the use of private gardens by wild birds in Great Britain, 1995-2002. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 659-671.
Hatchwell BJ (2005). Prunellidae. In Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 10 (Eds del Hoyo J & Elliot A), pp 496-513. Lynx Edicions.
Sharp SP & BJ Hatchwell (2005). Individuality in the contact calls of cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits. Behaviour 142: 1559-1575.
Sharp SP, A McGowan, MJ Wood & BJ Hatchwell (2005). Learned kin recognition cues in a social bird. Nature 434: 1127-1130.
Votier S, BJ Hatchwell, A Beckerman, RH McCleery, FM Hunter, J Pellatt, M Trinder & TR Birkhead (2005). Oil pollution and climate have wide scale impacts on seabird demographics. Ecology Letters 8: 1157-1164.
Dickinson JL & BJ Hatchwell (2004). The fitness consequences of helping. In: Cooperative breeding in birds (Eds WD Koenig & JL Dickinson), pp. 48-66. Cambridge University Press.
Ekman J, JL Dickinson, BJ Hatchwell & M Griesser (2004). Delayed dispersal. In: Cooperative breeding in birds (Eds WD Koenig & JL Dickinson), pp. 35-47. Cambridge University Press.
Hatchwell BJ (2004). Long-tailed tit. In: The Migration Atlas: movements of birds of Britain and Ireland (Eds CV Wernham, MP Toms, JH Marchant, JA Clark, GM Siriwardena & S Baillie), pp 590-591. T & AD Poyser, London.
MacColl ADC & BJ Hatchwell (2004). Determinants of lifetime fitness in a cooperative breeder, the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus. Journal of Animal Ecology 73: 1137-1148.
McGowan A, SP Sharp & BJ Hatchwell (2004). The structure and function of nests of long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus. Functional Ecology 18: 578-583.
Hatchwell BJ, AF Russell, ADC MacColl, DJ Ross, MK Fowlie, A McGowan (2004). Helpers increase long-term but not short-term productivity in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits. Behavioral Ecology 15: 1-10.
MacColl ADC & BJ Hatchwell (2003). Heritability of parental care in a passerine bird. Evolution 57: 2191-2195.
MacColl ADC & BJ Hatchwell (2003). Sharing of caring: nestling provisioning behaviour of long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) parents and helpers. Animal Behaviour 66: 955-964.
McGowan A, RJW Woodburn & BJ Hatchwell (2003). The effect of helping behaviour on the survival of juvenile and adult long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus). Journal of Animal Ecology 72: 491-499.
Hatchwell BJ, DJ Ross, N Chaline, MK Fowlie & T Burke (2002). Parentage in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits. Animal Behaviour 64: 55-63.
MacColl ADC & BJ Hatchwell (2002). Temporal variation in fitness pay-offs promotes cooperative breeding in long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus. American Naturalist 160: 186-194.
Birkhead TR, BJ Hatchwell, R Lindner, D Blomquist, EJ Pellatt, R Griffiths & JT Lifjeld (2001). Extra-pair paternity in the common murre. Condor 103: 158-162.
Hatchwell BJ, C Anderson, DJ Ross, MK Fowlie & PG Blackwell (2001). Social organisation in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits: kinship and spatial dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology 70: 820-830.
Hatchwell BJ, DJ Ross, MK Fowlie & A McGowan (2001). Kin discrimination in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 268: 885-890.
Hatchwell BJ, MJ Wood, M. Anwar, DE Chamberlain & CM Perrins (2001). Haematozoan parasites of European blackbirds: correlates with host fitness. Ibis 143: 420-426.
Russell AF & BJ Hatchwell (2001). Experimental evidence for kin-biased helping in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 268: 2169-2174.