2026-04-24
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Dr Sophie Mallett for passing her PhD with minor corrections! Well done Soph! The first Traits Lab PhD graduate!
Sadly no photos from the night out.
Sadly no photos from the night out.
Well done Sophie!
2026-02-15
Another successful field season in the Drakensberg and Cederberg of South Africa. Drakensberg for our ongoing SAMBAR project, Cederberg for MicroMaze.
A standard day in the Sani Pass, Drakensberg.
Phil, Caswell, Monique, and Tom at the top of Sani Pass, Lesotho.
Night time field work in the Cederberg! GPS and headtorches necessary! Charlene, Tom, Robyn, and Phil.
Phil, Robyn, and Tom taking in Table Mountain after fieldwork.
2025-12-18
The Traits Lab and MicroMaze teams had a great British Ecological Society Annual Meeting!
Poster presentations from Sian and Brit, and a great talk from Sophie on her work detailing the phylogenetic constraint (or lack thereof) on ant thermal performance curves.
Thank you Edinburgh and BES!
Poster presentations from Sian and Brit, and a great talk from Sophie on her work detailing the phylogenetic constraint (or lack thereof) on ant thermal performance curves.
Thank you Edinburgh and BES!
MicroMaze at BES: Charlene Janion-Scheepers, Phil Hoenle, Brit Trew, Tom, and Andrew Davies.
Sian with her poster. Great work!
The old gang back together: Andrew, Kate Parr, and Tom.
2025-12-10
Christmas darts with the Traits Lab!
Sian, Roby, Tom, and Phil
2025-11-31
All things go in the Traits Lab!
Phil is busy catching ants in the Cederberg Mountains for MicroMaze. Tom was also catching some ants! We also had our drone out collecting additional LiDAR data.
Tom then attended the amazing Mirmeco conference in Recife, Brazil. There were inspiring speakers, old friends, and new ones!
Phil is busy catching ants in the Cederberg Mountains for MicroMaze. Tom was also catching some ants! We also had our drone out collecting additional LiDAR data.
Tom then attended the amazing Mirmeco conference in Recife, Brazil. There were inspiring speakers, old friends, and new ones!
Phil looking intrepid doing some night sampling.
Team Kromrivier October 2025: Captain Tom, Grace, Phil, Charlene, Calvan, Busi, Ansa, and Tom in the front.
Where is that drone?!
A Brazilian ant reunion! Icaro Wilker, Chaim Lasmar, Carla Ribas, Tom, and Kate Parr.
The band is back together! Kate Parr and Tom in Brazil looking for ants.
2025-05-09
Celebrations in the Traits Lab!
We had a celebratory brunch on three counts today: Sophie has had her first PhD paper accepted in the Journal of Thermal Biology, Emily submitted her excellent Masters thesis, and Phil returned from his successful two month field trip in the Cederberg mountains. Congratulations all!
We had a celebratory brunch on three counts today: Sophie has had her first PhD paper accepted in the Journal of Thermal Biology, Emily submitted her excellent Masters thesis, and Phil returned from his successful two month field trip in the Cederberg mountains. Congratulations all!
Clockwise from left: Ella, Sian, Emily, Phil, Robyn, Tom, Sophie
2025-04-01
A very busy month in the Traits Lab!
Tom and Phil were establishing the new MicroMaze project in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa and figuring out our new physiological experiments in Charlene Janion-Scheepers lab at the University of Cape Town. We were joined in the field by collaborators from the Davies Lab with their cutting edge drone and LiDAR technology. This was quite a contrast to the low-tech tuna and syrup baits that we were throwing down to attract ants...!
Tom also presented at the second Southern African Mountain Conference in the Drakensberg, his spiritual home.
Tom and Phil were establishing the new MicroMaze project in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa and figuring out our new physiological experiments in Charlene Janion-Scheepers lab at the University of Cape Town. We were joined in the field by collaborators from the Davies Lab with their cutting edge drone and LiDAR technology. This was quite a contrast to the low-tech tuna and syrup baits that we were throwing down to attract ants...!
Tom also presented at the second Southern African Mountain Conference in the Drakensberg, his spiritual home.
MicroMaze Team March 2025. Co-PI Andrew Davies, PI Tom Bishop, postdoc Brit Trew, postdoc Phil Hoenle, Honours student Amy Smith, Co-PI Charlene Janion-Scheepers, project technician Taffi Jacobs, Drone Captain Tom Lautenbach, LiDAR analyst Tlhologelo Mapheto.
Andrew and Tom looking differentially excited about the drone.
Taffi, Brit, Amy and Phil after a hard days work digging in microclimate sensors across our field plots.
Lourens Swanepoel (University of Venda), Mark Robertson (University of Pretoria), Caswell Munyai (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Tom Bishop (Cardiff University), Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Abusisiwe Ndaba (both University of Cape Town) at SAMC.
Phil and Tom visiting Nokuthula Nhleko at the legendary ant collection in the Iziko Museum, Cape Town.
2025-02-01
Tom and Emily and back from fieldwork in South Africa!
First, we were working on Emily's Integrated Master's research project in the savanna biome. Here, we were using Raspberry Pi camera devices to monitor ant activity at artificial baits. This new method effectively allows us to see what we couldn't see before by manually monitoring these baits - potentially allowing us much more detailed insights into how small ectotherms like ants forage and compete with each other!
Second, we took part in the 20th year of sampling the Sani Pass ant transect with Mark Robertson and his lab group from the University of Pretoria. An inspiring team, location, and long-term study!
First, we were working on Emily's Integrated Master's research project in the savanna biome. Here, we were using Raspberry Pi camera devices to monitor ant activity at artificial baits. This new method effectively allows us to see what we couldn't see before by manually monitoring these baits - potentially allowing us much more detailed insights into how small ectotherms like ants forage and compete with each other!
Second, we took part in the 20th year of sampling the Sani Pass ant transect with Mark Robertson and his lab group from the University of Pretoria. An inspiring team, location, and long-term study!
Mark Robertson (Pretoria), Emily Denham (Cardiff), Kate Parr (Liverpool) and Tom Bishop (Cardiff) in the field at Wits Rural Facility.
A Mark Robertson designed camera bait for ants, deployed by Emily in the South African savanna.
Nika, Emily, Mark, Ross, Devon, Layla, Tom and Strijdom in the field at Sani Pass.
2024-10-18
A big welcome to new lab members Sian (PhD) and Emily (Integrated Masters)!
Also huge congratulations to Shane, Lucy and Kester who all gained Distinctions in their research projects, well done folks!
The Traits Lab has an opening for a postdoc studying how ants coexist in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa. Check out the opportunities page for more information.
Also huge congratulations to Shane, Lucy and Kester who all gained Distinctions in their research projects, well done folks!
The Traits Lab has an opening for a postdoc studying how ants coexist in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa. Check out the opportunities page for more information.
2024-07-17
Tom caught up with old friends and collaborators at a writing retreat in Bristol. Empires of the ants and Sri Lankan food....
Kate Parr, Alice Walker, Tom, Louise Ashton, Paul Eggleton, Hannah Griffiths
2024-07-12
We recently hosted the British Ecological Society's Macroecology Special Interest Group annual meeting in Cardiff!
Loads of great talks, and proud supervisor moment for Tom as Sophie presented a talk while Kester and Lucy presented posters! Well done gang!
Loads of great talks, and proud supervisor moment for Tom as Sophie presented a talk while Kester and Lucy presented posters! Well done gang!
Sophie presenting her work.
Kester with his poster
Lucy with her poster
Lily Leahy visiting from Australia, Tom, Lucy, Sophie, and Kester
2024-05-30
Tom is back from an invigorating trip to South Africa. Writing papers about the Drakensberg whist in the Drakensberg with Mark Robertson from University of Pretoria, hatching new plans with Caswell Munyai from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and scouting out new field sites in the Cederberg with Charlene Janion-Scheepers from the University of Cape Town.
Charlene and Tom, alongside Andrew Davies and Rebecca Senior, have recently been awarded Human Frontier Science Programme funding to explore the mechanisms of social insect species coexistence in the South African fynbos/karoo ecosystems. Really exciting! Watch this space for some wine farm related field sites...
Charlene and Tom, alongside Andrew Davies and Rebecca Senior, have recently been awarded Human Frontier Science Programme funding to explore the mechanisms of social insect species coexistence in the South African fynbos/karoo ecosystems. Really exciting! Watch this space for some wine farm related field sites...
Mark and Tom enjoying the sunshine (!) in the Sani Pass.
Caswell and Tom with their shared wardrobe in Pietermaritzburg.
Charlene and Tom in the Cederberg mountains.
2024-04-25
Tom fresh from visiting Lesley Lancaster and her lab group up in Aberdeen. Tom gave a seminar on the past and future of trait ecology in social insects - check out the amazing illustration of the seminar by Tilly Scott below!
Searching for puffins on the Aberdeenshire coast!
Illustrated seminar drawn by Tilly Scott.
2024-03-30
Tom just returned from an inspiring trip to the University of Wyoming to talk all things temperature, ants, and bees! Spending time with Michael Dillon and his lab group.
Tom. Michael, Ellen, Shayne, and Sarah
Beers in the Buckhorn!
2023-12-20
We had a brief lab outing to Wentwood Forest checkin gout some wood ants, Formica rufa! Most were dormant, but a nice jaunt outside nonetheless.
Happy holidays everyone!
Happy holidays everyone!
Kester, Lucy, Erin, and Sophie.
2023-11-02
Tom back from a trip to Manaus, Brasil, attending the amazing Mirmeco symopsium. So much inspiring ant science!
Also, a real pleasure to catch up with old friends and make some new ones!
Also, a real pleasure to catch up with old friends and make some new ones!
Old friends (L-R): Chaim Lasmar, Ananzan Rabello, Tiago Fernandes, Ricardo Campos, Tom Bishop (me!), and Lucas Paolucci.
New friends: Amazonian field guide Journo, Thiago Izzo, Andrea Lucky, Heraldo Vasconcelos, Phil Ward, Ricardo Ruaro, Tom Bishop (me!), and Fabricio Baccaro.
2023-09-18
Welcome to the new website! We'll update this spot regularly with news.
Right now, Sophie is running ants from Wales and across Europe through her rapid thermal phenotyping assays in the lab. Tom is preparing for the new academic year!
Right now, Sophie is running ants from Wales and across Europe through her rapid thermal phenotyping assays in the lab. Tom is preparing for the new academic year!