Patrick Kennedy, University of Bristol
Patrick’s thesis considers two major, little-understood topics of biological relevance: how unpredictability in environmental conditions can impact the evolution of altruism (costly helping of others) and why some individuals in social wasp populations drift between nests (helping at colonies other than their own). The first of these questions is tackled using analytical modelling and evolutionary simulations, complex methods that
Patrick learnt from scratch by seeking collaborations outside of his supervisory team. Answering the second question involved arduous fieldwork (in various Central and South American countries), experimental manipulations and sophisticated statistical analyses. The thesis contains several genuinely original ideas, and it excels in quantity and quality. Patrick drove the direction of the research, suggesting innovative, insightful and ambitious ideas, devising carefully thought-out and often novel experimental and analytical plans to test them, and generating practical solutions to logistical challenges.