Patrick Kennedy

View Scopus Profile

Dr Patrick Kennedy

BA

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2524-6192

  • BS8 1TQ

Personal profile

Research interests

Evolution of animal conflict and cooperation, using fieldwork and theory.

 

Link to lab group website
 
 
I use field experiments and theory to explore social evolution, focusing on the amazing "primitively eusocial" wasps of the world - and especially on the social wasps of Africa. I'm a lecturer in biological sciences at Bristol. Previously, I held a Junior Fellowship of the Simons Society of Fellows, New York City, and was a Marie Curie Global Fellow based in the USA and UK (in Dustin Rubenstein's Lab at Columbia and Andy Radford's Lab at Bristol).
 
For an overview of why I believe wasps are so fascinating, see this interview on the Simons Foundation website.
 
I am an enthusiastic member of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
 

Endlessly fascinating Belonogaster wasps, Ghana (PK)

What links climate and cooperation?

Across social animals, links are emerging between climatic variation and the evolution of sociality. My research aims to contribute to this debate using experiments and theoretical modelling (e.g., theory for altruism in fluctuating environments). I am conducting field experiments with African wasps, with colleagues in Cameroon, South Africa, and Kenya.

What role do threats and coercion play in social evolution?

Can organisms use Machiavellian tactics to coerce others into cooperation? I have recently published on the evolution of 'blackmail' between family members, and I am developing experiments in the evolution of dominance hierarchies.

What explains paradoxical acts of cooperation?

Some social behaviours seem especially challenging to explain. I'm intrigued by these surprising acts of cooperation. My research includes using RFID radio-tags and longitudinal monitoring to solve the enigma of paper wasps helping neighbour colonies in Central America.
 
 

2024-Present       Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, Bristol

2021-2024       Marie Curie Global Fellow, Columbia University (USA) & University of Bristol (UK)

2021-2024      Junior Fellow of Simons Society of Fellows, Columbia University (USA)

2019-2020      Postdoc, Radford Lab, University of Bristol (UK)

2015-2019      PhD, University of Bristol (UK)

2014      Field assistant, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama

2010-2013      BA (Hons.) Biological Sciences, Brasenose College, University of Oxford (UK)

External positions

Junior Fellow (Columbia University), Simons Society of Fellows, New York City, Simons Foundation

1 Jan 2021 → 31 Dec 2023

Marie Curie Global Fellow, Columbia University

Keywords

  • altruism
  • cooperation
  • social evolution
  • wasps
  • eusociality
  • conflict
  • Africa
  • climate
  • tropical forests

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Patrick Kennedy is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles
View full fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Explore network further
  • 11 Article (Academic Journal)
  • 2 Chapter in a book
  • 1 Review article (Academic Journal)
View all 14 research outputs
View all 5 prizes
  • 1 Membership of external research organisation