Dr Tom Bishop

(he/him)

BA (Hons) MRes DIC PhD FHEA

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Why do some parts of the globe have more species than others? The tropics and lowlands teem with life, but the polar and mountainous regions have few species, and comparatively less biological activity. I am fascinated by the diversity of species on our planet, and the variety of ways in which they make a living. Through my research, I am trying to further our understanding of the processes that drive these kinds of patterns, and in turn, what consequences they may have in the face of global change.

These interests have developed into two interlinked, research themes:

First, my research is interested in understanding how temperature controls life. My work makes connections between the thermal traits of individuals, population fluctuations and distribution patterns (Bishop et al. 2016, 2017; Nowrouzi et al. 2018; Law et al. 2020). I shed light on how species and ecological communities are constrained by temperature in the present and, in doing so; I aim to predict our ecological future (Bishop et al. 2019). I use laboratory, field, and eco-informatics approaches to achieve this.

Second, my research tests the functional significance of species' level traits and analyses whether they can explain species' geographic distributions. Some of these traits are explicitly linked to temperature, and tie into the first theme, but I also have a range of global collaborations interested in quantifying broad patterns of variation in insect phenotype (Parr et al. 2017; Schofield et al. 2016). Currently, I am leading a global analysis into ant morphological variation and convergence at both the species and community-level.

Teaching

Year 1 Undergraduate

In year 1, I act as a personal tutor to students. I also lead and teach the BI1003 "Organisms and Enviornment" mini-module "Principles of Ecology". This is the first major introduction to ecology that Cardiff 1st years have.

Year 2 Undergraduate

In year 2, I continue to act as a personal tutor to students. I also lecture on the BI2131 module "Animal Diversity and Adaptation". Specifcally, I lecture on adaptations to temperature and on eusociality within the animal kingdom. I also lead our local field course which is part of the Ecology module: Urban Ecology. This is typically held for two weeks at the end of June within the city of Cardiff. 

Year 3 Undergraduate

In year 3, I still act as a personal tutor. I also supervise final year projects on a range of insect, biogeography, and climate change realted topics. 

Year 4 Undergraduate / Integrated Masters

In year 4, I lecture on the "Advanced Research Methods" module. Specifically, I lecture on the ins and outs of measuring thermal tolerance in small organisms. I also supervise Integrated Masters projects - my students undertake a range of lab and field work in the UK and overseas during these projects.

MSc Global Ecology and Conservation

On our MSc course, I am the module lead for the BIT050 module "Field Skills for Ecology and Conservation". I also host and supervise MSc students in my lab over the summer. 

Biography

Appointments

2021 – present           Lecturer in Ecology and Zoology, Cardiff University, UK

2018 – present           Extraordinary Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa

2018 – 2021               Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Liverpool, UK

2016 – 2018               Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellow, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Education

2012 – 2016               PhD, Environmental Science, University of Liverpool, UK

2011 – 2012               MRes, Entomology, Imperial College London,  UK

2008 – 2011               BA (Hons), Biological Sciences, Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, UK

2001 – 2008               GCSEs and A levels, Whitchurch High School, Cardiff, UK

Professional memberships

• Royal Entomological Society
• Zoological Society of Southern Africa
• British Ecological Society

Speaking engagements

Invited talks

•  Apr 2024, Departmental Seminar, University of Aberdeen, UK
• Jan 2024, Departmental Seminar, University of York, UK
• Oct 2023, Plenary Speaker, Mirmeco: An International Ant Meeting, Manaus, Brazil
• Aug 2023, Plenary Speaker, The Great Ant Exhibition, Bristol, UK
• Nov 2021, Departmental Seminar, Cardiff University, UK
• Nov 2021, Departmental Seminar, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• May 2021, Departmental Seminar, University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Oct 2020, Departmental Seminar, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Jul 2014, Departmental Seminar, University of Queensland, Australia
• Mar 2014, Departmental Seminar, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Committees and reviewing

Committees

2021 – present            Cardiff School of Biosciences, Diversity, Culture and Belonging Committee

2019 – present            British Ecological Society Macroecology Special Interest Group

Journal editing

2025 – present            Associate Editor, Ecological Entomology

2021 – present            Associate Editor, Journal of Animal Ecology

Journal reviewing

Acta Oecologica; American Naturalist; Applied Vegetation Science; Asian Myrmecology; Basic and Applied Ecology; Biodiversity and Conservation; Biological Conservation; Biotropica; Community Ecology; Diversity and Distributions; Ecography; Ecological Entomology; Ecology; Ecology Letters; Entomological Science; European Journal of Entomology; Functional Ecology; Global Ecology and Biogeography; Insect Conservation and Diversity; Insectes Sociaux; Journal of Animal Ecology; Journal of Biogeography; Journal of Hymenoptera Research; Journal of Insect Conservation; Journal of the Royal Society Interface; Methods in Ecology and Evolution; Myrmecological News; PeerJ; PLOS One; Royal Society Open Science; Scientific Reports; Zoologischer Anzeiger.

Grant reviewing

Czech Science Foundation (Czech Republic); National Research Foundation (South Africa); Liverpool ECR Fund; British Ecological Society; German Research Foundation (DFG).

Supervisions

I am open to supervising projects within the following subject areas. Please get in touch to disucss more:

• Biogeography
• Thermal ecology
• Entomology
• Social insects
• Climate change prediction and impacts

Current supervision

Sophie Mallett

Sian Davies

Past projects

Recent MSc Project Titles:

• Testing theories of niche space expansion and packing within a globally dominant social insect group
• Temporal ant community dynamics across an elevational gradient
• A mechanistic approach to studying organismal responses to a warming world