Tim specialises in biodiversity and ecology – studying the different types of living things that exist and how they interact with each other. Tim has a particular interest and expertise in insects and their relatives, the groups that make up almost all of the animal life on our planet*.
Several hundred parasitoid wasps on a British five pence coin. Most species of animal look something like this.
Tim’s PhD research in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge focused on the interplay between oil-palm plantations and rainforests on the island of Borneo – one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Despite having one of the highest concentrations of plant and animal species on the planet, the Bornean rainforest is under severe threat from logging and conversion to plantations, particularly of oil palm.
Sunrise over lowland rainforest, Sabah, Borneo.
The sun sets on the rainforest. A logging camp in Sabah, Borneo.
Tim’s research involved collecting thousands of animal specimens, mostly insects, in the canopies of rainforests and plantations, over many months spent in the field. A large number of these specimens have been found to be completely new to science, with some representing new genera. Many have now found permanent homes in the entomology collections of the Natural History Museum in London. Tim has also conducted scientific studies and expeditions in other parts of the world, including in Kenya, Brazil, The Dominican Republic, The Philippines, and the UK. For more information, please get in touch.
Canopy fogging to collect insects in Borneo. Photo by Steven Prescott.