Karim Vahed

Karim Vahed FRES is a British entomologist. He is a professor of entomology and senior lecturer in biological sciences at the University of Derby, and is an expert in crickets and bushcrickets (katydids).[1]

Karim Vahed
Alma materUniversity of Exeter, University of Nottingham
Partner(s)Kate Bellis
Children1
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
InstitutionsUniversity of Derby
ThesisThe evolution and function of the spermatophylax in bushcrickets (Orthoptera:Tettigoniidae). (1994)
Academic advisorsFrancis Gilbert

Education and career

Vahed has always been fascinated by insects.[2] He studied biological sciences at the University of Exeter[2] and did a PhD at the University of Nottingham on the function and evolution of nuptial feeding in bushcrickets, focusing on the role of the spermatophylax.[3] In 1993 he joined the University of Derby, eventually becoming Professor of Entomology.[2] At the University of Derby he is the Programme Leader for the masters programme in conservation biology.[4]

Research

Vahed's research looks in particular at the sexual behaviour of the Orthoptera order of insects, the crickets and bush crickets and related groups.[1]

He discovered a group of bushcricket species Anonconotus sp. that are able to mate many times without need to recover.[5] He has studied the behaviour of giving nuptial gifts in insects.[6] His team also discovered a cricket species Platycleis affinis in which the testes accounted for 14% of the insect's body mass, the largest percentage of any animal at the time of the study.[7][8] The large testes enable the insect to mate more frequently.[7]

Vahed is involved in conservation of rare orthopterans and monitors the rare scaly cricket (Pseudomogoplistes vicentae) on the UK mainland[4] as well as on the Channel Islands including a potential new colony of the species on Guernsey.[9][10] On Guernsey he performs surveys of the cricket with volunteers from La Societe Guernesiaise.[10] He has campaigned against making the Guernsey site a waste dump.[11] He also studies the mating behaviour of the scaly cricket.[4]

In 2014 Vahed was interviewed on BBC Four television documentary Spider House by Tim Cockerill,[12] in 2019 he appeared on The British Garden: Life And Death On Your Lawn with Chris Packham.[13]

Awards and honours

Vahed is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society,[14] of the Royal Society of Biology, of the Linnean Society and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.[1]

Personal life

Vahed and his partner, Kate Bellis, a photographer, have one son.[15]

Selected publications
  • Vahed, Karim (1998). "The function of nuptial feeding in insects: a review of empirical studies". Biological Reviews. 73 (1): 43–78. doi:10.1017/S0006323197005112. ISSN 1469-185X.
  • Vahed, Karim (2007). "All that Glisters is not Gold: Sensory Bias, Sexual Conflict and Nuptial Feeding in Insects and Spiders". Ethology. 113 (2): 105–127. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01312.x. ISSN 1439-0310.
  • Vahed, Karim; Parker, Darren J. (2012). "The Evolution of Large Testes: Sperm Competition or Male Mating Rate?". Ethology. 118 (2): 107–117. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01991.x. ISSN 1439-0310.
  • Lehmann, Gerlind U. C.; Gilbert, James DJ; Vahed, Karim; Lehmann, Arne W. (2017). "Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets". Behavioral Ecology. 28 (5): 1198–1205. doi:10.1093/beheco/arx094. ISSN 1045-2249.
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References
  1. "Professor Karim Vahed". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  2. "BBC Four - The British Garden: Life and Death on Your Lawn - Expert profile Professor Karim Vahed". BBC.co.uk. July 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  3. Vahed, Karim (1994). "The evolution and function of the spermatophylax in bushcrickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)". eprints.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  4. "Insect expert's young son beats him to rediscovering endangered bug". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  5. Editor, Roger Highfield, Science (2005-05-31). "Tireless cricket is ready to mate every 18 seconds". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-01-16.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. "Love Bugs". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  7. Sample, Ian; correspondent, science (2010-11-10). "Largest testicles of any species? That would be the bush cricket". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  8. Braun, David (2012-10-23). National Geographic Tales of the Weird: Unbelievable True Stories. National Geographic. ISBN 978-1-4262-0966-6.
  9. "Could Guernsey be a hotspot for endangered crickets?". ITV News. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  10. "Scaly cricket expert joins local amateurs in hunt for insect". www.guernseypress.com. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  11. Express, Bailiwick. ""Incredible that Spur Point could be filled with waste" - Entemologist". Bailiwick Express. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  12. "BBC Four - Spider House, How do spiders mate?". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  13. Petty, Moira (2017-07-08). "The British garden: Sex and death in your back garden". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  14. "Royal Entomological Society Recognition for Dr Karim Vahed | Postgrad.com". www.postgrad.com. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  15. "Colour captured in black and white". ArtsBeat: 10–11. April 2016.
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