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Karim Vahed

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Karim Vahed
Alma materUniversity of Exeter
University of Nottingham
PartnerKate Bellis
Children1
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
Orthopterology
InstitutionsUniversity of Derby Buglife
ThesisThe evolution and function of the spermatophylax in bushcrickets (Orthoptera:Tettigoniidae). (1994)
Academic advisorsFrancis Gilbert
Websitehttps://www.derby.ac.uk/staff/karim-vahed/

Karim Vahed FRES is a British entomologist. He is a professor of entomology and England manager at invertebrate conservation charity Buglife, and is an expert in crickets and bushcrickets (katydids).[1][2]

Education and career

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Vahed has been fascinated by insects since childhood.[3] He studied biological sciences at the University of Exeter[3] 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.[4] In 1993 he joined the University of Derby, eventually becoming Professor of Entomology.[3] and Programme Leader for the masters programme in conservation biology.[5] In 2022 he moved to Buglife to become England Manager.[6]

Research

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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.[7] He has studied the behaviour of giving nuptial gifts in insects.[8] 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.[9][10] The large testes enable the insect to mate more frequently.[9]

Vahed is involved in conservation of rare orthopterans and monitors the rare scaly cricket (Pseudomogoplistes vicentae) on the UK mainland[5] as well as on the Channel Islands including a potential new colony of the species on Guernsey.[11][12] On Guernsey he performs surveys of the cricket with volunteers from La Societe Guernesiaise.[12] He has campaigned against making the Guernsey site a waste dump.[13] He also studies the mating behaviour of the scaly cricket.[5]

In 2014 Vahed was interviewed on BBC Four television documentary Spider House by Tim Cockerill,[14] in 2019 he appeared on The British Garden: Life And Death On Your Lawn with Chris Packham.[15]

Awards and honours

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Vahed is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society,[16] of the Royal Society of Biology, of the Linnean Society and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.[1]

Personal life

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Vahed and his partner, Kate Bellis, a photographer, have one son.[17]

Selected publications

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  • 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. Bibcode:2007Ethol.113..105V. 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. Bibcode:2012Ethol.118..107V. 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.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Professor Karim Vahed". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Staff". Buglife. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "BBC Four - The British Garden: Life and Death on Your Lawn - Expert profile Professor Karim Vahed". BBC.co.uk. July 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  4. ^ Vahed, Karim (1994). "The evolution and function of the spermatophylax in bushcrickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)". eprints.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Insect expert's young son beats him to rediscovering endangered bug". phys.org. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. ^ Price, Jo (22 September 2022). "MEET THE SCIENTIST Karim Vahed". BBC Wildlife. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  7. ^ Editor, Roger Highfield, Science (31 May 2005). "Tireless cricket is ready to mate every 18 seconds". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 January 2020. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Love Bugs". www.ft.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  9. ^ a b Sample, Ian; correspondent, science (10 November 2010). "Largest testicles of any species? That would be the bush cricket". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2020. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Braun, David (23 October 2012). National Geographic Tales of the Weird: Unbelievable True Stories. National Geographic. ISBN 978-1-4262-0966-6.
  11. ^ "Could Guernsey be a hotspot for endangered crickets?". ITV News. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Scaly cricket expert joins local amateurs in hunt for insect". www.guernseypress.com. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  13. ^ ""Incredible that Spur Point could be filled with waste" - Entemologist". Bailiwick Express. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  14. ^ "BBC Four - Spider House, How do spiders mate?". BBC.co.uk. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  15. ^ Petty, Moira (8 July 2017). "The British garden: Sex and death in your back garden". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Royal Entomological Society Recognition for Dr Karim Vahed | Postgrad.com". www.postgrad.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Colour captured in black and white". ArtsBeat: 10–11. April 2016.
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