Karim Vahed

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Karim Vahed
Alma mater University of Exeter
University of Nottingham
PartnerKate Bellis
Children1
Scientific career
Fields Entomology
Orthopterology
Institutions University of Derby Buglife
Thesis The evolution and function of the spermatophylax in bushcrickets (Orthoptera:Tettigoniidae).  (1994)
Academic advisorsFrancis Gilbert
Website https://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]

Contents

Education and career

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

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

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

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

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Professor Karim Vahed". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Staff". Buglife. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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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