Zoology lecturer recognised by the Royal Entomological Society
11 April 2012
Dr Karim Vahed
Dr Karim Vahed, a senior lecturer in Zoology and Programme Leader for our MSc in Conservation Biology, was elected to become a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in March 2012. He has been recognised by the Society for his 'substantial contribution to the study of insects though publications and other works'. Karim joins the ranks of Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society, which have included Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
Whilst at the University of Derby, Karim has produced numerous research papers in his area of interest - crickets, more specifically, aspects of their reproductive biology. His research is concerned with sexual selection, using crickets as models to understand the selective pressures responsible for the evolution of mating behaviour. Karim's research hit news headlines around the world in 2010 after he discovered that the male Tuberous bushcricket, Platycleis affinis, has the largest testicles in relation to body mass of any animal on the planet. The testes make up 14% of the male body mass, according to the research which was published in Biology Letters.
