What do species such as ants and termites show us about the world we live in and the state of the planet? A lot, it turns out, as UP lecturer Dr Thomas Bishop’s research shows. He tells us more.

The concept of evolution was the bug that bit Dr Thomas Bishop, an extraordinary lecturer in the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Department of Zoology and Entomology, while he was still at school.

“At school, I was fascinated by genetics and evolution, largely inspired by Richard Dawkins’ popular science books,” he says. “That interest propelled me to study biological sciences, and I’ve not looked back since,”

Dr Bishop is a National Research Foundation (NRF) Y2-rated ecologist and entomologist. He lectures at UP and Cardiff University, in Wales.

“My research explores how the characteristics of different species enable them to live in different environments or to co-exist with each other. Most of my work focuses on social insects: the ants and termites.”

He completed a PhD jointly through the Universities of Liverpool and Pretoria, and thereafter, held research fellowships at both universities before being appointed at Cardiff. Dr Bishop also holds a BA (Hons) in Biological Science from Oxford University and a master’s from Imperial College London.

“I found my first few years at university tough,” he recalls. “It was a big step up from school work. I drifted away from my interest in evolution and became more interested in ecology and the variety of ways that organisms live together in natural systems. This change was largely driven by how hard I found the genetics and evolution modules on my course. The ecological ideas naturally clicked with me in a way that the evolutionary theory I was being taught didn’t.”

Dr Bishop says his field of work is important because knowing when, where and why species live on the planet will help us predict their future movements.

“Life on Earth sustains all of human civilisation. It provides us the air that we breathe, the food that we eat and the water that we drink. Without it, we wouldn’t be here. However, we are changing our planet radically, and these changes are negatively impacting ecosystems and the species that live within them.

“My work tries to understand when, where and why species live on Earth now, so that we may predict where they will move in a warmer and altered future. If we can understand these issues, then we may be well placed to understand how we can mitigate them.”

His biggest career highlight so far, Dr Bishop says, is being awarded a Human Frontier Science Programme grant to study the co-existence of ant species in the fynbos and Karoo ecosystems.

“This grant brings together a team of like-minded researchers from the UK, US and South Africa; the idea emerged from networking and discussions over multiple years. I’d advise younger scientists to network where they can – you never know when an opportunity will arise where your network will help you out.”

The best part of his work, he adds, is the freedom that it offers him.

“It’s a real pleasure to be able to choose the direction of my research and pursue ideas that are interesting to me. This also comes with lots of practical flexibility in terms of when and where I work, which I enjoy. I need to be on campus to teach, of course, but otherwise, I have a very flexible work life. Outside of work, I like to climb when it is sunny, paint Warhammer [tabletop miniature wargame] when it’s raining and explore local brunch spots whenever I can.”