Hannah Dugdale

I am an evolutionary biologist, interested in why diversity in individual characteristics have evolved and are maintained in natural populations. I joined the warbler project in 2008 and I lead the database management and quantitative genetic aspects of the project.

My current research focuses on the evolution of ageing. Using genomic techniques, we are investigating why individuals differ so greatly in the age at which their bodies start to deteriorate (senesce) and how quickly they senesce. My other complementary research lines focus on personalities (eg why do Seychelles warblers consistently behave differently, and do personalities affect senescence) and cooperation (eg why should individuals help to raise offspring that are not their own, and does helping lighten the work-load of primary breeders).