Dr Thomas Hesselberg

Profile details

Biography

Dr Thomas Hesselberg completed his first degree in biological sciences at Aarhus Universitet in Denmark and did his PhD in biomimetics at the University of Bath. He teaches widely, both here at the Department, at St. Anne's College and at the University's Department of Biology, where he is a tutor in  behaviour and statistics for second and third year biology students, and supervisor for MBIOL research projects. He is also a senior research fellow and tutor for the MSc in Island Biodiversity and Conservation at the Jersey International Centre of Advanced Studies.

At OUDCE, Thomas is Co-Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Ecological Survey Techniques on which he also teaches the data analysis for ecologists module and he is the Director of Studies in Biological Sciences.

Research Interests

Animal Behaviour, Arachnology, Behavioural Ecology, Biomimetics, Cave Ecology, Island Ecology, Comparative Biomechanics and  Invertebrate Zoology

Research

My research focuses on how behaviour in invertebrates, primarily orb spiders and their webs, is shaped by internal physiological and external environmental factors. In particular, I am interested in how behaviour in general and behavioural plasticity in particular has evolved to cope with the constraints imposed by a relatively limited brain capacity and and in response to ecological and environmental factors. The goal is to increase our basic understanding of how small-brained animals use simple decision-making rules to perform complex behaviours. In addition to its intrinsic biological interest, this line of research is of potential interest to designers of biologically inspired robots and other biomimetic technologies.

Academic memberships and duties

  • Research Associate, Department of Biology, University of Oxford (2011 - present)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2014 – present)
  • Expert Evaluator for EU Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships projects for the National Agency in Denmark (2014 – present)
  • External Examiner on the MSc in Wildlife Conservation and Management at the Scotland's Rural University College
  • External Examiner on the BSc in Biological Sciences, University of Surrey
  • Grant reviewer for the British Ecological Society

Professional organisation and society memberships

Selected Recent Publications

Copeland, A. and Hesselberg, T. (2022). Habitat preferences of the critically endangered greater Bermuda land snail Poecilozonites bermudensis in the wild. Oryx 56, 34-37.

Simonsen, D. and Hesselberg, T. (2021). Unique behavioural modifications in the web structure of the cave orb spider Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). Scientific Reports 11, 92.

da Silva, G. D. P. and Hesselberg, T.  (2020). A Review of the Use of Black Soldier Fly Larvae, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), to Compost Organic Waste in Tropical Regions. Neotropical Entomology 49, 151-162. 

Hart A., Hesselberg, T., Nesbit, R. and Goodenough, A. E. (2018). The spatial distribution and environmental triggers of ant mating flights: using citizen‐science data to reveal national patterns. Ecography 41, 877-888.

Lenau. T. A., Metze, A.-L. and Hesselberg, T. (2018). Paradigms for biologically inspired design. Proc. SPIE 10593, Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication VIII, 1059302

Tew, N. and Hesselberg, T. (2017). The effect of wind exposure on the web characteristics of a tetragnathid orb spider. Journal of Insect Behavior 30, 273-286.

Hesselberg, T. (2015). Exploration behaviour and behavioural flexibility in orb-web spiders: A review. Current Zoology 61, 313-327.

For a full list of publications, see my Google Scholar Profile.