Dave Goulson

Dave Goulson (born 1965)^[1][2] FRSE FRES^[3] is a British biologist, conservationist, and Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Sussex. Goulson specialises in the ecology and conservation of bumblebees.

Early life and education

Goulson's upbringing was in rural Shropshire.^[4] He studied Biology at the University of Oxford, and then completed a PhD in butterfly ecology at Oxford Brookes University^[3] under the supervision of Denis Owen.

Goulson has stated that when he was born in 1965, the British short-haired bumblebee was quite widespread, but he never saw one before they became extinct in the UK, and he described a causal link between World War II and the decline of the bee, due in part to habitat loss and changes in agricultural practices made necessary to increase wartime food production.^[2]

Career

Goulson started his academic career at Southampton University as a lecturer in Biology in 1995, where he began serious study into the life of bumblebees. In 2006, he transferred to the University of Stirling, as Professor of Biological Sciences.^[4] In 2010, Goulson was awarded the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BBSRC Social Innovator of the Year.^[5]

In 2013, Goulson moved to the University of Sussex, as Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment).^[3] According to The Spectator, Goulson is a "respected bee expert".^[6]

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

In 2006,^[4] Goulson founded the charity, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.^[1] Goulson was well aware that too much scientific research was only read by fellow scientists and that there was a need to engage the wider public, "You can publish experiments in high quality journals again and again but they are only read by a few dozen scientists who work in your field. It achieves little or nothing in the real world".^[5]

Awards

• 2013. Zoological Society of London's Marsh Award for Conservation Biology.

Publications

In addition to over 200 academic papers, Goulson has published:

• Bumblebees: Their Behaviour and Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003. ISBN 0198526075 (2nd edition 2010)
• Gardening for Bumblebees. Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Stirling, c. 2009. OCLC 320492385
• A Sting in the Tale. Jonathan Cape, London, 2013. ISBN 0224096893 (Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2013.)^[1]

Reception

According to The Guardian, A Sting in the Tale "offers fascinating insights into the world of the bumblebee".^[1]

References