Ben Bellekom

Academic Profile

I completed my B.Sc. in Zoology with First Class Honours at The University of Hull.  My undergraduate thesis focused on the foraging behaviour of leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes). I then completed an MRes in Biodiversity, Evolution and Conservation at University College London, for which I received a Distinction. In that time I undertook two extended research projects. The first examining environmental DNA in UK water systems to determine endoparasite distributions and seasonal variation (research undertaken at the Natural History Museum, London). The second examining the dietary habits of UK social wasps, using metabarcoding analysis.

Current Research

I am currently interested in establishing invertebrate interaction networks using metabarcoding. I hope to join the Target Malaria research group to investigate the potential ecological impacts of removing or dramatically reducing numbers of Anopheles gambiae from areas of sub-saharan Africa, for the purposes of malaria control.

Publications

Publications to follow

Contact information