School of Biological Sciences
Royal Holloway University of London
Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX
United Kingdom

Tel: 01784-276443
Fax: 01784-414224
E-mail: Mark.Brown@rhul.ac.uk

Research in my group has three main strands, all of which are linked by the study system. We are interested in (i) the evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions, (ii) the conservation biology of insects, and (iii) the general biology of social insects.

Host-parasite interactions are a main driver of ecology and evolution. Over 50% of all animal species are parasites, and every free-living animal has at least one parasite species, and usually many more. Parasites control population cycles, mediate species interactions and structure communities. They have led to the evolution of immune systems and many other behavioural, chemical and structural defences. A key component of any host-parasite interaction is the virulence expressed by the parasite, that is, the damage it does to its host.

We use bees (mainly bumble bees, but also honey bees) as a model host system because they have many parasite species, suffer high parasite loads, and can be studied in the field and the lab. We are particularly interested in what happens when a parasite can use multiple host species, and the impact of parasite community structure on individual host-parasite relationships. Because bumble bees live in multi-species assemblages and share parasites, they provide an excellent model system for these questions. We work on a variety of parasite species, depending upon the question we want to ask, but our main focus is on three main parasite systems: the trypanosome Crithidia bombi, the microsporidian Nosema bombi and the nematode worm Sphaerularia bombi, where we are using transcriptomics to examine the host-parasite interaction. In addition, I collaborate with Dr John McMullan (Trinity College Dublin) to investigate interactions between honey bees and tracheal mites.

Insects are arguably the dominant terrestrial animals and provide numerous ecosystem services. Many species are undergoing rapid decline due to human impacts on the environment, but they receive remarkably little attention from policy makers, conservation biologists, or conservation organizations. Bees provide the essential ecosystem service of pollination – without them we would lose many of our food products as well as many flowering plants – but are in rapid decline across the world. We examine the decline of bees, the factors that may cause it, and what can be done to reverse this decline. We are exploring the application of DNA barcoding to provide an identification tool for solitary bees.

I have an enduring fascination with social insects, the ecologically dominant form of insect life. I have worked on their foraging behaviour, mating biology, colony-founding behaviour, and division of labour, as well as their impacts on the ecosystems of which they are a part.

Ruiz-González MX, Moret Y & Brown MJF (2009) Rapid induction of immune density-dependent prophylaxis in adult social insects. Biology Letters 5: 781-783

Brown MJF & Paxton RJ (2009) The conservation of bees: a global perspective. Apidologie 40: 410-416

Whitehorn PR, Tinsley MC, Brown MJF, Darvill B & Goulson D (2009) Impacts of inbreeding on bumblebee colony fitness under field conditions. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:152 DOI:10.1186/1471-2148-9-152

Rutrecht ST & Brown MJF (2009) Differential virulence in a multiple-host parasite of bumble bees: resolving the paradox of parasite survival? Oikos 118: 941-949

McMullan JB & Brown MJF (2009) A qualitative model of mortality in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies infested with tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). Experimental and Applied Acarology 47: 225-234

Rutrecht ST & Brown MJF (2008) Within colony dynamics of Nosema bombi infections: disease establishment, epidemiology and potential vertical transmission. Apidologie 39: 504-514

Yourth CP, Brown MJF & Schmid-Hempel P (2008) Effects of natal and novel Crithidia bombi (Trypanosomatidae) infections on Bombus terrestris hosts. Insectes Sociaux 55: 80-90

Murray TE, Fitzpatrick Ú, Brown MJF & Paxton RJ (2008) Cryptic diversity in a widespread bumble bee complex revealed using mitochondrial DNA RFLPs. Conservation Genetics 9: 653-666

Rutrecht ST & Brown MJF (2008) The life history impact and implications of multiple parasites for bumble bee queens. International Journal of Parasitology 38: 799-808

Murray TE, Fitzpatrick Ú, Brown MJF & Paxton RJ (2008) Cryptic diversity in a widespread bumble bee complex revealed using mitochondrial DNA RFLPs. Conservation Genetics 9: 653-666

Fitzpatrick Ú, Murray TE, Paxton RJ & Brown MJF (2007) Building on IUCN regional red lists to produce lists of conservation priorities: a model with Irish bees. Conservation Biology 21: 1324-1332

Rutrecht ST, Klee J & Brown MJF (2007) Horizontal transmission success of Nosema bombi to its adult bumble bee hosts: effects of dosage, spore source and host age. Parasitology 134: 1719-1726

Fitzpatrick U, Murray TE, Paxton RJ, Breen J, Cotton D, Santorum V & Brown MJF (2007) Rarity and decline in bumblebees – a test of causes and correlates in the Irish fauna. Biological Conservation 136: 185-194

Ruiz-González MX & Brown MJF (2006) Honey bee and bumble bee trypanosomatids: specificity and potential for transmission. Ecological Entomology 31: 616-622

McMullan MJF & Brown MJF (2006) Brood-cell size does not influence the susceptibility of honeybees (Apis mellifera) to infestation by tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). Experimental and Applied Acaralogy 39: 273-280

Ruiz-González MX & Brown MJF (2006) Males versus workers: testing the assumptions of the haploid susceptibility hypothesis in bumble bees. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 206: 501-509

Lynch AB & Brown MJF (2006) Molecular sexing of pine marten (Martes martes): How many replicates? Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 631-633

McMullan J & Brown MJF (2006) The influence of small-cell brood combs on the morphometry of honeybees. Apidologie 37: 665-672

Lynch AB, Brown MJF & Rochford JM (2006) Fur snagging as a method of evaluating presence and abundance of a small carnivore, the pine marten (Martes martes). Journal of Zoology 270: 330-339

Brown MJF, Bot ANM & Hart AG (2006) Mortality rates and division of labour in the leaf-cutting ant, Atta colombica. Journal of Insect Science 6:18, available online: insectscience.org/6.18

McMullan J & Brown MJF (2006) The role of autogrooming in the differential susceptibility to tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) infestation of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) pupated at both normal and reduced temperatures. Apidologie 37: 471-479,

Murray TE, Stout J & Brown MJF (2005) Additions to the Irish Apoidea: Andrena trimmerana and Osmia rufa (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae and Megachilidae). Irish Naturalists’ Journal 28: 48-49

Brown MJF & Baer B (2005) The evolutionary significance of long copulation duration in bumble bees. Apidologie 36: 157-167

Logan A, Ruiz Gonzalez MX & Brown MJF (2005) The impact of host starvation on parasite development and population dynamics in an intestinal trypanosome parasite of bumble bees. Parasitology 130: 637-642

McMullan J & Brown MJF (2005) Brood pupation temperature affects the susceptibility of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) to infestation by tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). Apidologie 36: 97-105

Speight MCD, Brown MJF & Stout JC (2004) Platycheirus aurolateralis and P. splendidus (Diptera: Syrphidae): insects new to Ireland and their separation from related species. Irish Naturalists’ Journal, 27(11): 413-417

Brown MJF, Schmid-Hempel R & Schmid-Hempel P (2003) Strong context-dependent virulence in a host-parasite system: reconciling genetic evidence with theory. Journal of Animal Ecology, 72: 994-1002

Brown MJF & Schmid-Hempel P (2003) The evolution of female multiple mating in social Hymenoptera. Evolution, 57(9):2067-2081

Brown MJF, Schmid-Hempel R & Schmid-Hempel P (2003) Queen-controlled sex ratios and worker-reproduction in the bumble bee Bombus hypnorum, as revealed by microsatellites. Molecular Ecology, 12:1599-1605

Brown MJF, Moret Y & Schmid-Hempel P (2003) Activation of host constitutive immune defence by an intestinal trypanosome parasite of bumble bees. Parasitology, 126:253-260

Brown MJF & Bonhoeffer S (2003) On the evolution of claustral colony-founding in ants. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 5:305-313

Brown MJF, Baer B, Schmid-Hempel R & Schmid-Hempel P (2002) Dynamics of multiple-mating in the bumble bee Bombus hypnorum. Insectes Sociaux, 49:315-319

Hart AG, Bot ANM & Brown MJF (2002) A colony-level response to disease control in a leaf-cutting ant. Naturwissenschaften, 89:275-277

Sauter A & Brown MJF  (2001) To copulate or not? The importance of female status and behavioural variation in predicting copulation in a bumble bee. Animal Behaviour, 62:221-226

Sauter A, Brown MJF, Baer B & Schmid-Hempel P  (2001) Males of social insects can prevent queens from multiple mating.  Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268:1449-1454

Brown MJF, Loosli R & Schmid-Hempel P (2000) Condition-dependent expression of virulence in a trypanosome infecting bumblebees.  Oikos 91(3):421-427

Brown MJF & Gordon DM (2000) How resources and encounters affect the distribution of foraging activity in a seed-harvesting ant. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 47(3):195-203

Brown MJF (1999) Semi-claustral founding and worker behaviour in gynes of Messor andrei.  Insectes Sociaux, 46(2):194-195

Brown MJF (1999) Nest relocation and encounters between colonies of the seed-harvesting ant Messor andrei.  Insectes Sociaux, 46(1): 66-70

Wagner D, Brown MJF, Broun P, Cuevas W, Moses LE, Chao DL & Gordon DM (1998) Task-related differences in the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex barbatus.  Journal of Chemical Ecology, 24(12): 2021-2037

Brown MJF & Human KG (1997) Effects of harvester ants on plant species distribution and abundance in a serpentine grassland.  Oecologia, 112: 237-243

Wagner D, Brown MJF & Gordon DM (1997) Harvester ant nests, soil biota and soil chemistry.  Oecologia, 112: 232-236

Brown MJF & Gordon DM (1997) Individual specialisation and encounters between harvester ant colonies.  Behaviour, 134: 849-866

Unrefereed:

Fitzpatrick U, Murray TE, Paxton RJ & Brown MJF (2006) The State of Ireland’s Bees. National Information Pamphlet for National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and Environment and Heritage Service (N. Ireland) distributed to all Irish schools

Fitzpatrick U, Murray TE, Byrne A, Paxton RJ & Brown MJF (2006) Regional red data list for Irish Bees. Report to National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and Environment and Heritage Service (N. Ireland)

Paxton RJ, Murray TE, Bradley U & Brown MJF (2004) A new pollinator initiative on the island of Ireland. Bee World, 85(4):83-84

Brown MJF (2000) From the laboratory to the field: the advantage of pleometrotic colony founding.  Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15(3):116

Book chapters:

Goulson D & Brown MJF (2009) Natural Enemies. In: Bumblebees. Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation, D Goulson, Oxford University Press. pp. 57-79

Brown MJF (2008) Is an ant colony a superorganism? In: The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Natural World, Thames & Hudson

Brown MJF & Fries I (2008) Evolutionary Epidemiology of Virus Infections in Honey Bees. In: Virology and the Honey Bee, Eds: M Aubert, B Ball, I Fries, R Moritz, N Milani & I Bernardinelli, European Commission, Belgium. pp. 277-310

Brown MJF & Gordon DM (2008) Social behavior. In Sven Erik Jørgensen and Brian D. Fath (Editor-in-Chief), Behavioral Ecology. Vol. [4] of Encyclopedia of Ecology, 5 vols. pp. 3261-3264, Oxford, Elsevier

Brown MJF & Schmid-Hempel P (2000) Field studies of bumblebee parasites and implications for breeding programs. In MJ Sommeijer, A de Ruijter eds. Insect Pollination in Greenhouses.  Utrecht University.  pp. 59-62

Reviews:

Brown MJF (2007) Review of BP Oldroyd & S Wongsiri, Asian Honey Bees: Biology, Conservation, and Human Interactions. Animal Behaviour, 73:553-554

Brown MJF (2004) Review of D Goulson, Bumblebees: Behaviour and Ecology. Animal Behaviour, 67(2):376-378

Brown MJF (2000) Review of C Detrain, JL Deneubourg, JM Pasteels eds. Information Processing in Social Insects.  Animal Behaviour, 59(4): 896-897