I work on specation, behaviour, systematics and conservation genetics of African cichlid fishes, particularly in Lake Malawi and its satellite lakes. I am especially interested in the role of behaviour in adaptive evolution and speciation. I have a longstanding interest in the biology of tilapias in the wild: many species are threatened by overfishing and release of non-native farmed strains.

Methods include fieldwork in Africa, behavioural & breeding studies in the aquarium, morphological studies of preserved specimens and collaborative studies of genomics, gene expression and epigenetics. 

I teach behaviour, evolution and genetics, with the odd lecture on the philosophy of science  and research methods. I also go on field courses to encourage students to develop their skills in identification and natural history observation. I am keen to supervise undergraduate, masters and PhD projects on cichlid fish behaviour and systematics.