Dr Paul Williams

Dr Paul Williams

Principal Researcher

Department: Life Sciences
Division: LS Insects Division
Specialisms: bumblebees, taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography, biodiversity, ecology, species declines, conservation,
  • Phone: 2079425442

Summary

My primary research interest is in bumblebee taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography. This involves the application of molecular data to help resolve difficult species complexes, especially within the largest and least well known bumblebee fauna, in Asia (with more than half of the world's bumblebee species). It is contributing to an understanding of the early evolution of bumblebees, as they followed the uplift of corridors of mountains, combined with the effects of climate changes and climate-niche evolution.

I also have a long-standing interest in the ecology of bumblebee declines. A first quantitative description in the 1980s linked regional declines of bumblebees in Britain with an interaction between, on the one hand, the role of climate through global distributions of species, and on the other, the role of the local availability of changing densities of suitable flowers. I am now working with many colleagues around the world towards IUCN Red List assessment of the threat status of all bumblebees.

For a complete list of more than 300 publications see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Williams-14/research

Qualifications

Degrees

  • PhD, University of Cambridge, UK, 1982 - 1985
  • MA, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK, 1978 - 1982

Employment history

Academic

  • Visiting Professor, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute of Apiculture, Beijing, China, 2013 - 2018
  • Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin, Research Fellow, Natural History Museum, Entomology, UK, 1993 - 1997
  • NERC Research Fellow, Natural History Museum, Entomology, UK, 1992 - 1993
  • NHM Interdisciplinary Research Fellow, Natural History Museum, Entomology, UK, 1990 - 1992
  • NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Natural History Museum, Entomology, UK, 1985 - 1987

Highlighted publications

  • Williams PH, Lobo JM, Meseguer AS (2018) Ecography, (3) Wiley : 461 - 477. doi: 10.1111/ecog.03074
  • Williams PH, Bystriakova N, Huang J, Miao Z, An J (2015) Systematics and Biodiversity, (2) Informa UK Limited : 164 - 181. doi: 10.1080/14772000.2014.982228
  • Williams PH, Thorp RW, Richardson LL, Colla SR (2014) Bumble bees of North America. An identification guide.. Princeton University Press: Princeton New Jersey. : 208 - null.
  • Williams PH, Brown MJF, Carolan JC, An J, Goulson D, Aytekin AM, Best LR, Byvaltsev AM, Cederberg B, Dawson R, Huang J, Ito M, Monfared A, Raina RH, Schmid-Hempel P, Sheffield CS, Šima P, Xie Z (2012) Systematics and Biodiversity, (1) Informa UK Limited : 21 - 56. doi: 10.1080/14772000.2012.664574
  • Williams PH, Osborne JL (2009) Bumblebee vulnerability and conservation world-wide. Apidologie, (3) Springer Science and Business Media LLC : 367 - 387. doi: 10.1051/apido/2009025
  • Williams P, Tang Y, Yao J, Cameron S (2009) The bumblebees of Sichuan (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini). Systematics and Biodiversity, (2) Informa UK Limited : 101 - 189. doi: 10.1017/s1477200008002843
  • WILLIAMS P (2007) The distribution of bumblebee colour patterns worldwide: possible significance for thermoregulation, crypsis, and warning mimicry. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, (1) Oxford University Press (OUP) : 97 - 118. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00878.x
  • Williams PH, Araújo MB, Rasmont P (2007) Can vulnerability among British bumblebee (Bombus) species be explained by niche position and breadth?. Biological Conservation, (3-4) Elsevier BV : 493 - 505. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.001
  • Williams P, Faith D, Manne L, Sechrest W, Preston C (2006) Complementarity analysis: Mapping the performance of surrogates for biodiversity. Biological Conservation, (2) Elsevier BV : 253 - 264. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2005.09.047
  • Williams PH, Burgess ND, Rahbek C (2000) Flagship species, ecological complementarity and conserving the diversity of mammals and birds in sub‐Saharan Africa. Animal Conservation, (3) Wiley : 249 - 260. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00110.x
  • Williams PH, De Klerk HM, Crowe TM (1999) Interpreting biogeographical boundaries among Afrotropical birds: spatial patterns in richness gradients and species replacement. Journal of Biogeography, (3) Wiley : 459 - 474. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2699.1999.00294.x
  • Vane-Wright RI, Humphries CJ, Williams PH (1991) What to protect?—Systematics and the agony of choice. Biological Conservation, (3) Elsevier BV : 235 - 254. doi: 10.1016/0006-3207(91)90030-d
  • Williams PH (1986) Bee World, (2) Informa UK Limited : 50 - 61. doi: 10.1080/0005772x.1986.11098871
  • WILLIAMS PH, HUANG J, RASMONT P, AN J Early-diverging bumblebees from across the roof of the world: the high-mountain subgenus Mendacibombus revised from species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Zootaxa, (1) Magnolia Pressdoi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4204.1.1
  • Williams PH, Byvaltsev AM, Cederberg B, Berezin MV, Ødegaard F, Rasmussen C, Richardson LL, Huang J, Sheffield CS, Williams ST Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees. Peng Z (Eds).PLOS ONE, (12) Public Library of Science (PLoS) : e0144544 - e0144544. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144544
  • WILLIAMS PH, BEREZIN MV, CANNINGS SG, CEDERBERG B, ØDEGAARD F, RASMUSSEN C, RICHARDSON LL, RYKKEN J, SHEFFIELD CS, THANOOSING C, BYVALTSEV AM The arctic and alpine bumblebees of the subgenus Alpinobombus revised from integrative assessment of species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus). Zootaxa, (1) Magnolia Pressdoi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4625.1.1

Additional links

Accept cookies?

Manage my preferences