Could Bees Have Emotions? | University Events

Dr Vivek Nityananda, Newcastle University

Chaired by Professor Melissa Bateson, Professor of Ethology

Improving bee welfare is important since they are essential pollinators. This lecture discussed recent research that uses an animal welfare approach to study emotion-like states in bees.

Drawing on input from other disciplines and society, the speaker talked about their recent work on pessimism in bees, how this is affected by stress and how we make sense of these scientific results.

Biography

Vivek Nityananda received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. He has worked in Minneapolis and London before moving to Newcastle University where he is now a Senior Lecturer. He researches insect vision, cognition and welfare. He is also interested in pessimism and optimism and has written a book on overconfidence. He collaborates with researchers in the arts and humanities and regularly communicates science through cartoons, animation and plays.