Skip to main content

profile

Loading content
Dr Sam Ellis

Dr Sam Ellis

Research Fellow

 Washington Singer 124

 

Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK

Overview

My broad research interest is in social behavior, how the interactions between individuals combine to affect their fitness and life-history. From ants to human’s individuals interact in complex social systems, these social systems can have important effects on an individual’s behavior, and their ability to survive and reproduce. I’m interested the interaction between these broad global effects, the behavior of individuals, and evolution.

Since May 2020 I have been a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in the Department. My fellowship focuses on understanding the links between social behaviour and life history evolution in whales.

Broad research specialisms:

Social behaviour, animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, network analysis

Qualifications

2007-2010 BSc(Hons) Zoology Univerity of Bristol
2011-2015 PhD Biology University of York

Career

Present: Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow

Links

Research group links

Research

Research interests

Social behaviour, animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, network analysis

Research projects

  • The Evolution of a prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in a non-human mammal.

Publications

Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year

Key publications


Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2016). Internest food sharing within wood ant colonies: resource redistribution behavior in a complex system. Behav Ecol, 27(2), 660-668. Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2015). The role of non-foraging nests in polydomous wood ant colonies. PLoS ONE, 10(10). Abstract.
Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2014). Polydomy in red wood ants. Insectes Sociaux, 61(2), 111-122. Abstract.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Robinson EJH (2014). Resource redistribution in polydomous ant nest networks: Local or global?. Behavioral Ecology, 25(5), 1183-1191. Abstract.
Robinson EJH, Franks NR, Ellis S, Okuda S, Marshall JAR (2011). A Simple Threshold Rule is Sufficient to Explain Sophisticated Collective Decision-Making. PLOS ONE, 6(5). Author URL.

Publications by category


Journal articles

Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen M, Ellis S, Towers JR, Doniol-Valcroze T, Franks DW, Cant M, Weiss M, Johnstone RA, Balcomb III KC, Ellifrit DK, et al (In Press). A long post-reproductive lifespan is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations. Ecology and Evolution
Weiss M, Franks D, Giles DA, Youngstrom S, Wasser SK, Balcom KC, Ellifrit DK, Domenici P, Cant M, Ellis S, et al (In Press). Age and sex influence social interactions, but not associations, within a killer whale pod. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Ellis S, Franks D, Nattrass S, Currie T, Cant M, Giles D, Balcomb K, Croft D (In Press). Analyses of ovarian activity reveal repeated evolution of post-reproductive lifespans in toothed whales. Scientific Reports
Weiss M, Ellis S, Franks DW, Nielsen M, Cant M, Johnstone RA, Ellifrit DK, Balcomb KC, Croft D (In Press). Costly lifetime maternal investment in killer whales. Current Biology
Weiss M, Ellis S, Croft D (In Press). Diversity and consequences of social network structure in toothed whales. Frontiers in Marine Science
Croft D, Weiss M, Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen M, Grimes C, Cant M, Ellis S, Franks DW, Johnstone RA (In Press). Kinship Dynamics: Patterns and Consequences of Changes in Local Relatedness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant MA, Weiss MN, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (In Press). Mortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: sex differences and the importance of resource abundance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, n/a-n/a.
Preston B, Thompson FJ, Ellis S, Kyambulima S, Croft D, Cant M (In Press). Network-level consequences of outgroup threats in banded mongooses: grooming and aggression between the sexes. Journal of Animal Ecology
Nattrass S, Croft D, Ellis S, Cant M, Weiss M, Wright B, Stredulinsky E, Doniol-Valcroze T, Ford JKB, Balcomb KC, et al (In Press). Post-reproductive killer whale grandmothers improve the survival of their grandoffspring. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant M, Bradley DL, Giles D, Balcomb K, Croft DP (In Press). Post-reproductive lifespans are rare in mammals. Ecology and Evolution
Ellis S, Cant M, Weiss M, Brent L, Meniri M, Thompson F, Croft D (2022). Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nature Ecology and Evolution Abstract.
Brask JB, Ellis S, Croft DP (2021). Animal social networks: an introduction for complex systems scientists. Journal of Complex Networks, 9(2), 1-19. Abstract.
Lecheval V, Larson H, Burns DDR, Ellis S, Powell S, Donaldson-Matasci MC, Robinson EJH (2021). From foraging trails to transport networks: how the quality-distance trade-off shapes network structure. Proc Biol Sci, 288(1949). Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Cant MA, Domenici P, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Croft DP (2021). Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(4). Abstract.
Grimes C, Brent L, Weiss M, Franks DW, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Ellis S, Croft D (2021). The effect of age, sex, and resource abundance on patterns of rake markings in resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). Marine Mammal Science
Burns DDR, Franks DW, Parr C, Hawke C, Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2020). A longitudinal study of nest occupancy, trail networks and foraging in a polydomous wood ant population. INSECTES SOCIAUX, 67(3), 419-427. Author URL.
Weiss M, Franks DW, Brent L, Ellis S, Silk M, Croft D (2020). Common datastream permutations of animal social network data are not appropriate for hypothesis testing using regression models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Ellis S, Snyder-Mackler N, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML, Brent LJN (2019). Deconstructing sociality: the types of social connections that predict longevity in a group-living primate. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1917), 20191991-20191991. Abstract.
Doheny-Adams T, Lilley CJ, Barker A, Ellis S, Wade R, Atkinson HJ, Urwin PE, Redeker K, Hartley SE (2018). Constant Isothiocyanate-Release Potentials across Biofumigant Seeding Rates. J Agric Food Chem, 66(20), 5108-5116. Abstract.  Author URL.
Madlon-Kay S, Montague MJ, Brent LJN, Eliis S, Zhong B, Snyder-Mackler N, Horvath JE, Skene JHP, Platt ML (2018). Weak effects of common genetic variation in oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes on rhesus macaque social behavior. American Journal of Primatology
Croft DP, Johnstone RA, Ellis S, Nattrass S, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Mazzi S, Balcomb C, Ford JKB, Cant MA, et al (2017). Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Current Biology
Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2016). Internest food sharing within wood ant colonies: resource redistribution behavior in a complex system. Behav Ecol, 27(2), 660-668. Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2015). The role of non-foraging nests in polydomous wood ant colonies. PLoS ONE, 10(10). Abstract.
Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2014). Polydomy in red wood ants. Insectes Sociaux, 61(2), 111-122. Abstract.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Robinson EJH (2014). Resource redistribution in polydomous ant nest networks: Local or global?. Behavioral Ecology, 25(5), 1183-1191. Abstract.
Robinson EJH, Franks NR, Ellis S, Okuda S, Marshall JAR (2011). A Simple Threshold Rule is Sufficient to Explain Sophisticated Collective Decision-Making. PLOS ONE, 6(5). Author URL.

Chapters

Risch AC, Ellis S, Wiswell H (2016). Where and why? Wood ant population ecology. In  (Ed) Wood Ant Ecology and Conservation, 81-105.  Abstract.
Maeder A, Cherix D, Bernasconi C, Freitag A, Ellis S (2016). Wood ant reproductive biology and social systems. In  (Ed) Wood Ant Ecology and Conservation, 37-50.  Abstract.

Publications by year


In Press

Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen M, Ellis S, Towers JR, Doniol-Valcroze T, Franks DW, Cant M, Weiss M, Johnstone RA, Balcomb III KC, Ellifrit DK, et al (In Press). A long post-reproductive lifespan is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations. Ecology and Evolution
Weiss M, Franks D, Giles DA, Youngstrom S, Wasser SK, Balcom KC, Ellifrit DK, Domenici P, Cant M, Ellis S, et al (In Press). Age and sex influence social interactions, but not associations, within a killer whale pod. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Ellis S, Franks D, Nattrass S, Currie T, Cant M, Giles D, Balcomb K, Croft D (In Press). Analyses of ovarian activity reveal repeated evolution of post-reproductive lifespans in toothed whales. Scientific Reports
Ellis S, Croft DP, Nielsen MLK, Franks DW, Weiss MN (In Press). Bayesian inference of toothed whale lifespans.  Abstract.
Weiss M, Ellis S, Franks DW, Nielsen M, Cant M, Johnstone RA, Ellifrit DK, Balcomb KC, Croft D (In Press). Costly lifetime maternal investment in killer whales. Current Biology
Weiss M, Ellis S, Croft D (In Press). Diversity and consequences of social network structure in toothed whales. Frontiers in Marine Science
Croft D, Weiss M, Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen M, Grimes C, Cant M, Ellis S, Franks DW, Johnstone RA (In Press). Kinship Dynamics: Patterns and Consequences of Changes in Local Relatedness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant MA, Weiss MN, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP (In Press). Mortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: sex differences and the importance of resource abundance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, n/a-n/a.
Preston B, Thompson FJ, Ellis S, Kyambulima S, Croft D, Cant M (In Press). Network-level consequences of outgroup threats in banded mongooses: grooming and aggression between the sexes. Journal of Animal Ecology
Nattrass S, Croft D, Ellis S, Cant M, Weiss M, Wright B, Stredulinsky E, Doniol-Valcroze T, Ford JKB, Balcomb KC, et al (In Press). Post-reproductive killer whale grandmothers improve the survival of their grandoffspring. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant M, Bradley DL, Giles D, Balcomb K, Croft DP (In Press). Post-reproductive lifespans are rare in mammals. Ecology and Evolution

2022

Ellis S, Cant M, Weiss M, Brent L, Meniri M, Thompson F, Croft D (2022). Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nature Ecology and Evolution Abstract.

2021

Nielsen M, Ellis S, Towers J, Doniol-Valcroze T, Franks D, Cant M, Weiss M, Johnstone R, III KB, Ellifrit D, et al (2021). A long post-reproductive lifespan is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations.
Brask JB, Ellis S, Croft DP (2021). Animal social networks: an introduction for complex systems scientists. Journal of Complex Networks, 9(2), 1-19. Abstract.
Lecheval V, Larson H, Burns DDR, Ellis S, Powell S, Donaldson-Matasci MC, Robinson EJH (2021). From foraging trails to transport networks: how the quality-distance trade-off shapes network structure. Proc Biol Sci, 288(1949). Abstract.  Author URL.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Cant MA, Domenici P, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Croft DP (2021). Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(4). Abstract.
Ellis S (2021). Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal social systems.
Grimes C, Brent L, Weiss M, Franks DW, Balcomb KC, Ellifrit DK, Ellis S, Croft D (2021). The effect of age, sex, and resource abundance on patterns of rake markings in resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). Marine Mammal Science

2020

Burns DDR, Franks DW, Parr C, Hawke C, Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2020). A longitudinal study of nest occupancy, trail networks and foraging in a polydomous wood ant population. INSECTES SOCIAUX, 67(3), 419-427. Author URL.
Brask JB, Ellis S, Croft DP (2020). Animal social networks: an introduction for complex systems scientists.
Weiss M, Franks DW, Brent L, Ellis S, Silk M, Croft D (2020). Common datastream permutations of animal social network data are not appropriate for hypothesis testing using regression models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Weiss MN, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Ellis S, Silk MJ, Croft DP (2020). Common datastream permutations of animal social network data are not appropriate for hypothesis testing using regression models.

2019

Ellis S, Snyder-Mackler N, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML, Brent LJN (2019). Deconstructing sociality: the types of social connections that predict longevity in a group-living primate. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1917), 20191991-20191991. Abstract.

2018

Doheny-Adams T, Lilley CJ, Barker A, Ellis S, Wade R, Atkinson HJ, Urwin PE, Redeker K, Hartley SE (2018). Constant Isothiocyanate-Release Potentials across Biofumigant Seeding Rates. J Agric Food Chem, 66(20), 5108-5116. Abstract.  Author URL.
Madlon-Kay S, Montague MJ, Brent LJN, Eliis S, Zhong B, Snyder-Mackler N, Horvath JE, Skene JHP, Platt ML (2018). Weak effects of common genetic variation in oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes on rhesus macaque social behavior. American Journal of Primatology

2017

Croft DP, Johnstone RA, Ellis S, Nattrass S, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Mazzi S, Balcomb C, Ford JKB, Cant MA, et al (2017). Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Current Biology

2016

Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2016). Internest food sharing within wood ant colonies: resource redistribution behavior in a complex system. Behav Ecol, 27(2), 660-668. Abstract.  Author URL.
Risch AC, Ellis S, Wiswell H (2016). Where and why? Wood ant population ecology. In  (Ed) Wood Ant Ecology and Conservation, 81-105.  Abstract.
Maeder A, Cherix D, Bernasconi C, Freitag A, Ellis S (2016). Wood ant reproductive biology and social systems. In  (Ed) Wood Ant Ecology and Conservation, 37-50.  Abstract.

2015

Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2015). The role of non-foraging nests in polydomous wood ant colonies. PLoS ONE, 10(10). Abstract.

2014

Ellis S, Robinson EJH (2014). Polydomy in red wood ants. Insectes Sociaux, 61(2), 111-122. Abstract.
Ellis S, Franks DW, Robinson EJH (2014). Resource redistribution in polydomous ant nest networks: Local or global?. Behavioral Ecology, 25(5), 1183-1191. Abstract.

2011

Robinson EJH, Franks NR, Ellis S, Okuda S, Marshall JAR (2011). A Simple Threshold Rule is Sufficient to Explain Sophisticated Collective Decision-Making. PLOS ONE, 6(5). Author URL.

Samuel_Ellis Details from cache as at 2023-03-28 01:05:47

Refresh publications

Teaching

Modules

2022/23

Information not currently available


Supervision / Group

Back | Edit Profile