Dr Sebastian Pohl graduated from the University of Freiburg, Germany. His thesis examined the reproductive behaviour of burying beetles. For his doctoral research at the University of Munich, Germany, he investigated decision making in slave-making ants. Dr Pohl worked as a postdoctoral research fellow on population genetic analyses of lycaenid butterflies and ants, in a joint project at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Harvard University, USA.
Dr Pohl is a behavioural ecologist and evolutionary biologist. He combines field work, behavioural experiments, and genetic analyses to investigate the evolution of insect behaviour.
At Yale-NUS College, Dr Pohl investigates the evolution of behavioural responses in stick insects, and patterns of insect biodiversity in Singapore, in two joint projects with Assistant Professor of Science Eunice Tan. In addition, he studies differential gene expression associated with fighting behaviour in stalk-eyed flies, together with Dr Philip Johns.
Research Specialisations- Animal Behaviour
- Behavioural Ecology
- Behavioural Genomics
- Biodiversity
- Citizen Science
- Evolutionary Biology
von Beeren C, Pohl S, Fikáček M, Kleinfelder S, Tishechkin AK, Yamamoto S, Chani-Posse M, Żyła D, Tokareva A, Maruyama M, Hall WE, Sandoval LP, Kronauer DJC (2023). Army ant middens – Home and nursery of a diverse beetle fauna. Ecology and Evolution, 13:e10451.
Soon N, Quek ZBR, Pohl S, Wainwright BJ (2023). More than meets the eye: characterizing the cryptic species complex and Symbiodiniaceae communities in the reef-dwelling nudibranch Pteraeolidia ‘semperi’ (Nudibranchia: Aeolidioidea) from Singapore. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 89: eyad011.
Puniamoorthy J, Hwang WS, Hussin SMB, Sani MAB, Ang Y, Pohl S, Tan EJ (2023). Biodiversity Record: First record of the assassin bug, Locoptiris pendleburyi, for Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 16: e2023070.
Puniamoorthy J, Sani MAB, Pohl S, Ang Y, Tan EJ (2022). Biodiversity Record: Greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, on Sentosa Island. Nature in Singapore, 15:e2022145.
Puniamoorthy J, Hussin SMB, Sani MAB, Ang Y, Pohl S, Tan EJ (2022). Biodiversity Record: First record of the damselfly, Agriocnemis pygmaea, on Sentosa. Nature in Singapore, 15:e2022143.
Pohl S, Bungum HZ, Lee KEM, Sani MAB, Poh YH, Wahab RA, Norma-Rashid Y, Tan EJ (2022). Age and appearance shape behavioural responses of phasmids in a dynamic environment. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9:767940.
von Beeren C, Blüthgen N, Hoenle PO, Pohl S, Brückner A, Tishechkin AK, Maruyama M, Brown BV, Hash JM, Hall WE, Kronauer DJC (2021). A remarkable legion of guests: diversity and host specificity of army ant symbionts. Molecular Ecology, 30:5229-5246.
Pohl S, Frederickson ME, Elgar MA, Pierce NE (2016). Colony diet influences ant worker foraging and attendance of myrmecophilous lycaenid caterpillars. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 4:114.
Pohl S, Foitzik S (2013). Parasite scouting and host defence behaviours are influenced by colony size in the slave-making ant Protomognathus americanus. Insectes Sociaux, 60:293-301.
von Beeren C, Pohl S, Witte V (2012). On the use of adaptive resemblance terms in chemical ecology. Psyche vol. 2012, Article ID 635761, 7 pages.
Pohl S, Witte V, Foitzik S (2011). Division of labor and slave raid initiation in slave-making ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65:2029-2036.
Pohl S, Foitzik S (2011). Slave-making ants prefer larger, better defended host colonies. Animal Behaviour, 81:61-68.
- Social Insect Societies
- Animal Behaviour
- Scientific Inquiry 1
- Scientific Inquiry 2
