DPhil. Student

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Cedric Tan

Cedric Tan Kai Wei

Details

Name: Cedric Tan Kai Wei
Position: DPhil. Student
Email: cedric.tan@gtc.ox.ac.uk

Autobiography

I completed my BSc in Life Sciences with a concentration in Biology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). During my degree course, I designed and validated a Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction instrument for Secondary schools as well as investigated the scavenging of dead invertebrates along an urbanization gradient in Singapore. Upon graduation, I worked in NUS as a Research Assistant mapping the historical distribution of Singapore's ant species and as a Teaching Assistant educating undergraduates in field studies. Currently, I am undertaking a DPhil with Dr. Tommaso Pizzari and Dr. Stuart Wigby studying the sexual behavior of the red jungle fowl and the fruit fly.

Research Activities

Recent studies suggest that both inbreeding and inbreeding depression in the wild are more prevalent than previously understood. As wild populations become increasingly depleted and fragmented, conservation biologists are concerned that inbreeding is an important threat to sustainable populations. I am particularly interested in the sparsely-studied factors causing this variation in the magnitude of inbreeding and influencing the intensity of selection on inbreeding avoidance across species or populations.

Other information

For an artistic interpretation of my DPhil research, click here

For a Valedictorian Profile: click here

For a newpaper article (in Mandarin) on the discovery of the yellow crazy ant in Singapore's Primary Forest: click here

Selected Recent Papers

Tan, C.K.W. & R.T. Corlett. 2011. Scavenging of dead invertebrates along an urbanization gradient in Singapore. Insect Conservation and Diversity Read paper

Tan, C.K.W. (2009) Effects of trenching on shell size and density of Turbo brunneus and Monodonta labio at Labrador Beach, Singapore. Nature in Singapore 2:421-429.