Friend or Foe? The Biology of Survival
27 February 2027
10:00am-5:00pm
Rewley House 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA
Event status:
Applications being accepted
Dates:
27 February 2027
Study Format:
In-person day/weekend
Fees:
£90.00
All life forms, whether plants, animals or microbes, have to interact to survive on the same planet. Encounters between these organisms can be mutually beneficial, harmful, or competitive. This day event will involve lectures that discuss how and why characteristic behaviour is exhibited by these organisms when they interact. We will understand how organisms respond to one another and are able to distinguish a friend or a foe. We will focus on interactions between organisms that are mutually beneficial and those in which there is a battle for survival. These interactions and interdependencies reveal the complex web of life around us.
The day will involve lectures on interaction of different life forms and how they survive by making friends or enemies. We will understand concepts of plants benefiting from, as well as battling with microbes, in order to survive. We will also find out how plants interact with other plants in a community, with examples. We will gain insight into how arthropods and plants interact, with a focus on acacia plants interacting with ants and spiders. We will also explore how animals battle or befriend other animals to survive.
This day event is suited for anyone with an interest in nature. You do not need any prior knowledge in this subject, just a curiosity of how organisms interact to survive.
Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 GMT on 24 February 2027.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Accommodation
Accommodation for Saturday night can be booked directly online, subject to availability, when you register your place via the ‘Book now’ button. This includes a buffet breakfast on the Sunday morning.
Our accommodation in Wellington Square has been rated as 4-Star Campus Accommodation from Visit England. All bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished with tea/coffee making facilities, Freeview television, private bath/shower rooms and free WiFi. For more details see our accommodation information.
If you wish to extend your stay with us, either before and/or after the event, please contact our Residential Centre for availability and discounted rates.
Call +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk
Recommended reading
Briggs, G, Inanimate Life (Milne Open Textbooks, 2021).
Hesselberg, T, et al., Host-plant specificity in web-building spiders (2023)
Rubenstein, D. & Kealey, J., Cooperation, Conflict, and the Evolution of Complex Animal Societies (Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):78, 2010)
Programme details
9.45am
Registration
10am
Introduction. Plant-Microbe Interactions: Symbiosis in Nature
Radhika Desikan
11.15am
Tea/coffee break
11.45am
Plant-Arthropod Interactions with a Focus on Bull-Horn Acacias
Thomas Hesselberg
1pm
Lunch break
2pm
Survival of the Fittest or Survival of the Friendliest? Competition and Cooperation in Animals
Ada Grabowska-Zhang
3.15pm
Tea/coffee break
3.45pm
Thieves, Helpers and Fighters: Plant-Plant Interactions
Radhika Desikan
5pm
End of day
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Event fee (includes tea/coffee) | £90.00 |
| Baguette lunch | £7.90 |
| Hot lunch (two-course) | £22.40 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Payment
Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.
Dr Radhika Desikan – Tutor
Dr Desikan is a plant scientist who has taught plant science for several years and researched and published on the behaviour of plants facing various abiotic and biotic stresses.
Dr Ada Grabowska-Zhang – Tutor
Ada is an ecologist and has researched behavioural ecology and conservation, focusing on birds. She applies her knowledge of ecology to growing food organically, and her knowledge of animal behaviour in fostering cats for an animal charity. She is a lecturer in Biology at Brasenose College and a Departmental Tutor at the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford.
Dr Thomas Hesselberg – Tutor
Thomas is a zoologist and behavioural ecologist, who has studied spiders and insects for more than 15 years in both temperate and tropical climates. He is course co-director for the department’s PgCert in Ecological Survey Techniques, and, in addition to his teaching for the Department for Continuing Education, he is a senior research fellow at the Jersey International Centre of Advanced Studies.
Please use the ‘Book’ button on this page. Alternatively, please contact us to obtain an application form.
Image credit: photo by Hans-Jurgen Mager on Unsplash
