Abstract

Capture and analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA), or the DNA shed by organisms living in a given ecosystem, is an innovative technique that is revolutionizing aquatic monitoring and field surveys. It is a sensitive method that can detect the presence of a wide range of species without actually requiring physical capture, or sighting of the organisms themselves. This tool offers the potential for research and monitoring programs to be conducted rapidly, at lower cost and across a large array of locations. It can also involve the participation of non-specialists in sample collection, allowing the engagement of the community, as well as indigenous and industry groups. In this talk I will give a brief overview of the eDNA technique for bio monitoring and present some of the case studies being carried out at TropWATER to detect species of management concern in northern Australia.

Bio

Dr Cecilia Villacorta Rath is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, leading TropWATER’s Northern Australia eDNA Program. She has previously worked in a wide variety of research topics, ranging from larval fish and seagrass ecology to invertebrate population genomics. She is passionate about using genetic tools towards the sustainable management of freshwater and marine resources. Cecilia is currently using the eDNA technique to monitor species of management concern in northern Australia in collaboration with traditional owners, government agencies and city councils. Her work involves using the eDNA technique to monitor the efficiency of eradication programs, detect early incursions of pest species and detect presence of threatened species.

Abstract

When Emma Turner took up bird photography as a pursuit in 1900, most serious ornithologists carried a gun rather than a camera or binoculars. She knew almost nothing of either birds or photography yet within a few years she became one of the leading figures in the new ornithology. Her photographs showed what birds looked like when alive rather than when lying on their backs, stuffed in a collector’s cabinet; her writings described what those birds did in their daily lives. She had no scientific training (indeed, no higher education at all) but so impressed the natural history establishment that she was amongst the first lady members to be admitted to their otherwise solidly male ranks. Her lyrical yet factually accurate writings impressed both professionals and amateurs alike. They flocked to her lectures, devoured her magazine articles and delighted her publishers by their enthusiasm for her books. Largely forgotten today, she had an important role in laying the foundations for the development of British ornithology later in the 20th century.

Abstract

The last decades of biological research have been characterized by a focus on genetic inheritance and by the identification of genetic components for many phenotypes and diseases. However, the heritability of some traits can so far not be explained by genetics alone. This “missing inheritance” has triggered intense efforts to re-evaluate ideas on alternative and DNA-independent modes of inheritance. Today, we understand that non-genetic inheritance occurs in microbes, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates and mammals – it appears to be a core property of cellular life.

The implications of non-genetic inheritance for ecology and evolution are potentially profound. In-silico approaches suggest that non-genetic inheritance may facilitate rapid adaptation, affect the speed of evolution, and may promote species persistence in the face of environmental change.

The seminar will provide an overview on current knowledge and emerging patterns in this exciting field, from theory to molecular mechanisms to ecological phenomena, and will share recent insights on DNA methylation, maternal RNA, and genomic substrates of non-genetic inheritance gained from a novel model, the invasive round goby.

Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser is Associate Professor of Fish and Wildlife Health and Director of the Center of Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI) at the University of Bern.

Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser studied Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna, completed a dissertation in Genetics as a Böhringer-Ingelheim fellow at the Epigenetics Department of the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel (Switzerland), and then moved to the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel for postdoctoral work. Within the framework of an University excellence fellowship, a Stay On Track Award of the University of Basel as well as a Marie Heim-Vögtlin Fellowship of the SNSF, she then habilitated on invasive fish and their genetic and epigenetic characteristics. She is also a graduate of a CAS in Clinical Research and an internationally accredited didactics training course of the Staff & Educational Development Association (London). Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser is an associate member of the Center for Marine Evolutionary Biology at the University of Gothenburg as well as an Antelope program fellow at the University of Basel and is committed to research-oriented teaching, which earned her a nomination for the Teaching Excellence Award “Breaking new ground – Learning means connecting” of the University of Basel in 2019.

Abstract: Can we scale reef restoration?

Coral reefs are critically important ecosystems. They support 25% of all marine life and provide essential goods and services to an estimated one billion people, including many of the world’s most vulnerable.  Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest living structure on earth and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The reef spans 2300 km, and with more than 600 coral species it is one of the most unique and biodiverse environments in the world. Along with Uluru and the Opera House, the GBR is seen as synonymous with Australia. However, the GBR is under severe threat. Increasing pressure from rising sea temperatures, adjacent land use, pollution, over-exploitation and ocean acidification threaten the existence of the reef over the coming decades. Unprecedented coral bleaching in two consecutive years has impacted corals along two-thirds of the GBR. Cyclone damage is another major threat. In March 2017, cyclone Debbie devastated the reefs in the Whitsundays. It is estimated that the GBR lost 50% of its shallow coral cover in less than two years. Given enough time between disturbance events, coral reefs can recover, however the increasing frequency and severity of mass bleaching and cyclones, alongside impacts of outbreaks of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, has put the reef on a path of ongoing decline. Maintaining this valuable asset into the future will require bold and active intervention.

As the world is locked into a trajectory of global warming, and the reef’s natural capacity to recover has diminished due to the cumulative impacts of disturbances, a sustained strong commitment for long-term climate mitigation needs to be complemented with an expansion of the GBR management options. The ‘toolbox’ for reef management must now include targeted actions that actively support recovery, rehabilitation, repair and restoration of coral reefs. A UNESCO draft report in June 2017 stated the need for a review of the effectiveness of the GBR Reef 2050 plan in response to the influence of the mass bleaching events, particularly in relation to the “urgently needed measures and improvements that contribute to the property’s resilience.”

There are four key challenges in ensuring the ecological and economic value of the GBR can be retained:

1.            Solving the bottlenecks for large scale reef restoration at an ecologically relevant, reef-wide scale that is economically feasible and best ensures subsequent survival of restored reefs;

2.            Promoting survival and long-term resilience of reefs under future climate change, and self-sustaining, adapted coral populations;

3.            Gaining social and cultural acceptability for reef interventions through extensive consultation and formation of enduring partnerships with local communities and businesses; and

4.            Supporting a reef that delivers key ecological function and maintains its socio-economic values beyond 2030

The reef Restoration & Adaptation Program (RRAP) will be built around a core set of step-change intervention concepts that are analogous to “treatment” and “prevention” concepts in medicine, and in bush regeneration projects to mitigate extinction of flora and fauna. For example, the management of most terrestrial environments nationally include active interventions such as controlled burns, large scale pest eradication, and re-vegetation. I am particularly interested in whether epidemiological and invasive biology models could provide insights into how interventions (e.g. assisted evolution of the coral and/or the algal and microbial symbionts within the coral) could be scaled up across individual reefs and even the whole of the GBR (2500km). The innovation is that epidemiological and invasive biology models generally look at the barriers and processes that determine whether an organism is able to spread through a population/ecosystem. In effect these concepts could be used to assess the characteristics of novel interventions (biological, engineering and social) that would facilitate its spread. The other key area linked to this concept is how to assess the spread, in effect the invasion, of the new intervention across the system. This would require models and methodologies that sample for rare occurrences spatially and map the invasion front.

Prof Iain Gordon (Australian National University) is visiting St Andrews on a  Global Fellowship for the months of April.

If you like to meet Iain please contact Dr Gerald Prescott.

Abstract

Abstract: Modelling and measuring selection at different time scales

If you like to meet with Rui please contact Carolin Kosiol.

Abstract

The increasing amount of sequence data that has recently become available has not brought relief to many questions in evolutionary biology but instead has highlighted the complex and ambivalent histories of genes. It is long known that gene trees are not species trees, but the effect of processes such as Incomplete Lineage Sorting (ILS), gene Duplication and Loss (DL) and Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) on phylogenetic inference has been underestimated.We focus our attention on these processes causing incongruence. After all,the strength of ILS is proportional to the population size; the timing of DL can provide information about the evolution of gene functions or pathways; and HGT only occurs between co-existing species and, hence, gives indication about the order of speciation events and the position of the root.We plan to perform joint inference in the presence of ILS, DL and HGT using a hierarchical model. On the top level, species form and decay according to a linear birth and death process. The resulting species tree which includes extinct species acts as a constraint for genes that develop in populations, are duplicated,lost or transferred. For this combined model, we aim to derive the likelihood of specific parameters given data and, consequently, develop an MCMC sampler to perform Bayesian parameter inference.We hope that modeling incongruences helps resolve, e.g., the timing of microbial evolution and its relationship to Earth history, where dating methods are limited by the paucity of fossils; or the position of eukaryotes among archaea.

If you like to meet with Dominik please contact Carolin Kosiol.

Thyroid hormones and life-histories – an avian perspective

Suvi Ruuskanen, Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN

The diverse life histories in the animal kingdom constitute a major part of biodiversity, where species vary in e.g. reproductive rates and longevity. Several physiological parameters have been proposed to be “mediators” to life-history variation. Potential, but rather neglect mediators are the thyroid hormones (TH). However, thyroid hormones (THs) have often been seen as purely metabolic hormones, and they have gained relatively little attention in eco-evolutionary context. Yet, individuals are exposed to THs starting prenatally, and THs likely contribute to life-history variation among and within species. THs have key pleiotropic functions both in development and coordinating transitions across life-history stages, such as initiation of breeding, moult and migration. I provide an overview on the role of THs on coordinating life-history events, and their associations with life-history strategies, focusing on birds. For example, we show, using a comparative analysis, that THs are associated with life-history strategies across species: altricial-precocial continuum and migratory vs resident species. I also summarize our recent results using experimental manipulations revealed that prenatal THs can have programming effects, influencing hatching, growth and biological markers of aging, and potentially also on initiation of reproduction and moult. Thus, THs certainly are key hormones widely affecting individual phenotype and performance, and we call for more research effort in an eco-evolutionary setting.

Abstract:

Darwin spent much of his career pondering the mystery of beauty in nature, and we’ve made halting progress since then. Focusing on exaggerated male sexual signals, I address the role that beautiful traits might play in the origin of species. I begin by examining recent discussions of beauty in popular science and then address three hypotheses about its mechanisms and role in speciation. Research focuses on the genus Etheostoma, a colorful radiation of freshwater fishes in North America.

Link to Tamra Mendelson lab webpage

If you like to speak with Tamra please contact Mike Ritchie.

Abstract

This talk will describe insights gained from a decade of autonomous marine systems development at the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics. Over the course of this time, we have developed and deployed numerous underwater vehicles and imaging platforms in support of applications in engineering science, marine ecology, archaeology and geoscience. We have operated an Australia-wide benthic observing program designed to deliver precisely navigated, repeat imagery of the seafloor. This initiative makes extensive use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to collect high-resolution stereo imagery, multibeam sonar and water column measurements on an annual or semi-annual basis at sites around Australia, spanning the full latitudinal range of the continent from tropical reefs in the north to temperate regions in the south. The program has been very successful over the past decade, collecting millions of images of the seafloor around Australia and making these available to the scientific community through online data portals developed by the facility and affiliated groups.  These observations are providing important insights into the dynamics of key ecological sites and their responses to changes in oceanographic conditions through time. We have also contributed to expeditions to document coral bleaching, cyclone recovery, submerged neolithic settlement sites, ancient shipwrecks, methane seeps and deepwater hydrothermal vents. The talk will also consider how automated tools for working with this imagery have facilitated the resulting science outcomes and will explore opportunities to extend these techniques to the study of deep-sea science and exploration.

Link to Prof Stefan Williams webpage

If you like to meet with Stefan please contact Maria Dornelas.

Abstract

Bibiana Rojas’ Webpage

Movement of individuals is one of the most fundamental features of life and crucial to many ecological processes such as reproduction and resource acquisition. Recently there has been an increase in the availability and accuracy of animal movement data, in part caused by the miniaturization of tracking technology. This has led to an enormous increase in descriptive tracking studies. Now, a key challenge is identifying the key processes that shape movement decisions and distributional patterns. At the NIOZ Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, we have developed a novel tracking method allowing us to follow small shorebirds at small spatiotemporal scales. By linking movement to actual food availability, we have moved beyond descriptive studies. In this presentation, I will highlight novel insights into the distribution of predators on resource landscapes, and show that to understand movement it is important to measure resource availability and individual characteristics of both predators and prey.

Link to Dr Allert Bijleveld’s webpage

If you like to meet with Allert please contact Christian Rutz.

When related species come into contact their interactions may include competition for resources, territory, even mates. Such interactions can influence species range limits and drive phenotypic evolution. But little is known about the extent of variation in phenotypic or ecological traits that might lead to a breakdown in assortative mating. We investigated the extent of genomic and phenotypic variation across independent contact zones between closely related red-fronted and yellow-fronted tinkerbirds in sub-Saharan Africa, and performed a genomewide association study to determine genes associated with forecrown coloration. Each contact zone involves interactions between a different pair of subspecies and variation in ecological gradient steepness. We found evidence that the extent to which songs differ mediates the extent of reproductive isolation. Where songs differed more in allopatry, they remained distinct where the two species came into contact. By contrast, where songs were more similar in allopatry, we found a pattern of convergence in song towards the contact zone; with playback experiments showing only where differences are greater are songs distinguished. Genomic data reveal extensive hybridization at the contact zones where songs converge in spite of over 4 Ma of divergence in mitochondrial DNA, but no evidence of hybridization where songs remain distinct. Genes associated with forecrown colour are found to introgress asymmetrically from red-fronted tinkerbirds into the genomes of yellow-fronted tinkerbirds, suggesting a possible sexual preference for the red plumage. Our work suggests song plays a vital role in mediating when species interbreed, irrespective of the timespan of genetic divergence between them, while a preference for red feather coloration may influence the direction of introgression between the species.

If you like to meet Alex please contact Will Cresswell or Robert Patchett

Predator-prey interactions often lead to the co-evolution of different tactics over time. These can be quite apparent in extreme environments such as the sulphur streams of southern Mexico. Sulfur mollies (Poecilia sulphuraria) inhabiting these streams have evolved specialized traits that allow them to withstand the otherwise toxic concentrations of hydrogen sulphide in the water, including behavioural adaptations such as aquatic surface respiration. Several fish eating birds take advantage of the resulting high number of fish at the surface to prey on. Following a bird attack fish schools produce a series of synchronized waves. In order to understand the function of these waves and how they affect bird predation we compared the hunting strategy of two species of fish-hunting birds, the green kingfisher (Chloroceryle Americana), a specialist fish-catcher and the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), an opportunistic fish-catcher. Both these birds hunt by flying over and attacking the fish school from atop, but they differ significantly in the number of waves they produce and in their success probability. We experimentally induced repeat waves while kiskadees were hunting, and could show that consecutive attacks were significantly delayed after wave exposure. We concluded that waves prevent birds from attacking and thus significantly decrease their success rate. Despite being considered generalist feeders, it seems that kiskadees are able to attack fish aggregations frequently and thus compensate for their low probability of success by attacking many times, without inducing a strong response by the fish.

If you like to meet Carolina please contact Nick Jones

Link to Carolina Doran’s webpage.

Abstract

House sparrows (Passer domesticus) are a hugely successful anthrodependent species; occurring on nearly every continent and well known by most people. Yet despite their ubiquity and familiarity, surprisingly little is known about how this intriguing and popular species came to be. We sought to investigate the evolutionary origins of the House sparrow and to identify the processes involved in its transition to a human-commensal niche.

We first used whole-genome resequencing of 17 species, covering nearly the entire Passer genus to construct a phylogeny. This suggests Eurasian sparrows (House, Italian and Spanish) diverged and diversified in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Analysis of a resequencing dataset of >250 individuals from across the Eurasian distribution using coalescent modelling confirms that commensal House sparrows most probably arose in the Middle/Near East and then moved westwards into Europe with the spread of agriculture following the Neolithic revolution.

To identify genes and traits involved in adaptation to an anthropocentric niche, we compared phenotypes and genotypes of human-commensal and wild lineages of P. domesticus. 3D analysis of skull morphology suggests more robust skull development and increased brain size in commensal house sparrows. We also identified clear signatures of recent, positive selection in the genome of the commensal house that are absent in wild populations. The strongest selected region encompasses two major candidate genes; COL11A – which regulates craniofacial and skull development and AMY2A which has previously been linked to adaptation to high-starch diets in humans and dogs.

Our work examines human-commensalism in an evolutionary framework, identifies phenotypic traits and genomic regions involved in rapid adaptation and ties their evolution to the development of modern human civilization.

Link to Mark Ravinet’s webpage.

If you like to meet with Mark please contact Mike Webster.

Abstract

Cooperative breeding, i.e. individuals helping others to successfully raise offspring, is among the most complex social behavior in animals. It can be explained by helpers gaining indirect fitness benefits through increasing the survival of related individuals. However, such indirect benefits cannot explain why unrelated individuals help others to reproduce. Here, direct benefits like increased chances of territory inheritance, reproductive share or predator protection, are of importance. Predation risk in known as a major factor selecting for group living. However, it has been undervalued as a driver of complex sociality, despite the potential to influence direct and indirect benefits of cooperation alike. We investigated the interplay of direct benefits, i.e. predator protection, and indirect benefit, i.e. within-group relatedness, in wild populations of the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher. Breeders of these fish accept up to 25 helpers within their territory. Helpers show size-dependent task specialization, with larger individuals investing more in anti-predator defense. We measured group structure, aggressive interactions and within-group relatedness of eight N. pulcher populations, differing in predation risk. We show that group structure was significantly influenced by risk and related ecological factors. Dominants reduced aggression towards subordinates under increased risk, and aggressive interactions between subordinates similarly decreased. Young helpers were more related to breeders in high risk populations, while this relationship was reversed for larger and older helpers. Finally, the presence of large subordinates was associated with a higher likelihood of a territory containing offspring under high predation risk. These results reveal the complex interplay between predation risk, intra-specific aggression, and relatedness, highlighting the importance of predation risk for the evolution of complex social systems.

Link to Jo Frommen’s webpage.

If you like to meet with Jo Frommen please contact Nick Jones.

Humans have a variety of mating and marriage systems, and societies vary in the ways in which they classify family. This variation is not without limits, and explaining constraints and diversity invites a multi-level evolutionary perspective. In this talk I’ll describe the VariKin project, a multidisciplinary approach to understand the patterned variation in human kinship systems. The team brings together theory and method across anthropology, linguistics, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and computational methods. We have results from large cross-cultural analyses using comparative phylogenetic methods, studies of the patterns of frequency of use in different language varieties, and insights into child acquisition and use from fieldwork in a Datooga community in Tanzania. Our framework takes inspiration from Tinbergen’s four questions towards illuminating a longstanding enquiry into human variability.

Link to Fiona Jordan’s webpage.

If you like to meet with Fiona please contact Catherine Sheard.

Behaviour is fundamentally important to the fitness of animals, especially social animals. Animals must therefore change behaviours as their social environment changes to maximize their fitness. However, the molecular mechanisms that initiate behavioural changes and stabilize different behavioural states, especially epigenetics mechanisms, are not identified or well-understood for a broad number of organisms. A question of this magnitude needs to be addressed using a large number of species and for many different social behaviour. My group uses the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides as a molecular model of parental care. These beetles bury a small vertebrate carcass to form a nest and parents directly feed offspring pre-digested carrion by regurgitation. This behaviour is well characterized phenotypically and responsive to changes of social environment. We use several molecular genetic and  –omics techniques to address this how these beetles initiate behavioural changes and stabilize different behavioural states.

Dr Chris Cunningham’s webpage

If you would like to speak to Chris please contact Mike Ritchie

How can we collect better or more data on biodiversity? Part of the answer to this question lies in how efficiently we use our resources – human and financial but also time- and knowledge-related. The issue of efficiency becomes particularly important when sampling mega-diverse taxa, such as arthropods in tropical forests. Indeed, there are other aspects to consider when designing the sampling: if the sampling protocols are feasible and repeatable and if the resulting data will be comparable.
Optimised and standardised sampling protocols (like the COBRA protocols) can provide excellent quality data, are easy to develop and apply, and thus promote comparability across datasets or sites. In theory, such protocols can be designed for any taxon or system where multiple sampling techniques are used and unit effort per sample is comparable. In my talk, I will show how we use such protocols to investigate different ecological and biogeographic processes – from the processes that cause elevational changes in the tropical spider communities to the ones behind Mediterranean patterns of endemism. Also, I will talk about our ongoing CEBRA project to develop similar protocols for citizen science activities like BioBlitz.

If you are interested in meeting with Jagoba before or after his talk, please contact Niki Khan at nyk2@st-andrews.ac.uk

Abstract

Group-living animals face a wide array of coordination challenges, from coming to consensus with group mates about when and where to move, to avoiding competition when searching for food, to collectively defending shared resources from external threats. For animals that live in stable social groups, social relationships are often multi-faceted and can persist over an individual’s lifetime. These complexities may introduce heterogeneity into the rules individuals employ when making decisions, with potential consequences for group-level outcomes. Furthermore, many species have evolved sophisticated communication systems that can play a key role in shaping the processes of group coordination. Employing technologies such as lightweight GPS tags, accelerometers, and audio recorders enables us to monitor of the movements, behaviors, and vocalizations of multiple individuals simultaneously within wild animal groups, offering a new window into the mechanisms underpinning collective behaviors in natural contexts. In this talk, I will present recent and emerging collaborative work exploring the mechanisms by which animals living in stable social groups coordinate collective behaviors, focusing on three systems of social mammals: olive baboons, meerkats, and spotted hyenas.

Dr Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin’s website

If you would like to speak to Ariana please contact Frants  Jensen.

Bright red colouration is a signal of male competitive ability in animal species across a range of taxa, including non-human primates. Does the effect of red on competition extend to humans? A landmark study in evolutionary psychology established such an effect through analysis of data for four combat sports at the 2004 Athens Olympics. We show that the results do not replicate in an equivalent, independent dataset for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and that there is substantial variation in the fraction of wins by red across sports in both years. We uncover a number of shortcomings with the research design, analysis, and interpretation underlying the original results. For example, the variation observed in the data may reflect systematic biases towards wins by one colour, linked to specific features of the tournament structure for the sports analysed. Re-analysis of the data to address these shortcomings indicates that there is no evidence of an effect of red on the outcomes of Olympic combat sports. Our results refute past claims about the role of colour in human competition, based on analysis of this system. In turn, this undermines the related notion that any effect of red on human behaviour is an evolved response shaped by sexual selection.

Link to Laura Fortunato’s website

If you like to meet with Laura please contact Andy Gardner

Research on aggression has traditionally focused on male-male aggression, both in human and non-human animals. However, female-female aggression can have serious impacts on individual survival, reproductive success, and even a species’ ability to adapt to environmental change. My work investigates the relationship between reproduction and female aggression in a variety of insect systems – including stalk-eyed flies, fruit flies, and water striders. In this talk, I focus on how mating makes female fruit flies more aggressive and why that might happen.

Dr Elenor Bath is a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church College, Oxford.  Elenor finished her  DPhil in Zoology at Oxford in 2016, where she studied female aggression in stalk-eyed flies and fruit flies. She did  her undergraduate work at the University of New South Wales 2007-2011.

Link to Elenor Bath’s webpage

If you like to meet with Elenor please contact Catherine Sheard.

It is now well recognised that the environment is not simply permissive of development, but can also shape the phenotype in ways that can be adaptive. These environmental effects on phenotypic development can come about through both direct and indirect routes, and can span generations. In this talk, I will discuss how conditions in early life can influence subsequent life history. I will focus particularly on early growth, nutrition, stress exposure and parental age, and on consequences that appear later in life and influence ageing and longevity. I will present illustrative data from unmanipulated natural populations, and from a range of taxa in which conditions have been experimentally manipulated in both the lab and the field. I will also examine some potential mechanisms that might mediate effects that can occur over relatively long time scales, including changes in stress sensitivity and telomere dynamics.

Dr Prof Pat Monaghan’s webpage

If you would like to speak to Prof Monaghan please contact Niki Khan.

Abstract

Environmental biotechnology is a discipline that aims to use both natural and augmented biological systems as a resource for sustainable, ‘green’ technologies. This includes applications such as the use of natural microbial communities to treat waste water and remediate land, to genetically engineering strains of microbes to produce biofuels in industrial-scale bioreactors. Recently, the academic discipline of synthetic biology has joined this initiative by developing advanced molecular biology techniques to accelerate the conversion of microbial strains into novel biotechnologies. The future of synthetic biology envisions scientists designing an “optimal” genome electronically, synthesizing it and inserting it into a host organism, after which it will grow, reproduce, and perform the desired function at profitable scales.  To pave the way for this envisioned future of optimal genome design, lab microbial strains such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) are having their genomes minimised and converted into a ‘chassis’.  All this facilitates predictable growth properties, with promising results when tested at lab-scale. The next major challenge is getting these populations of lab-optimized organisms to thrive in environments such as lagoons that facilitate waste water treatment or in industrial-scale reactors with mixed feedstocks.  In addition to the obvious disparity in size, these are fluctuating, stressful environments that are vastly more unpredictable compared with controlled lab conditions. Thus, the success of these fledgling biotechnologies is highly dependent on whether these organisms can thrive here.

The main aim of the current work was to investigate whether this genome minimizing strategy would come at an evolutionary cost in these non-ideal environments.  To interrogate this, I conducted evolution experiments using the E. coli biotechnology chassis. Strains were evolved in continuous culture under prolonged starvation stress (a typical environmental stress) while emerging mutations were assayed. The spectrum of mutations was then captured via ultra(deep) sequencing on the Illumina hi-SeqÒ platform and used to analyse the evolutionary impact of a non-ideal environment on this minimal genome. I found that the genome minimised strains mutated quickly in non-ideal environments, which over time, could compromise the effectiveness of the biotechnology applications they underpin. Thus to prevent this, more resilient genomes will need to be designed that compensate for the effect of these mutations. This will help ensure the success of these biotechnologies in their ultimate engineering environments.

Dr Jillian Couto’s webpage

If you would like to speak to Jillian please contact Carolin Kosiol.

Abstract

The evolution of human behavior and cognition is often studied with a combination of theory and experiment—theory is used to explore evolutionary dynamics, while laboratory experiments can compare human behavior against theoretical predictions. However, agent behavior is often much simpler than human psychology and so it can remain unclear whether human behavior would produce the same evolutionary dynamics observed theoretically. To address this question, I describe a new method, called “experimental evolutionary simulations”, that combines aspects of theoretical and empirical approaches by inserting large numbers of human participants into an evolutionary simulation. I use this approach to provide new data concerning the ability of human social learning to adapt to an unstable environment. Theory has identified different social learning strategies that are highly successful or unsuccessful in a changing environment. Experimental evidence suggests that human behavior is broadly consistent with many of these predictions and so it remains unclear how well a population of human learners would cope with environmental change. Across a series of experimental evolutionary simulations I find that although human behavior is broadly consistent with theoretical strategies that are successful in a changing environment, this similarity is insufficient to actually buffer human populations against environmental change. I conclude that human psychology is designed for high fidelity copying and not adapting to environmental novelties. More generally I suggest that experimental evolutionary simulations offer are an valuable complement to existing methods in the evolutionary study of mind and behavior.

Thomas Morgan is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. His background is in the evolution of animal social behaviors and cognition. He graduated from Cambridge with a bachelor’s in zoology in 2009, focusing on vertebrate evolution and behavioral ecology. He completed his doctorate in 2013 at the University of St. Andrews working with Kevin Laland to carry out a series of experiments testing evolutionary hypotheses about human social learning. From 2014 to 2016, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Tom Griffiths in the computational cognitive science lab at University of California at Berkeley where he developed a new platform for large-scale online social experiments called Dallinger. He joined the Adaptation, Behavior, Culture and Society group at Arizona State Unversity in August 2016.

If you would like to talk to Tom, please contact Kate Cross
Tom Morgan’s website

Abstract

Social insects such as ants, bees, wasps and termites live in colonies consisting of one or a small number of reproductive kings and queens and a large number of non-reproductive workers. On the one hand such reproductive caste differentiation is an evolutionary paradox. But on the other hand, it is also a unique example of the social regulation of reproduction. In this talk I will focus on the latter phenomenon and illustrate our attempts to understand the regulation of reproduction in the tropical primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata. This model system is especially interesting because the regulation of reproduction is mediated by behavioural interactions and is rapidly reversible. It is also interesting because such regulation appears to happen with surprisingly little overt conflict.

Raghavendra is Year of Science Chair Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science. During the past 25 years he has established an active school of research in the area of Animal Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution. The origin and evolution of cooperation in animals, especially in social insects, such as ants, bees and wasps, is a major goal of his research. By identifying and utilizing crucial elements in India’s biodiversity, he has added a special Indian flavour to his research.

If you would like to talk to Raghavendra, please contact Vincent Janik.
Raghavendra Gadagkar’s website

Abstract

Bees have a diverse instinctual repertoire that exceeds in complexity that of most vertebrates. This repertoire allows the social organisation of such feats as the construction of precisely hexagonal honeycombs, an exact climate control system inside their home, the provision of the hive with commodities that must be harvested over a large territory (nectar, pollen, resin, and water), as well as a symbolic communication system that allows them to inform hive members about the location of these commodities.  However, the richness of bees’ instincts has traditionally been contrasted with the notion that bees’ small brains allow little behavioural flexibility and learning behaviour. This view has been entirely overturned in recent years, when it was discovered that bees display abilities such as counting, attention, simple tool use, learning by observation and metacognition (knowing their own knowledge). Thus, some scholars now discuss the possibilities like consciousness in the bees. These observations raise the obvious question of how such capacities may be implemented at a neuronal level in the miniature brains of insects. We need to understand the neural circuits, not just the size of brain regions, which underlie these feats. Neural network analyses show that cognitive features found in insects, such as numerosity, attention and categorisation-like processes, may require only very limited neuron numbers. Using computational models of the bees’ visual system, we explore whether seemingly advanced cognitive capacities might ‘pop out’ of the properties of relatively basic neural processes in the insect brain’s visual processing area, and their connection with the mushroom bodies, higher order learning centres in the brains of insects.

Lars is the founder of the Research Centre for Psychology at Queen Mary, University of London. Work in the Chittka lab is poised at the intersection between sensory physiology and learning psychology on the one hand, and evolutionary ecology on the other. Why do animals have the sensory systems they do? How do they use them in their natural foraging environment? How do cognitive-behavioural processes function in the economy of nature? Pollinator-plant interactions have been used as a model system to study these questions. Bees have been the organisms of choice in most of these studies, because their colonies can be easily kept, their experience can be readily controlled, they have a rich behavioural repertoire and amazing learning capacities. Members of the team have been particularly interested in mutual evolutionary and ecological influences of insect colour vision and flower colour signals, and insect learning and flower advertising. In addition, they have studied bee navigation, including the question of how bees use spatial memory to navigate among several rewarded sites. Recently, Lars has also become interested in the evolution of cognitive capacities and communication, and the pollination biology of invasive species. Work in the Chittka lab has made use of field studies, as well as experimental studies with computer-controlled behavioural tests, computer simulations, and phylogenetic analyses.

If you would like to talk to Lars, please contact Andy Whiten.
Lars Chittka’s website

Abstract

Adaptive radiation, or the rapid evolution of morphologically and ecologically diverse species from a single ancestor, usually implies two coincidental processes: multiplication of species number (species richness) and increased phenotypic disparity (morphological diversification). The importance of adaptive radiation as an evolutionary phenomenon was first recognized by George Gaylord Simpson in “The Major Features of Evolution”. Much of the current species richness, ecological and morphological diversity in such clades as birds, angiosperms and mammals, is the result of multiple radiation events. Thus, understanding the causes and constraints of adaptive radiations is critical in the study of the evolution of diversity. We investigate the relative significance for intrinsic and extrinsic factors in avian diversifications and we reveal how the developmental genetic mechanisms controlling adaptive cranial shapes themselves evolved. In our work, we combine phylogenetics, transcriptomics, comparative embryology and functional experimentation to understand how morphological diversity is generated and maintained from phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives.

Dr Arkhat Abzhanov is a Reader in Evolution and Developmental Genetics at Imperial College London. His research group is interested in a variety of topics related to the vertebrate craniofacial (head) development, craniofacial genetic conditions in humans and craniofacial developmental evolution. His group uses morphometric, molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to study the precise mechanisms of cranial skeletal cell differentiation and skull/face morphogenesis in amniotes. The species they work with range from the laboratory “model” systems, such as chicken embryos and mouse mutants, to the “non-model” species used for evolutionary developmental studies, for example, Darwin’s Finches and their relatives from Caribbean Islands, as well as other birds and, more recently, reptiles, both squamates (e.g. Anolis lizards), and archosaurs, such as alligators. This combination of laboratory “model” species with “non-model” species from natural environments allows us to address important conceptual questions, such as the roles of particular developmental genetic mechanisms (e.g. modularity) in evolution of adaptive variation and significant morphological transitions at both small and large evolutionary scales.

Generally, their studies on evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) have a tripartite structure of the overall approach: 1) The first step is quantification of morphological variation using methods ranging from simply scoring the absence or presence of particular structures to 3D imaging and modeling; 2) The second component is identification of candidate genetic and developmental mechanisms using methods ranging from observations of the trait as it emerges in real time to quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to microarray and RNAseq screens;3) The third part is functional assays of candidate genes/pathways to reveal the more causative relationships by methods ranging from physical manipulations to tissue and embryo transgenesis with molecular vectors.

If you would like to talk to Arkhat, please contact David Ferrier.

Arkhat Abzhanov’s webpage

Abstract

Intricately woven ‘pendant’ nests built by some species of weaverbirds (Ploceidae) and icterids (Icteridae) are among the most complex structures built by animals, yet why they have evolved convergently in the two families remains largely unexplained. Anecdotal accounts suggest that nests suspended below branches with entrance tunnels hinder attacks by arboreal snakes, while entrance tunnels may also restrict access by brood parasites, but these ideas have yet to be systematically tested. Using a phylogenetic comparative approach, we test the prediction that across weaverbird and icterid species, suspended nests and entrance tunnels are associated with a large degree of native range overlap with arboreal snake predators and brood parasites. Further, we test the related prediction that such structures are associated with greater parental investment due to reduced offspring mortality. Geographic biases currently complicate analyses based on range overlaps with snake species, but we do find some predicted relationships between nest structure and overlaps with specific brood parasitic species. We also find that suspended nests in both families, and entrance tunnels in weaverbirds, are associated with relatively larger eggs and longer periods of parental care. Our current results suggest that elaborate nest structures can reduce offspring mortality risk and facilitate selection for greater parental investment. Surprisingly, our findings also suggest that such nest structures may defend primarily against invasions by brood parasites rather than snakes, although additional spatial data for snake species are required to confirm this. We conclude that nest design may play an as-yet-unappreciated role in the diversity of life history strategies across species.

Sally is an assistant professor at Durham University. She is an inter-disciplinary researcher interested in understanding large-scale patterns and processes in the evolution of behaviour, cognition and culture. She is primarily a ‘macro-evolutionary anthropologist’, placing broad questions on the evolution of our species’ extraordinary cognitive and cultural abilities in the wider context of vertebrate evolution. Sally typically investigates such questions using phylogenetic comparative statistical methods, which model how characteristics of species or populations have evolved across large temporal and spatial scales. She has a particular interest in the evolution of technically skilled behaviour, especially musical ability, tool use and construction. Along with exceptional cognitive and cultural capabilities, our species is characterised by uniquely developed technical skill, allowing us to perform a huge range of behaviour in our daily lives: from making tools and handicrafts, using technology and preparing food to performing music and dance. She is interested in why highly developed technical abilities have evolved in humans, how we learn and pass on these skills to others, and what we can learn from relevant behaviour in non-human species, especially tool use and nest building in birds and mammals. She is also interested in questions about human perceptions of non-human species, particularly in why we ‘prefer’ some species over others as pets or food sources, and the consequences of these preferences for conservation.

If you would like to talk to Sally, please contact Shoko Sugasawa.

Sally Street’s website

Abstract

Molluscan shells exhibit a large diversity of architectures at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Ultimately, these architectures are controlled by gene expression in the epithelial cells of the dorsal mantle, however very little is known about how these genes, and the proteins they encode, regulate the formation of such spectacular structures.

Next-generation sequencing has opened up the capacity for significant new insights into the molecular basis of molluscan biomineralisation. On one hand, the availability of mantle transcriptome data from an ever-increasing number of species enables broad-scale comparisons that shed light on the evolution of shell formation in molluscs. These comparisons also reveal common features of mantle secretomes that likely underlie key functional principles of shell formation. On the other hand, recent developments in low-input RNA-Seq have enabled fine-scale mapping of gene expression across the mantle tissue. Differential gene expression in regions of the mantle associated with particular shell features can reveal the molecular basis for control of their production.

In this presentation I will outline key findings from a recent comparative analysis of mantle transcriptomes and shell proteomes of gastropods and bivalves. I will also share preliminary results of a fine-scale RNA-seq analysis of the juvenile abalone mantle, which reveals the likely pathway of molecular control of shell pigmentation patterning. These examples demonstrate the utility of ‘omics studies in elucidating the molecular basis of molluscan biomineralisation.

Dr Carmel McDougall is a molecular biologist with a broad interest in functional and evolutionary genomics, particularly of marine invertebrates. Her primary research has been in the field of molluscan biomineralisation, with a focus on identifying the genes involved in controlling shell synthesis, understanding how these genes have evolved, and investigating how variation in these genetic factors leads to differences in shell (or pearl) properties. Her research also uses comparative and functional genomics and experimental studies to provide practical outcomes for sustainable molluscan aquaculture.

Carmel is from Brisbane, Australia, and obtained her BSc (Hons) at the University of Queensland. Following this, she undertook her PhD at the University of Oxford (spending her final year at the University of St Andrews) in the UK, investigating the evolution and development of polychaete worms. Carmel’s postdoctoral work brought her back to UQ, where she continued her research into biomineralisation in abalone and pearl oysters. She is now an Advance Queensland Fellow at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, where she heads the Molecular Ecology Laboratory.

If you would like to talk to Carmel, please contact David Ferrier.

Carmel McDougall’s webpage

In long-lived species, males and females are expected to allocate their time to mating, guarding behavior and self-conditioning behavior during the breeding period. In the chick-rearing period, many species of seabirds display a unique behavioral adaptation for managing their conflicting demands known as dual foraging, in which long trips, largely for self-maintenance, are alternated with short trips, which are primarily for offspring care. In the mating period, seabirds also allocate their time to mate and to forage. However, there is no study how they manage their time during the mating period. In this study, we examined male’s and female’s allocation of their time using geolocators in streaked shearwaters. We found that females took longer trips than males and went to the more distant area of the sea. They did not change their trip length after they stay together with their partner. However, male shearwaters mainly took one-day trips, and they extended their trip length if they met their partner at the nest. This suggests that male shearwaters determine their trip length based on the presence or absence of paired female to control their time between mating and foraging.

Miho Sakao is a Ph.D. student at the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo. Her research interest involve the breeding biology of seabirds, and in particular she is working on the breeding behavior of streaked shearwaters.

If you would like to talk to Miho, please contact Christian Rutz.

Abstract

Some animal societies, particularly primates and corvids, live in complex social groups based on enduring social bonds, which are hypothesized to favour the evolution of sophisticated cognitive skills in these species. A key unresolved issue for understanding the evolution of complex sociality and the associated advanced cognition is to uncover the fitness advantages that social relationships convey to individuals. In my talk, I will present recent findings on individual benefits of social relationships in captive groups of carrion crows. Between 2008 and 2014 I collected behavioural data and faecal samples from 34 captive carrion crows from a cooperatively breeding population in Northern Spain. Individuals with strong social bonds were more successful in aggressive encounters, showed less stress-related behaviours and excreted less gastrointestinal parasite products. Ultimately, these advantages of strong social relationships might be important in driving the evolution of complex group living.

Claudia is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. Her main research interests are in social cognition: cognitive mechanisms underlying cooperation in corvids, vocal communication: carrion crows posses a flexible social system, for example they breed cooperatively in Northern Spain and in pairs in most other populations in Europe and preliminary results suggest cooperative breeding to have major implications on vocal communication, such as the individual call repertoire and frequency to call being higher in cooperatively breeding compared to non-cooperative breeding carrion crows, and cooperation: exploring the frequency of cooperative interactions, e.g. coalition formation, food sharing and identity of regular cooperation partners (e.g. kin, reproductive pair).

If you would like to talk to Claudia, please contact Kevin Laland.

Claudia Wascher’s website

The world’s tropical reef systems, and the people who depend on them, are entering a new era in which the interval between recurrent bouts of coral bleaching is decreasing and few regions of the world remain unaffected. Following the record marine heatwave in 2015/16, we analyzed the pattern of recurrent bleaching over the past four decades at 100 globally-distributed reef locations. The median return time between pairs of severe events at each location since 2000 is only five years, far shorter than the minimum 10-15 years needed for coral assemblage to reassemble. The 2016 bleaching was particularly severe on the GBR affecting 91% of reefs and driving an unprecedented shift in the composition of coral assemblages, severely depleting many functionally-important coral taxa. Water quality and fishing pressure (reef zonation) had minimal effect on the severity of bleaching in 2016, suggesting that local protection of reefs affords little or no protection from global warming. Similarly, past experience of bleaching in 1998 and 2002 did not lessen the severity of bleaching in 2016. This large-scale transformation from high to low coral abundance, along 1000km of the Great Barrier Reef, is a harbinger of further radical shifts in the species composition of all marine ecosystems, especially if global action on climate fails to limit warming to +1.5-2oC above the pre-industrial base-line.

Professor Andrew Baird is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and an ARC Future Fellow at James Cook University. He has broad interests in coral reef science. His current research focuses on the systematics and biogeography of reef-building corals. 

Prof Andrew Baird’s webpage

If you would like to speak to Andrew, please contact Maria Azeredo de Dornelas.

Abstract

René van der Wal is a Professor of Ecology at the University of Aberdeen. He is an ecologist with a strong interest in nature conservation and people’s roles in the ecology of a place, and works frequently in partnership with social scientists and computer scientists, studying and developing innovations in citizen science. During the talk, he will show some of the advances made concerning automated feedback, crowd sourcing and camera trap development, and by so doing reveal insights on birds (red kites, dotterel), bumblebees and people observing those species.

Abstract

Transposable elements are wide-spread genomic parasites, and the archetypal example of a selfish gene, which can impose large fitness costs on their hosts. In response, organisms have evolved mechanisms to suppress transposable element activity; transposable elements can escape this suppression by invading new hosts. Here, we show an invasion of a species by DNA transposon, the P-element, in a new Drosophila host. Despite causing ‘hybrid dysgenesis’, a syndrome of abnormal phenotypes that include sterility, the P-element spread globally in the course of a decade in D. simulans. We find that the D. simulans P-element invasion occurred rapidly and nearly simultaneously in the regions surveyed, with strains containing P-elements being rare in 2006 and common by 2014. Importantly, as evidenced by their resistance to the hybrid dysgenesis phenotype, strains collected from the latter phase of this invasion have adapted to suppress the worst effects of the P-element.

Andrea Betancourt is a lecturer at Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool.  She is an evolutionary geneticist, working to answer questions about adaptation such as: Do sex and recombination allow rapid adaptation? Does sex-linkage promote adaptation? How do organisms adapt so rapidly to transposable element invasions?
To address these questions, she mainly uses flies from the genus Drosophila as a model, and apply genomics, population genetics, and Drosophila genetics, with an occasional foray into modelling.

If you would like to speak to Andrea please contact Carolin Kosiol.
Dr Andrea Betancourt’s website

Abstract

What makes individuals unique? There is a growing appreciation that individuals across the animal kingdom exhibit characteristic and predictable ways of behaving. However, we still know little about the ecological and evolutionary processes that generate and maintain this individual behavioral variation. Here I present research investigating how this type of variation emerges during development and what processes can influence the strength of this variation in adult animals. In particular I focus on the role of social interactions. The cooperative and competitive influences presented by a social group can increase the benefits of behaving in a predictable way.  This work suggests that individual behavioral variation may be a fundamental characteristic of most, or even all, animals and that social forces may be especially important in shaping the patterns of behavioral variation that we see.

Kate Laskowski is a scientist at Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin, Germany. Her primary fields of interest are the evolution and development of individual behavior. In particular, she focuses on how social dynamics drive behavioral specialization. Her main study organisms are fish, but she has investigated behavioral variation in a number of critters from spiders to birds.

If you would like to speak to Kate please contact Mike Webster.

Dr Kate Laskowski’s website

Abstract

Learning and memory rely on changes in the strength of synapses (synaptic plasticity). In some areas of the brain such as the hippocampus, synapses terminate on specialised cellular compartments called dendritic spines. Synaptic plasticity involves activity in the biochemical signalling networks within those spines, as well as changes in spine shape and size. There is an interesting interdependence between chemical regulation and space: The localisation of a protein within the spine determines its chemical function, because it determines access to modifiers, binding partners, substrates and molecular competitors. At the same time, chemical modification of proteins can change their subcellular localisation and even the structure of the spine itself. The Stefan Lab at the University of Edinburgh works on using computational modelling to understand learning and memory, with a special interest in how chemical signalling and subcellular space interact with each other. I will present some of our recent results in this area.

Dr Melanie Stefan is a Lecturer at Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences. Her research lab is affiliated with the Centre for Integrative Physiology and with the Patrick Wild Centre for Research into Autism, Fragile X Syndrome and Intellectual Disabilities at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests revolve around using computers to understand learning and memory, from simulating how proteins in the brain work together to strengthen the connection between neurons to using educational data to understand how students learn.

If you would like to speak to Melanie please contact Carolin Kosiol

Dr Melanie Stefan’s website

Abstract

Adaptation to different environments has long been argued as a potential cause for reproductive isolation between populations experiencing low or variable amounts of gene flow. Evidence from multiple study systems has suggested that premating isolating mechanisms often evolve early as populations diverge, with postmating isolation evolving later. We have focused on regionally isolated desert populations of cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis that exhibit low levels of sexual isolation, where use of different host cacti has resulted in genetically divergent life histories. Multiple experiments have revealed egg to adult development time, a key life history trait, is genetically correlated with premating isolation mediated by courtship song and epicuticular hydrocarbon differences.

We have employed both microarray analysis and transcriptome sequencing to assess transcriptional variation across the life cycle and gene expression differences caused by host plant use, temperature variation, desiccation regimes, mating status, as well as ubiquitous factor interactions.  Transcriptional variation over the entire life cycle revealed changing patterns of gene expression with stage and age revealing functional gene clusters associated with age-specific reproduction and the onset of senescence.  Adults differing in egg to adult development times showed significant expression differences in hundreds of genes that may explain why adult sexual behaviors are determined by preadult experience.  Annotation of these gene clusters has provided insights into functional genetic mechanisms for how adaptation to different environments has resulted in differences in mate choice behaviors and sexual isolation between populations.

Bill Etges is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas. His Lab’s research is focused on understanding the mechanisms that generate biological diversity. He uses ecological, physiological, genetic, genomic, and systematic approaches to experimental and field studies of life history evolution, adaptation, chemical ecology, sexual isolation, and speciation. Much of his work involves studying the relationships between desert Drosophila and their host plants.

If you would like to talk to Bill, please contact Mike Ritchie.

Bill Etges’ website

Abstract

Invasive pathogens can have major impacts on populations of native fauna and flora, even driving some to extinction. Pathogens are being moved around the World at far greater rates than ever before, putting more native species at risk from these novel threats. Efforts to identify, elucidate and mitigate such events are critical, including understanding the role of genetic variation in combating infection. Next generation sequencing methods can be useful to identify multiple pathogens and strains with greater ease. “Omics” methods such as GWAS and other association analyses, RNAseq to assess gene expression, and increased resolution of candidate genes, can help to determine genetic factors or changes that underlie host susceptibility or pathogen virulence. In this talk I illustrate application of genomic methods to ongoing studies by my lab on tick borne pathogens, Hawaiian honeycreepers parasitized by introduced avian malaria, and amphibians infected by the invasive chytrid fungus Bd.

Rob Fleischer is Senior Scientist and Head of the Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics at Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). His primary fields of interest are evolutionary and conservation biology. He conducts individual and collaborative research in population and evolutionary genetics, systematics, and molecular and behavioral ecology, mostly on free-ranging bird and mammal species, and their pathogens. Most of his more recent projects use genomic, transcriptomic and microbiome methods.

If you would like to speak with Rob, please contact Christian Rutz.

Rob Fleischer’s webpage

Abstract

The origins and consequences of lethal violence, ranging from homicide to warfare have been subject of long debate. Although recent studies on the evolution of violence have been based on various archaeological and ethnographic data, they have reported mixed results: it is unclear whether or not lethal violence among prehistoric hunter – gatherers was common enough to be a component of human nature and a selective pressure for the evolution of human behaviour. Based on exhaustive surveys of skeletal remains for prehistoric hunter-gatherers (the Jomon period; 13000 cal BC–800 cal BC) and agriculturists (the Yayoi period; 800 cal BC–AD 250) in Japan, the present study examines levels of inferred violence. Our results show that mortality attributable to violence in prehistoric Japan is much lower than those from previous studies, implying that lethal violence was not common in prehistoric Japan. We also found that mortality attributable to violence in the Yayoi period is higher than that in the Jomon period, which is consistent with a traditional archaeological view that large-scale intergroup violence is promoted by social changes induced by agriculture.

Kohei Tamura is an assistant professor at Tohoku University. He focuses on cultural evolution and evolutionary anthropology. He aims to understand various cultural phenomena. he approaches cultural inheritance as an analogy of biological genetics and analyze patterns of diffusion and transformation of culture using evolutionary biology methods. He looks at cultures as “information that is communicated socially” and pays attention to the nature of the information transmission systems. The root of biological evolution is that genetic information is transmitted from the parent to the child. The property “information inherited” common to these two systems can be handled in the same framework. Currently, by applying this “cultural evolution” method to the archeology data, while solving concrete archeological tasks, he aims to clarify the law in cultural phenomena and understand the creation mechanism of cultural diversity. In parallel, He is establishing a methodology for applying cultural evolution to archeology data, and is also working on improving the research environment.

If you would like to talk to Kohei, please contact Shoko Sugasawa.

Kohei Tamura’s website

Abstract

An ability to respond to the relations between objects or events is a fundamental component of complex cognition. It has been long argued that a mental spatial representation underlies at least some of the aspects of deductive reasoning (De Soto, London, & Handel, 1965; Eichenbaum, 1999; Goodwin & Johnson-Laird, 2008). However, there has been very little direct experimental evidence supporting this spatial representation hypothesis in human cognition; the involvement of spatial representation in relational learning in non-human animals is even less clear. I will review three lines of research suggesting that (1) spatial representation underlies the formation of an ordered series during transitive inference task in both humans and non-human
animals; (2) spatial representation is involved in learning a simple relational task, transposition, in both humans and non-human animals; and (3) non-human animals spatially organize numerosities even when the task does not require them to do so. Together, this evidence provides initial experimental support to the idea that the neural and cognitive mechanisms evolved for spatial cognition also provide the substrate for relational processing.

Olga is an associate professor of psychology at Drake University, USA. She focuses on early visual processes (e.g., perceptual grouping, figure-ground segregation), as well as mechanisms of relational learning.

If you like to meet with Olga please contact Lauren Guillette.

Olga’s Lab Website

Abstract

Classic models of social evolution in subdivided populations typically assume additive interactions, with the resulting conditions for the evolution of cooperation consisting of simple expressions depending on costs, benefits, and a single relatedness coefficient scaled to account for the effects of local competition. Here, I go beyond this assumption and explore the invasion fitness of cooperator mutants when social interactions are modeled as more general multiplayer games and population structure and regulation follows Wright’s island model under a Moran reproductive scheme. In particular, I show several instances of cooperative dilemmas for which greater (rather than smaller) dispersal rates promote the evolution of cooperation, even when this entails that pairwise relatedness (and higher order measures of genetic assortment) are systematically smaller.

Jorge is a postdoctoral researcher at the Evolutionary Ecology of Marine Fishes Research Unit of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and will be joining the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse and the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole in September 2017.

His research focuses on evolutionary game theory, social evolution theory, and their applications to the private provision of collective goods and the evolution of cooperation (in both well-mixed and spatially-structured populations).

If you like to meet with Jorge please contact Mauricio Gonzalez.

Jorge Pena’s website

Abstract

Malaria is caused by member species of the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium species are eukaryotic parasites that require two hosts to complete their complex lifecycle: A vertebrate host for asexual reproduction and amplification and a female Anopheline mosquito host for sexual reproduction. There are over 200 Plasmodium species that co-exist with and are restricted to various bird, rodent, non-human primate and reptile species and their Anopheline partners. A few Plasmodium species have adapted to the human host but infection most often results in the signs and symptoms of malaria. Malaria, per se, is the result of asexual reproduction and cycling in the red blood cells of infected individuals.  At the dawn of the new millennium a large entry of Plasmodium knowlesi, a parasite of old world monkeys, was discovered in the human population in Malaysian Borneo. Zoonotic malaria, caused by P. knowlesi, is currently responsible for most cases of malaria in Malaysia and is widespread in other human populations across Southeast Asia. What were the drivers for this cross host-species emergence?  Were we observing a single crossover event and clonal expansion? How do we control zoonotic malaria transmission? What are the clinical features of disease? The questions were many, difficult to prioritise and on-going – some of the answers will be presented.

Janet Cox-Singh is a research scientist in the School of Medicine here at the University of St Andrews. Here she has her own lab that focuses on using the zoonotic malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi to improve our understanding of malaria pathophysiology.

If you would like to talk to Janet, please contact V Anne Smith.

Janet Cox-Singh’s website

Abstract

Ecological neutral theory has been controversial because it assumes all individuals are ecologically equivalent regardless of their species identity.  This seminar will discuss the value of studying models that make such an assumption.  In particular, the potential of neutral theory to make predictions about both ecology and evolution simultaneously and the possible applications of neutral theory to conservation questions.

James Rosindell is a research Fellow in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. He is a biodiversity theorist with a particular interest in ecological neutral theory. His research focuses on questions such as: What factors influence the presence of endemic species on islands?  How many species will go extinct if an area of habitat is modified or destroyed?  His approach to modeling problems in ecology is to search for simple models for observed phenomena if possible; a model does not have to explicitly reproduce reality in order to be useful.  Most of his work uses simulation models and applies methods such as spatially explicit coalescence to maximise computational tractability.

If you would like to meet with James, please contact Maria Dornelas.

James Rosindell’ website

Eduardo Góes Neves is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and currently CAPES Distinguished Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, USA. His current area of research is southwestern Amazonia, at the current border of Bolivia and Brazil, where he has been studying middle Holocene occupations on fluvial shell mounds, as well as the archaeology of late pre-colonial mound building societies.  Through his various collaborations, he is also deeply involved in work that addresses long-term human impacts on Amazonian biodiversity.

Eduardo Góes Neves’ website

Note: Due to personal commitments that have arisen, Professor Neves will be delivering his talk from Harvard via live video link.

Professor Elizabeth Thompson is in residence in the School of Biology as a Carnegie Centenary Professor from January through June, 2017.  Professor Thomson is a statistical geneticist from the University of Washington with a long-standing interest in ancestry-based inference of population structure, including applications to humans, plants, animals, and conservation of endangered species.

If you would like to meet with Elizabeth, please contact Tom Meagher.

Elizabeth Thompson’s website

Abstract

Studying adaptive evolution in natural conditions is very complicated task. One possible approach involves assessing biogeographical variation. In the case of highly mobile organisms, population differentiation in confined areas could be often ascribed to isolation by environment or/and isolation by adaptation, rather than to physical barriers to gene flow. Novel tools, which efficiently provide a realistic assessment of relationships between population structure and environmental qualities, arose within the field of landscape genetics. An especially useful approach is derived from the circuit theory.  Here I will discuss the application of these tools to diverse mammalian groups with different body plans enabling efficient dispersal, with examples that encompasses transition zones between ecotypes, and the potential of the circuit theory framework in cetacean research.

Pavel Hulva is a researcher in the Department of Zoology at Charles University in Prague. His main research interests are molecular evolution (phylogenetics, phylogeography, landscape genetics, population genetics), bats (Chiroptera) and mammals (Mammalia).

If you would like to meet with Pavel, please contact Emma Carroll.

Pavel Huvla’s website

Abstract

The five major groups of deuterostomes offer stark contrasts in rates of evolution. While echinoderms, hemichordates and vertebrates are evolving relatively slowly, tunicates are evolving exceptionally fast and cephalochordates (aka amphioxus or lancelets) are evolving exceptionally slowly. Species of amphioxus are quite similar morphologically and live in similar habitats. Indeed, intergenus crosses of amphioxus can produce viable offspring.  In contrast, tunicates are highly diverse morphologically and occupy a wide range of marine environments. Even congeneric species occupying the same habitat rarely interbreed. The present talk asks “Why are levels of diversity and rates of evolution so vastly different in tunicates and amphioxus? Are these differences related to different modes of development with cell fates being determined very early in tunicate development but only gradually in amphioxus? Which came first, a switch in evolutionary rate from slow to fast or a switch from late determination of cell fate to early determination of cell fate?”

Linda Holland is a researcher at the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in UC San Diego. She is broadly interested in Chordate evolutionary relationships, developmental genetics of amphioxus, and evolution and development.

If you would like to meet with Linda, please contact Ildiko Somorjai

Linda Holland’s website

Abstract

We all modify our behaviour in different social situations to adapt, fit in or to become more competitive. Fruit flies also have complex social lives, aggregating independently of any resources, engaging in social learning, forming social networks and having a genetic propensity for different types of social environments. Using Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies as a model, we can investigate both the fitness consequences of changes of social environment and the mechanisms by which individuals can respond to such changes. One aspect of the social environment that has a particular impact on males is how much mating competition (both before and after mating) they encounter. Theory predicts that if males can mate more than once they need to trade-off current and future mating opportunities, hence they should modify their mating effort at a particular mating depending on the amount of competition they face. Males of many species use plastic strategies to cope with this uncertainty, taking cues from the presence of other males or the mating status of females, and making adjustments to behaviour and ejaculate content accordingly. In D. melanogaster, after being exposed to a potential competitor, males mate for longer and transfer a higher quality ejaculate. This has fitness benefits, at least in the short term, but is costly. By combining behavioural and life history data with transgenics and transcriptomics, we can investigate how such responses are coordinated and regulated, an important step in understanding how sophisticated, flexible social behaviours evolve. We are also starting to use this paradigm to investigate other consequences of social contact on traits such as ageing, immunity and cognition.

Amanda Bretman is an Academic Fellow in the School of Biology at the University of Leeds. She is an evolutionary ecologist, working mainly in the field of sexual selection and behavioural ecology using insect model systems. She works in three primary areas: behavioural plasticity and the socio-sexual environment, polyandry and inbreeding avoidance, and natural and sexual selection in field crickets.

If you would like to meet with Amanda, please contact Nathan Bailey.

Amanda Bretman’s website

Abstract

Butterfly wing patterns are a striking example of biological diversity. The neotropical Heliconius butterflies in particular have extensive within and between species diversity in their wing colour patterns. Some of this diversity is due to variation at the gene cortex, which has repeatedly been targeted by natural selection, both to produce mimetic colour pattern resemblances within Heliconius and remarkably to shift camouflage in the peppered moth. I will also talk about ongoing work in my lab to identify genes controlling iridescent structural colour.

Nicola Nadeau is a NERC Independent Research Fellow in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences in the University of Sheffield. Her lab group tries to understand evolutionary processes such as adaptation, divergence and speciation. In particular, they want to understand what the genetic changes are that bring about evolutionary change and the interplay between genetics, ecology and evolution. They focus on the evolution of structural colour, convergent evolution and its genetic underpinnings, and genomic approaches to divergence, speciation and adaptation.

If you would like to meet with Nicola please contact Nathan Bailey.

Nicola Nadeau’s website

Abstract

Sexual selection is the prime evolutionary force that makes males and females different. Sexual selection theory has recently expanded to include mate competition between females and mate choice by males, but empirical studies addressing these themes are still scarce. My research explores the evolution of sex role reversed mating systems using honey locust beetles (Megabruchidius sp.). I will present experimental evidence showing that (i) multiple mating can be costly for males and beneficial for females, (ii) males are choosy and (iii) female‑biased sex ratios accelerated the evolution of female courtship, which even led to stronger sex role reversal (experimental evolution over 20 generations). I highlight the essential role that females play in mating system evolution and that their contribution cannot simply be reduced to mate choice.

If you would like to meet with Karoline please contact Mike Ritchie.

Karoline Fritzsche’s website

Abstract

Conflicts between human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation are increasing in scale and intensity and have been shown to be damaging for both biodiversity and humans. Managing a specific natural resource often results in conflict between those stakeholders focussing on improving livelihoods and food security and those focussed on biodiversity conversation. Uncertainty, for example from climate change, decreases food security, puts further pressure on biodiversity and exacerbates conflicts. I will present first results towards developing a novel model that integrates game theory and social-ecological modelling to develop new approaches to manage conservation conflicts. The project has importance for society at large because ecosystems and their services are central to human wellbeing and unlocking these conflicts will provide great potential for a more sustainable future.

Nils Bunnefeld is an associate professor at the University of Stirling. His main research interests encompass the conservation and management of social-ecological systems using the combination of empirical data collection and modelling to investigate the interaction between human decision-making and the dynamics of ecological processes. In order to do this, he focusses on developing models and approaches to integrate ecological, social and economic data and theory to assist conservation and management decision making.

If anyone would like to meet with Nils please contact Jeroen Minderman.

Nils Bunnefeld’s website

Abstract

Dietary restriction is renowned as the most consistent environmental intervention to extend lifespan and delay ageing. Typically this effect is thought to result from a reduction in the availability of calories and a subsequent switch from investment in reproduction to investment in survival under conditions of poor resource availability. However, recent work has questioned the generality of the effect of DR, demonstrating a stronger effect in laboratory adapted than non-adapted populations and a stronger effect in females than males. In addition the role of calories has been questioned, with experiments using a broader range of diets suggesting variation in the ratio of macronutrients is more important in determining lifespan, with high protein diets resulting in lower lifespan. I will present early results from an investigation of the role of calories and macronutrient ratio in determining survival and reproduction in a wild derived population of freshwater fish, the stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus. In this study, we reared fish on one of 15 diet treatments varying in both protein to lipid ratio (P:L) and availability to allow separation of the effects of macronutrients and calories. Results suggest that P:L is more important in determining survival and reproduction than calories. In general males and females invested more in reproduction with increasing protein ingestion, but there was variation between traits and the amount of lipid ingested was also important for female reproduction.  In addition, there appears to be a sex difference in the effect of diet on lifespan. Males reared on high P:L diets suffered higher mortality than those reared on lower P:L, but this does not appear to be true for females. I will discuss these results in the light of recent work assessing the importance of calories and macronutrients in determining survival and reproduction and the evolutionary explanation for the existence of sex differences in the effect of DR.

Craig Walling is an evolutionary ecologist working in the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh. His research group focuses on understanding the evolution of, and maintenance of variation in, life history traits. Strong selection is predicted to reduce levels of genetic variation in such traits, yet genetic variation is often observed. My research aims to try and understand the causes and consequences of this variation. To address these aims I use techniques from both quantitative genetics and behavioural ecology in order to improve our understanding of both the genetic and environmental causes of variation in life history traits.

If anyone would like to meet with Craig please contact Nathan Bailey.

Craig Walling’s website

Abstract

The capacity for speech and language is a fundamental trait of humankind, and is of intense interest across diverse fields including linguistics, anthropology, neuroscience and molecular and evolutionary biology. I will present recent work from my research program using diverse, complementary approaches to study the genetic underpinnings of speech and language including; clinical studies that investigate the genetic causes of speech and language disorders; molecular studies that demonstrate how genes influence neuronal development and function; and work in animal models linking gene function to behaviours relevant for spoken language.

Sonja Vernes is the head of the Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group at the Max Plank Institute for Psycholinguistics. Her research studies the genetics of vocal communication in mammals, as a way to understand the evolution and biological basis of human speech and language.

If anyone would like to meet with Sonja or join her for dinner on Tuesday night, please contact B. Pralle Kriengwatana.

Sonja Vernes’ website

Abstract

What academic would be happy to think of their research as having little impact? The scoring of impact outside of academia in the REF adds even more impetus to this topic. Impact has such a broad definition in the REF – ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’ – that nearly everyone’s research should have a pathway to impact. But we are not always trained how to find and develop this path. I will start the seminar by describing how my curiosity-driven research on acoustic communication in marine mammals led to impact for understanding the effects of anthropogenic noise. The critical pathway to impact was a willingness (I felt it an obligation) to get involved where one’s science is relevant for political issues, legal disputes, or conflicts between regulators and stakeholder, even if these are controversial. Interacting with the critical players in the decision-making process was essential for obtaining convincing evidence of impact from convincing sources. Committing to this process can take a lot of time, but is necessary for creating the link between our research and decision-making outside of academia. I would like for most of the seminar to involve a brainstorming discussion about pathways to impact for some of the varied CBD research areas.

Peter Tyack is a Professor in the School of Biology and at the Scottish Oceans Institute here at the University of St Andrews. His research focuses on the evolution of vocal learning in mammals and what effects this has on social behavior, especially mediating indvidual-specific relationships. My lab primarily studies cetaceans in the field, and we have developed new methods to sample behavior continuously from individuals. I am also concerned about the effects of anthropogenic sound on wildlife, and have studied effects of sounds such as naval sonar and airguns used for seismic survey on cetaceans.

Peter Tyack’s website

Abstract

Elaborate cognitive abilities and relatively large brains are distributed across a variety of taxa, and there is a large number of primarily verbal hypotheses to explain such diversity. Yet, mathematical models formalizing verbal arguments and helping deepen our understanding of brain and cognition evolution remain scarce. To address this issue, I will present a mathematical model that combines life history and metabolic theories to yield quantitative predictions for brain life history evolution given a chosen set of hypotheses. The model assumes that some of the brain’s energetic expense is due to learning and memory of skills. I will show predictions arising from the model applied to humans under a baseline setting (“me-vs-nature”), namely when the individual uses her skills to extract energy from the environment without social interactions except with her mother. The model shows that this baseline setting is enough to generate major human life stages (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood) with proper timing while producing adult body and brain mass of ancient human scale. The model also finds that adult skill number is proportional to adult brain mass if memory is sufficiently costly, essentially regardless of learning costs. Finally, the model shows that large brains are favored by intermediately challenging environments, moderately effective skills, and metabolically expensive memory. To close, I will talk about the applications of the model that I plan to do here to address sociality.

Mauricio González-Forero is a Marie Curie Fellow here at St Andrews in the School of Biology. His research interests are in evolutionary biology, and use mathematical approaches to address questions related to brain evolution, the evolution of social behavior, and the species problem.

Mauricio González-Forero’s website

Abstract

Social network analysis’ ability to measure individual connectedness in both the dyadic and polyadic (or ‘indirect’) sense is one of the main features that sets it apart from more traditional approaches to the study of behaviour. Indirect connections influence the health, well-being, and financial success of humans. But whether indirect connections are important to other animals, and by consequence critical to biologists’ understanding of the causes and consequences of sociality in those animals, remains unclear. Here, I aim to demonstrate that there is mounting evidence that indirect connections are important to our understanding of animal behaviour. I focus on studies that have explored the fitness consequences of indirect connections, highlighting those that have uncovered new and important information that would not have been revealed had the focus been solely at the level of dyadic associations. Based on this overview, I conclude that although the number of studies that demonstrate that indirect connections may be an important component of animal sociality has become too great to ignore, many questions remain open and additional research is required.

Lauren Brent is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and Lecturer in the Psychology department at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on the evolution of sociality and ask why social relationships are formed and how they are maintained. The bulk of her research is focused on a highly gregarious primate, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), where I have provided some of the first evidence of the fitness benefits of sociality, showing that the infants of individuals who are more deeply embedded in their social network are more likely to survive, and females with larger families live longer. I have also shown that an individual’s position in their social network is heritable, confirming that sociality is under genetic control and is a trait on which selection may act. I am also currently (or have recently been) involved in projects on other social mammals, including vampire bats, elephants, dairy cows, and killer whales.

If anyone would like to meet with Lauren please contact Sue Healy.

Lauren Brent’s website

Abstract

Population assessments are an important, integrated means of establishing baselines, recovery status and resilience for conservation management of vulnerable species. For cetacean populations, such assessments require good estimates of past catch history and current population connectivity, abundance and trend. In this talk I will discuss developments in the use of these data as well as emerging results from population assessments of humpback and southern right whales in the Southern Hemisphere. Pre-exploitation “carrying capacity” baselines can provide a useful means of gauging population recovery levels, but how accurate are they? Can we do better?

Jennifer Jackson is a Whale Ecologist/Geneticist for the British antarctic Survey. She is interested in evolutionary genetics, evolutionary rates and the use of fossils to calibrate evolutionary trees and describe the tempo and pattern of the evolutionary history of species. Population genetics, the use of rapidly evolving DNA markers to measure population sizes, migration rates and past demography and dynamics. Particularly interested in using new genomic technologies such as ‘ddRAD’ for characterising population structure. And population dynamic modelling to understand the population history of exploited whales- an integration of data on population trend, abundance, exploitation history with logistic models to look at past bottlenecks, pre-exploitation abundance and current recovery levels. And mark recapture models to estimate animal abundance and trend.

If anyone would like to meet with Jen please contact Ellen Garland.

Jennifer Jackson’s website

Abstract

I will present experimental findings in zebra finches and humans that make use of abnormal song and atypical linguistic input to study processes shaping communication systems: individual learning, social interaction, and cultural transmission. Atypical input places increased learning and communicative pressure on learners, so exploring how they respond to this type of input provides a particularly clear picture of the biases and constraints at work during learning and use. Furthermore, simulating the cultural transmission of these unnatural communication systems in the laboratory informs us about how learning and social biases influence the structure of communication systems in the long run. Findings based on these methods suggest fundamental similarities in the basic social–cognitive mechanisms underlying vocal learning in birds and humans.

Olga is a research assistant in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on the cultural evolution of birdsong and language, with a particular interest in social influences on the learning of song and language.

If anyone would like to meet with Olga or join us for lunch after the seminar please contact Ellen Garland.

Olga Feher’s website

Abstract

Many mammal and bird species produce long, complex sequences of vocalisations, made up of a combination of multiple discrete sound types. Much has been written about the complexity of these sequences and what they might tell us about the evolution of human language. Recently, non-trivial statistical dependencies have been found in the vocalisations of many species, from humpback whales to Titi monkeys. Such statistical dependencies are often called “syntactic structure”. What is the relationship – if any – of animal syntax to the evolution of human language? Indeed, do these syntactic structure even have any relevance to animal communication? Authors have variously postulated that complex vocal sequences could encode individual information (i.e. act as honest index signals), encode more general environmental information (i.e. act as an intentional information channel), or perhaps be no more than arbitrary artefacts of the sound production mechanism. Answering these questions without being privy to the actual semantic content of the messages seems like an impossible task. However, I will present some statistical techniques that attempt to distinguish between complexity for its own sake, and complexity for the sake of communicative power. Furthermore, there may be models of sequence complexity that help to explain why human language appears to be unique, without the presence of any evolutionarily intermediate steps.

Arik Kershenbaum is a Herchel Smith Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, UK. He focuses on the evolution of acoustic communication systems in different animals, and particularly the role that communication plays in the evolution of cooperation.

If anyone would like to meet with Arik please contact Ellen Garland.

Arik Kershenbaum’s website