 Genetic quality in a changing environment
Many studies have focused on whether females receive genetic benefits for their offspring by mating to high quality males. This question has typically been examined using a ‘good genes’ framework, or more recently, a ‘genetic compatability’ framework. This project focuses on estimating the relative contribution of these different processes to varying fitness characters. I am also interested in the effect that a variable environment has on each of these genetic processes. These questions are addressed in the lab, using Australian field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) as the study organism.
Genetic architecture of male fitness
In many species, females mate with multiple males. This creates intense competition between males for fertilizations. As a result, sperm competition is a major driving force behind the evolution of male fitness. However, sperm competition is a complex trait that is, in part, contingent upon the interaction between competing males and interacting females. I am collaborating on a project together with Damian Dowling and Leigh Simmons, in which we are studying the genetic architecture of sperm competitivness. Specifically, we are looking at the contribution of additive and non-additive variance to male sperm competitive success in the Australian field cricket. Group-living and sociality
Animals living in groups often show some sort of cooperative behaviour. Some group-living species associate in family groups where the offspring stay at home and help the parental pair to raise new offspring. One explanation to the maintenance of these kin societies may be indirect fitness benefits. In collaboration with Michael Griesser and Jan Ekman, I study the role of indirect benefits in family living in a social bird species, the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus). In this species, offspring delay dispersal and stay in their natal territory where they are given beneficial treatment from their parents that are withheld from immigrant individuals (i.e. parents are nepotistic). However, they do not help their parent raise new offspring. Specifically, we have been looking at how nepotistic behaviour affect offspring fitness in Siberian jays. Our results show a strong advantage of delaying dispersal, both in terms of an increased survival and in increased lifetime reproductive success.
Working on Siberian jays, I also study the effect of social and intrinsic factors (e.g. age and sex), as well as multi-scale habitat quality, on the trade-off between behavioural decisions and predation risk. Results from this work demonstrate, for example, that non-related group members generally take greater risks in a feeding situation, that feeding behaviour differ in relation to age and that there is a pronounced effect of habitat on behavioural decisions.
Habitat-specific population dynamics
In the same manner that demographic factors may vary between populations, factors such as mortality and reproduction can also vary within a population. Together with collaborators Sönke Eggers, Michael Griesser and Jan Ekman, I have studied how adult mortality and reproduction varies over space and how this variation correlates to environmental factors. We have specifically addressed the role of forestry on habitat quality. For example, we have found that thinning of the forest can be equally detrimental as a partial clear-cut within a territory. We have also found strong indications of a source-sink system within the study site. CAREER 1996 – 2001 | BSc Honours, Uppsala University, Sweden. | 2002 –2006 | PhD, Uppsala University. Effect of habitat quality on behavioural decisions and population dynamics in the Siberian jay. | 2007 – 2008 | Maternal leave. | 2008 – present | Swedish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Western Australia |
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