Current postdocs and Fellows
Sarah Worsley – Gut microbiota variation, fitness, and senescence
Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellow (previously NERC Postdoc, UEA with the Seychelles warbler project.)
The gut microbiome plays an important role in many aspects of host biology. However, even within the same population of a species, individuals can harbour very different microbial communities. I am investigating the drivers of individual variation in the gut microbiome of the Warbler and its impact on host survival, reproduction, and senescence.
Mike Pointer – Impacts of climate change on insect reproduction
NERC Postdoc with Matt Gage, Alexei Maklakov and Tracey Chapman
Most species on earth are ectothermic and cannot control their own temperature. The impact of warming climate on these organisms is likely to be severe, but we don’t really understand how higher temperatures might affect their basic functions. Mike is working to understand how short-term heatwaves influence insect populations through effects on reproduction.
Research Technicians
Maria-Elena Manarrelli (who is shy!) – all things molecular in the lab
Currently NERC funded on the ‘Gut microbiota variation, fitness, and senescence in the seychelles warbler‘ project
Current PhD Students
Liz Allocca – Landscape-scale gut microbiomics in a wild bird; investigating anthropogenic and ecological effects in Berthelot’s pipit
ARIES DTP PhD, UEA. Co-supervised by Sarah Worsley and Richard Davies
TBC
Eugenio Carlon – Avian viromics and anthropogenic effects in Berthelot’s pipit
BBSRC NRPDTP PhD, UEA. Co-supervised Evelien Adriaenssens and Sarah Worsely
TBC
Callista Aikens – Intergenerational consequences of ageing in a vertebrate population
BBSRC NRPDTP PhD, UEA. Co-supervised by Hannah Dugdale, David Monk & Martin Taylor
Individuals age biologically at a rate non-linear to their chronological age. Most studies overlook this and use chronological age rather than biological age to investigate intergenerational effects of parental age at conception. I will develop an epigenetic clock to determine biological age and investigate how this impacts offspring and later generations
Vildan Acar – Understanding interplay between the gut microbiome, behaviour and urbanisation in wild birds.
NERC ARIES PhD, UEA, Co-supervised with Gabrielle Davidson
My research aims to investigate the influence of gut microbiome variation on behaviour and cognition in great tits. I am interested in exploring these dynamics in urban settings, where wild animals face unique challenges and opportunities, making the study of their gut microbiomes crucial for a comprehensive understanding of their adaptive responses.
Claire Tsui – Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Senescence
PhD, UEA & University of Groningen. Joint supervised with Hannah Dugdale & the SW Project
There is huge variation in the onset and rate of senescence not only within individuals, but also across traits within the individual. My research aims to understand the factors causing variation in senescence. I will study the asynchrony of senescence in phenotypic groups such as behavioural, reproductive and physiological traits, and then investigate the quantitative genetics and genomics of traits that senesce.
Sergio Gonzales – Genomics of inbreeding depression, senescence and mitochondrial performance
PhD, University of Groningen. Co-supervised with Hannah Dugdale & Simon Griffith & the SW Project
Inbreeding depression is a major problem in small and isolated populations, leading to reduced fitness. I will use genomics to explore the links between inbreeding depression, senescence and mitochondrial performance in the Seychelles warblers and captive species in Australia. My research will shed light on what mechanisms drive senescence in birds, and also contribute to knowledge about the implications of inbreeding depression.
Alessandro Pinto – Understanding lifelong and multigenerational inbreeding effects in the Seychelles warbler
NERC ARIES PhD, UEA. Co-supervised by Hannah Dugdale & Cock van Oosterhout & the SW Project
Inbreeding is an issue in threatened species, yet its impact is poorly quantified. In populations that have undergone fragmentation and bottlenecking the effects of inbreeding depression are exacerbated. I am using the life history, pedigree, and genomic data of the warblers on Cousin island to quantify the fitness effects of different levels of inbreeding, from a multi–generational perspective.
Chuen Zhang Lee – The gut microbiome, senescence and mortality in an isolated vertebrate population
BBSRC NRPDTP PhD, UEA. Co-supervised by Falk Hildebrand & Hannah Dugdale & the SW Project
My research focuses on functional gut microbiome variation in a population free from confounds caused by captivity or health interventions. I will determine changes in the gut microbiome using metagenomics to predict functional variation in the warbler as they get older. A better understanding of how the gut microbiome is linked to senescence will allow us to design ways to optimise the gut microbiome, mitigate negative effects and promote healthy ageing
George West – Genetic rescue and the conservation of small populations
NERC ARIES PhD, UEA, Co-Supervised by Rebecca Lewis & Will Nash
Many endangered populations are at risk of inbreeding depression, this process reduces a populations genetic diversity and can make them more vulnerable to extinction. Genetic rescue is one proposed solution to improve the genetic health of a population but there is much we do not understand about it. I use the model species Tribolium castaneum to carry out experimental evolution and test key factors affecting genetic rescue.
Mike Pointer – Evolutionary genetics of dispersal in Tribolium flour beetles
BBSRC NRPDTP PhD, UEA, Co-supervised by Simon Butler & Mark McMullan
Mike works with the Tribolium flour beetle, a prolific crop pest and biological model system. His work explores questions on the evolution of behavioural and life history traits, using experimental evolution and genomics. This includes a PhD on the evolution of dispersal, where understanding how Tribolium spread could benefit our ability to manage their impact on the food sysyem
Kiran Lee – Genomics of inbreeding in Seychelles warblers
PhD, Sheffield University, Supervised by Terry Burke and David Richardson. Supported by Hannah Dugdale, Jan Komdeur, and Nature Seychelles
After a species’ population crashes, inbreeding between remaining individuals is expected to negatively effect the fitness of individuals. For my PhD, I will study the effects of inbreeding in the Seychelles warbler population on Cousin island, by analysing the genomes of 1,500 warblers, in combination with complete life history data collected over the last 20 years from fieldwork. The results will help inform management plans for this and other species of conservation concern.
Nel Sheppard – Using museum DNA to understand disease resistance in island birds
NERC ARIES PhD, UEA, Supervised with Mike Scott, Alex Suh and Brent Emerson IPNA-CSIC (Tenerife)
Using museum specimens (1820s) and contemporary samples, Nel is investigating spatial-temporal variation in the genome across five divergent populations of Berthelot’s pipit, Anthus berthelotii. Differences in historical pathogen regime exist between these populations and provide a gradient against which to understand immunogenetic divergence.
Frigg Speelman – Fitness benefits and heritability of long-term partnerships
PhD, University of Groningen. Co-supervised with Hannah Dugdale & Simon Griffith
In socially monogamous species, pair-bonds may persist over breeding seasons, which can have fitness consequences. Such partnerships are of evolutionary importance, yet studies often ignore this point, making the framework of life-history evolution with regard to partnerships incomplete. I am exploring why some partnerships are maintained whereas others are not using the socially monogamous Seychelles warbler as a model system.
Masters Students
to be completed
Alumni
Mirjam Borger – A first realistic quantitative test of sex ratio modification theory in a wild population.
PhD, University of Groningen, Co-supervised with Jan Komdeur and Franjo Weising & the SW Project
I am trying to understand why parents change the sex ratio of their offspring and why there is variation between individuals, e.g. why doesn’t everyone produce a 50/50 sex ratio? I study this in the Seychelles warbler, which produces skewed sex ratios under certain circumstances. Using models I predict under what circumstances it is more beneficial to produce sons or daughters. I then test if individuals really change their offspring sex ratio according to our models and test the fitness benefits of this behaviour.
Tom Brown – Biomarkers of senescence in the Seychelles warbler.
BBSRC PhD, UEA, Co-supervised by Hannah Dugdale & Martin Taylor & the SW Project
Individuals in wild populations exhibit wide variation in their rate and onset of senescence. This is mediated by complex interactions between environment, life-history and genetics, but measuring senescence to disentangle these interactions is an ongoing challenge. Using the warbler, Tom is exploring novel molecular and physiological markers of senescence.
Claudia Martin – Evolutionary adaptation in Berthelot’s pipits, Anthus berthelotii,
NERC PhD, UEA: Co-supervised with Lewis Spurgin & Brent Emerson IPNA-CSIC
Claudia focuses on using Berthelot’s pipit, a passerine endemic to three ecologically varied Macaronesian archipelagos, to understand the ecological factors that drive natural selection. Using genomic tools, she aims to identify genes under selection and the ecological factors driving adaptation at different spatial scales.
Charli Davies – The maintenance of immunogenetic variation in small populations
NERC PhD, UEA, Supervised with Hannah Dugdale (RuG) & Martin Taylor & the SW Project
Charli is investigating how variation is maintained at immune genes within an isolated island population of Seychelles warblers. Specifically focusing on the consequences and/or benefits differential immuno-genetic variation confers on an individual, and the roles pathogens have in maintaining this variation.
Lewis Spurgin – PhD, Postdoc, fellow and PI...
Lewis was a PhD student (2008-2012) and a post-doc (2015) with David. He also undertook a Rubicon Fellowship (Groningen University; 2012-14) on the Seychelles Warbler. He worked on the population genetics and genomics of Berthelot’s pipits and Seychelles warblers, and also on immune gene evolution and telomere dynamics. He then secured a lecturer position at UEA and carried on collaborating on the warbler and pipits systems.
Sara Raj Pant – Understanding the evolution of infidelity using the Seychelles warbler
Joint PhD UEA & Groningen, with Hannah Dugdale & Jan Komdeur & the SW Project
Sara aims to uncover the causes and consequences of extra-pair paternity, a strategy which is widespread across socially monogamous taxa, yet enigmatic from an evolutionary perspective. As well as determining how socio-ecological parameters and age and condition influence infidelity, she also aims to estimate its heritability
Alex Sparks – Genomics of senescence
NERC PDRA. University of Leeds (collaboration with Hannah Dugdale) & the SW Project
Individuals senesce differently, but the causes remain poorly understood. I used quantitative genetic analyses to investigate the additive genetic basis of telomere length in the Seychelles warbler, and how parental age at conception influences offspring telomere length. I also investigated parental age effects on offspring fitness. Finally, i developed our pipeline for analysis of whole genome sequences to be used to understand more about the genomics of senescence.
Ellie Fairfield – Estimating age in Crustaceans
BBSRC PhD, UEA; co-supervised with Martin Taylor
Ellie’s work aims to identify novel molecular markers for estimating age in crustaceans. She previously worked as a research technician with us for four years (2012-16), working on telomere dynamics in the Seychelles warbler and sexual selection in relation to immune gene diversity in Red jungle fowl.
Ellie Chesterton – Individual variation in reproductive success in Seychelles warblers
PhD, Leeds University, with Hannah Dugdale , Jan Komdeur and the SW Project
Ellie is studying the relative effect of genetic and environmental conditions on reproductive success. Specifically, she is looking at how the social environment impacts fitness and how reproductive success differs between the two sexes, as well as trying to understand the genomic basis underpinning this variation.
Claire Armstrong – The role of pathogens in shaping genetic variation within and among the Macaronesian populations of Berthelot’s pipit, Anthus Berthelotti
NERC PhD, UEA – in collaboration with Lewis Spurgin
As an island endemic with known colonisation history, this was an excellent species in which to investigate the ability of pathogen-mediated selection to maintain genetic diversity in the face of population bottlenecks and genetic drift.
Ellen Bell – The impact of whole genome duplication on immunogenetics diversity and parasite load in Corydoradinae catfishes
UEA PhD co-supervised with Martin Taylor
Liam Crowther – The tree bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum: understanding the ecological success of a naturally colonising pollinator
NERC CASE PhD-funded student (2013-2017), co-supervised with Andrew Bourke and CASE partner Claire Carvell, CEH Wallingford
Grant McDonald – Immune-mediated female sperm selection and fertilisation bias
NERC funded PDRA in collaboration with Tom Pizzari (Oxford)
Kat Bebbington – Measuring costs and benefits of the social environment in Seychelles warblers.
NERC PhD, UEA. Supervised with Jan Komdeur. With support from Nature Seychelles
Animals live in a social world characterised by interactions with partners, siblings, group members and the wider population. These interactions shape individual behavioural strategies and ultimately, their fitness. Kat combined analyses of telomeres, a biomarker of physiological ageing, with measures of survival and reproduction to test how social interactions affect the success of individuals
Sjouke Kingma – Understanding cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler
Rubicon and VENI fellowships at UEA and Groningen respectively. With support from Nature Seychelles
Sjouke is interested in why animals cooperate and live in groups and whether and how the social environment determines individuals’ behaviour and physiology and their ultimate success in survival and reproduction. His research is focussed mainly on behaviour, physiology and demography in different bird species – but also includes comparative study across bird species.
Emma Barrett – Telomeres as biomarkers of costs and quality in the Seychelles warbler
NERC funded PDRA, with Hannah Dugdale, Jan Komdeur and the SW Project. Supported by Nature Seychelles
Danni Gilroy -Beyond the MHC: Consequences of functional variation at immune loci in the Seychelles warbler.
NERC funded PhD. With Terry Burke and Jan Komdeur. Supported by Nature Seychelles.
Martijn Hammers – Ecology of senescence in a cooperatively breeding bird.
VENI Fellowship (NWO-ALW), University of Groningen – in collaboration with Jan Komdeur Supported by Nature Seychelles
Martijn focuses on the ecology and evolution of ageing, social environments and life-history strategies, and on biodiversity conservation. Using birds and insects as model systems he combines lab work with experimental and observational approaches. He studied how cooperation between individuals within families may lead to delayed ageing and lifespan extension in the Seychelles warbler. Martijn was also PHD student with us (2008-2013).
David Wright – The conservation genetics of the Seychelles warbler)
NERC PhD and then a PDRA. co-supervised by Nigel Collar (BirdLife International). Supported by Nature Seychelles
Dave focussing on population connectivity, immunogenetics and the genetic impact of conservation actions on this endangered bird. He helped lead the translocation of the warbler to Fregate in 2011. As a Postdoc (2014-2017) he worked on various projects including; estimating genetic diversity and divergence in the Cape Verde warbler and managing genetic analyses for a conservation breeding program of the Asian Houbara bustard.
Jildou van der Woude – Physiological consequences of different life-history strategies in the Seychelles Warbler.
NWO PhD (2008-2019; 50%) RUG. Supervised by Jan Komdeur, David Richardson and Hannah Dugdale. Supported by Terry Burke and Nature Seychelles
Catalina Gonzalez-Quevedo – The spatial scale, and drivers, of immune gene variation within and among bottlenecked populations
Colciencias funded PHD 2010-2014
Karl Phillips – Molecular ecology of the hawksbill turtle, Eretomochelys imbricate, in the Seychelles
UEA PhD 2009-2013. In collaboration with Cousine island.
The project used extensive microsatellite genotyping to study otherwise cryptic life history traits -such as mating systems and dispersal – in this endangered species, and to assess the present-day genetic health of the population. Karl also provided bioinformatics support for the Berthelot’s pipit project.
Mark Gillingham – Sexual selection and the MHC in the fowl
NERC PhD cosupervised with with Tom Pizzari (Oxford)
Kim Hutchings – Gastro-intestinal parasites the MHC and parasite-mediated selection in the Seychelles warbler
NERC PhD
Supported by Nature Seychelles
Kirsty Worley – Sexual selection and the MHC in fowl
NERC funded PDRA in collaboration with Tom Pizzari (Oxford)
David Padilla – Population history, gene flow, and bottlenecks in island populations of a secondary seed disperser, the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis koenigi)
Spanish postdoctoral fellowship with JC Illera
Juan Carlos Illera – Population history of Berthelot’s pipit: colonization, gene flow and morphological divergence in Macaronesia
Spanish Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2007)
JC was my co-founder of the Berthelot’s Pipit Project ….and we have been collaborating – and enjoying fieldwork – ever since
Janske van de Crommenacker – Early-life conditions and later phenotype and fitness in the Seychelles warbler.
PhD and Postdoc, University of Groningen – in collaboration with Jan Komdeur . Supported by Nature Seychelles
Janske’s work uses telomere length as a biomarker of condition to understand links between physiology, ecology and ageing. But Janske has been working with us much longer than this! First for an MSc (2002) on ‘cooperative breeding and testosterone’, and then as a PhD (2006-2011) investigating oxidative stress and physiology, all with the warbler.
Dr Jarrod Hadfield – Components of fitness in the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler.
NERC Postdoc, 2004-2006. Collaboration with David Richardson, Terry Burke and Jan Komdeur
Cas Eikenaar – Should I stay or should I go? Natal dispersal in the Seychelles warbler
PhD, University of Groningen (Co-supervised with Jan Komdeur). Supported by Nature Seychelles
Lyanne Brouwer – Cooperative breeding and density regulation in small island populations of the Seychelles warbler.
PhD, University of Groningen ( with Jan Komdeur). Supported by Nature Seychelles
Lyanne’s core interest is on the social behaviours of animals and their behavioural adaptations to environmental change. Her latest project uses a citizen science approach to study how urbanization affects social behaviour in birds.
David S. Richardson's lab 