Our research groups

Behaviour

Research group leader

Professor Tom Tregenza

Group members

Professor Matthew Evans, Dr Jon Blount, Dr Michael Cant, Dr Sasha Dall, Dr Tom Pike, Dr Nick Royle, Dr Andy Young

The research within the Behaviour group focuses on the natural and sexual selection pressures that shape animal behaviour. A major theme is the study of sexual selection, for example, how and why do females choose mates and what keeps ornamental traits honest? Why do females mate with more than one male? Does selfish DNA promote sexual selection? Physiological ecology is another broad theme, for example, what are the roles of carotenoids in life-history trade-offs? What are the effects of endocrine hormones on ornaments and on immune function? What are the consequences of within-family conflicts over parental investment, and how are they resolved? Finally, all animals have to live in an uncertain world - we are concerned with the way in which animals manage and cope with this uncertainty both behaviourally and physiologically. Why do some animal species breed cooperatively, and how are conflicts over helping and breeding resolved within these cooperative societies?

Within the group we work on many taxa, from birds and mammals to fish and insects, and at field sites in the UK and around the world from South Africa and Uganda, to Brazil and Spain. We pursue interesting questions in whichever systems seem most appropriate.

Research funding

Substantial research income is present in the group from BBSRC, NERC, The Royal Society, and the EU.

Recent highlights

Demonstrates that females can evolve to mate with many different males as a way of preventing males with damaging selfish genes from fathering their offspring (Science 322, 1241) View paper

Important new insights into the evolutionary causes of menopause in humans (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:5332-5335). Also covered in Scientific American, The Times and The Telegraph

First experimental demonstration that carotenoid availability can limit immune function and sexual attractiveness (Science 300: 125-127) Also covered by National Geographic and BBC

First theoretical demonstration that when food supplies are uncertain or ephemeral, lactation is the best way for single mothers to provision nutrients to dependent young (Proceedings of the Royal Society B 271: 2049-2057). Also covered by New Scientist and Natural History

Demonstration of the potential benefits to females of mating with several males as a way of avoiding inbreeding (Nature 415: 71-73)

Evidence that females respond to more dominant mates by laying eggs more quickly (Biology Letters 2:409-411)

Experimental demonstration that early life history effects are important determinants of competitive ability in adulthood, independent of body size (Proc Roy Soc B 272: 1917-192)

First experimental demonstration that sexual conflict over parental investment can adversely affect offspring attractiveness (Nature 416, 733-736)

First demonstration of the evolution of rapid male-killer suppression in a natural butterfly population (PLOS Biology 4: e283)

Showing that males carrying selfish DNA suffer in sperm competition, indicating polyandry can prevent the spread of selfish DNA (Proc Roy Soc B 273: 1455-1458)

The first study revealing the aerodynamic constraints that affect the size and shape of bird tails and which interact with sexual selection in determining the ornaments that birds can carry (American Naturalist 163, 341-357)

Demonstration of the ability of birds to optimise their life history traits even when faced with dramatic differences in physiological parameters. (J. Evol Biol 19: 343-352)