Key publications
Duarte A, Cotter SC, De Gasperin O, Houslay TM, Boncoraglio G, Welch M, Kilner RM (2017). No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Sci Rep,
7(1).
Abstract:
No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) breed on small vertebrate carcasses, which they shave and smear with antimicrobial exudates. Producing antimicrobials imposes a fitness cost on burying beetles, which rises with the potency of the antimicrobial defence. Burying beetles also carry phoretic mites (Poecilochirus carabi complex), which breed alongside them on the carcass. Here we test the novel hypothesis that P. carabi mites assist burying beetles in clearing the carcass of bacteria as a side-effect of grazing on the carrion. We manipulated the bacterial environment on carcasses and measured the effect on the beetle in the presence and absence of mites. With next-generation sequencing, we investigated how mites influence the bacterial communities on the carcass. We show that mites: 1) cause beetles to reduce the antibacterial activity of their exudates but 2) there are no consistent fitness benefits of breeding alongside mites. We also find that mites increase bacterial diversity and richness on the carcass, but do not reduce bacterial abundance. The current evidence does not support a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and P. carabi mites, but more work is needed to understand the functional significance and fitness consequences for the beetle of mite-associated changes to the bacterial community on the carcass.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Duarte A, Welch M, Swannack C, Wagner J, Kilner RM (2017). Strategies for managing rival bacterial communities: Lessons from burying beetles. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87(2), 414-427.
Palmer WJ, Duarte A, Schrader M, Day JP, Kilner R, Jiggins FM (2016). A gene associated with social immunity in the burying beetle. Nicrophorus vespilloides. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1823), 20152733-20152733.
Duarte A, Cotter SC, Reavey CE, Ward RJS, De Gasperin O, Kilner RM (2015). Social immunity of the family: parental contributions to a public good modulated by brood size. Evolutionary Ecology, 30(1), 123-135.
Duarte A, Scholtens E, Weissing FJ (2012). Implications of Behavioral Architecture for the Evolution of Self-Organized Division of Labor. PLoS Computational Biology, 8(3), e1002430-e1002430.
Duarte A, Weissing FJ, Pen I, Keller L (2011). An Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Organized Division of Labor in Social Insects. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 42(1), 91-110.
Publications by category
Journal articles
Palmer WJP, Duarte A, Schrader M, Day JP, Kilner R, Jiggins F (In Press). A gene for social immunity in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?.
Abstract:
A gene for social immunity in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?
Some group-living species exhibit social immunity, where the immune system of one individual can protect others in the group from infection. In burying beetles this is part of parental care. Larvae feed on vertebrate carcasses which their parents smear with exudates that inhibit microbial growth. We have sequenced the transcriptome of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides and identified six genes that encode lysozymes – a type of antimicrobial enzyme that has previously been implicated in social immunity in burying beetles. When females start breeding and producing antimicrobial anal exudates, we found that the expression of one of these genes was increased by ~1000 times to become one of the most abundant transcripts in the transcriptome. We conclude that we have likely identified a gene for social immunity, and that it was recruited during evolution from a previous function in personal immunity.
Abstract.
Duarte A, Welch M, Wagner J, Kilner RM (In Press). Privatization of a breeding resource by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is associated with shifts in bacterial communities.
Abstract:
Privatization of a breeding resource by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is associated with shifts in bacterial communities
AbstractIt is still poorly understood how animal behaviour shapes bacterial communities and their evolution. We use burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides, to investigate how animal behaviour impacts the assembly of bacterial communities. Burying beetles use small vertebrate carcasses as breeding resources, which they roll into a ball, smear with antimicrobial exudates and bury. Using high-throughput sequencing we characterize bacterial communities on fresh mouse carcasses, aged carcasses prepared by beetles, and aged carcasses that were manually buried. The long-standing hypothesis that burying beetles ‘clean’ the carcass from bacteria is refuted, as we found higher loads of bacterial DNA in beetle-prepared carcasses. Beetle-prepared carcasses were similar to fresh carcasses in terms of species richness and diversity. Beetle-prepared carcasses distinguish themselves from manually buried carcasses by the reduction of groups such as Proteobacteria and increase of groups such as Flavobacteriales and Clostridiales. Network analysis suggests that, despite differences in membership, network topology is similar between fresh and beetle-prepared carcasses. We then examined the bacterial communities in guts and exudates of breeding and non-breeding beetles. Breeding was associated with higher diversity and species richness. Breeding beetles exhibited several bacterial groups in common with their breeding resource, but that association is likely to disappear after breeding.
Abstract.
Duarte A, Cotter SC, De Gasperin O, Houslay TM, Boncoraglio G, Welch M, Kilner RM (2017). No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Sci Rep,
7(1).
Abstract:
No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) breed on small vertebrate carcasses, which they shave and smear with antimicrobial exudates. Producing antimicrobials imposes a fitness cost on burying beetles, which rises with the potency of the antimicrobial defence. Burying beetles also carry phoretic mites (Poecilochirus carabi complex), which breed alongside them on the carcass. Here we test the novel hypothesis that P. carabi mites assist burying beetles in clearing the carcass of bacteria as a side-effect of grazing on the carrion. We manipulated the bacterial environment on carcasses and measured the effect on the beetle in the presence and absence of mites. With next-generation sequencing, we investigated how mites influence the bacterial communities on the carcass. We show that mites: 1) cause beetles to reduce the antibacterial activity of their exudates but 2) there are no consistent fitness benefits of breeding alongside mites. We also find that mites increase bacterial diversity and richness on the carcass, but do not reduce bacterial abundance. The current evidence does not support a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and P. carabi mites, but more work is needed to understand the functional significance and fitness consequences for the beetle of mite-associated changes to the bacterial community on the carcass.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Duarte A, Welch M, Swannack C, Wagner J, Kilner RM (2017). Strategies for managing rival bacterial communities: Lessons from burying beetles. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87(2), 414-427.
Palmer WJ, Duarte A, Schrader M, Day JP, Kilner R, Jiggins FM (2016). A gene associated with social immunity in the burying beetle. Nicrophorus vespilloides. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1823), 20152733-20152733.
De Gasperin O, Duarte A, Troscianko J, Kilner RM (2016). Fitness costs associated with building and maintaining the burying beetle's carrion nest.
Sci Rep,
6Abstract:
Fitness costs associated with building and maintaining the burying beetle's carrion nest.
It is well-known that features of animal nest architecture can be explained by fitness benefits gained by the offspring housed within. Here we focus on the little-tested suggestion that the fitness costs associated with building and maintaining a nest should additionally account for aspects of its architecture. Burying beetles prepare an edible nest for their young from a small vertebrate carcass, by ripping off any fur or feathers and rolling the flesh into a rounded ball. We found evidence that only larger beetles are able to construct rounder carcass nests, and that rounder carcass nests are associated with lower maintenance costs. Offspring success, however, was not explained by nest roundness. Our experiment thus provides rare support for the suggestion that construction and maintenance costs are key to understanding animal architecture.
Abstract.
Author URL.
De Gasperin O, Duarte A, Kilner RM (2015). Interspecific interactions explain variation in the duration of paternal care in the burying beetle. Animal Behaviour, 109, 199-207.
Duarte A, Cotter SC, Reavey CE, Ward RJS, De Gasperin O, Kilner RM (2015). Social immunity of the family: parental contributions to a public good modulated by brood size. Evolutionary Ecology, 30(1), 123-135.
Duarte A, Pen I, Keller L, Weissing FJ (2012). Evolution of self-organized division of labor in a response threshold model. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(6), 947-957.
Duarte A, Scholtens E, Weissing FJ (2012). Implications of Behavioral Architecture for the Evolution of Self-Organized Division of Labor. PLoS Computational Biology, 8(3), e1002430-e1002430.
Duarte A, Weissing FJ, Pen I, Keller L (2011). An Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Organized Division of Labor in Social Insects. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 42(1), 91-110.
SIMÕES P, ROSE MR, DUARTE A, GONÇALVES R, MATOS M (2007). Evolutionary domestication in Drosophila subobscura. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 20(2), 758-766.
Matos M, Simões P, Duarte A, Rego C, Avelar T, Rose MR (2004). CONVERGENCE TO a NOVEL ENVIRONMENT: COMPARATIVE METHOD VERSUS EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION. Evolution, 58(7), 1503-1503.
Publications by year
In Press
Palmer WJP, Duarte A, Schrader M, Day JP, Kilner R, Jiggins F (In Press). A gene for social immunity in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?.
Abstract:
A gene for social immunity in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?
Some group-living species exhibit social immunity, where the immune system of one individual can protect others in the group from infection. In burying beetles this is part of parental care. Larvae feed on vertebrate carcasses which their parents smear with exudates that inhibit microbial growth. We have sequenced the transcriptome of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides and identified six genes that encode lysozymes – a type of antimicrobial enzyme that has previously been implicated in social immunity in burying beetles. When females start breeding and producing antimicrobial anal exudates, we found that the expression of one of these genes was increased by ~1000 times to become one of the most abundant transcripts in the transcriptome. We conclude that we have likely identified a gene for social immunity, and that it was recruited during evolution from a previous function in personal immunity.
Abstract.
Duarte A, Welch M, Wagner J, Kilner RM (In Press). Privatization of a breeding resource by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is associated with shifts in bacterial communities.
Abstract:
Privatization of a breeding resource by the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is associated with shifts in bacterial communities
AbstractIt is still poorly understood how animal behaviour shapes bacterial communities and their evolution. We use burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides, to investigate how animal behaviour impacts the assembly of bacterial communities. Burying beetles use small vertebrate carcasses as breeding resources, which they roll into a ball, smear with antimicrobial exudates and bury. Using high-throughput sequencing we characterize bacterial communities on fresh mouse carcasses, aged carcasses prepared by beetles, and aged carcasses that were manually buried. The long-standing hypothesis that burying beetles ‘clean’ the carcass from bacteria is refuted, as we found higher loads of bacterial DNA in beetle-prepared carcasses. Beetle-prepared carcasses were similar to fresh carcasses in terms of species richness and diversity. Beetle-prepared carcasses distinguish themselves from manually buried carcasses by the reduction of groups such as Proteobacteria and increase of groups such as Flavobacteriales and Clostridiales. Network analysis suggests that, despite differences in membership, network topology is similar between fresh and beetle-prepared carcasses. We then examined the bacterial communities in guts and exudates of breeding and non-breeding beetles. Breeding was associated with higher diversity and species richness. Breeding beetles exhibited several bacterial groups in common with their breeding resource, but that association is likely to disappear after breeding.
Abstract.
2017
Duarte A, Cotter SC, De Gasperin O, Houslay TM, Boncoraglio G, Welch M, Kilner RM (2017). No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Sci Rep,
7(1).
Abstract:
No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites.
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) breed on small vertebrate carcasses, which they shave and smear with antimicrobial exudates. Producing antimicrobials imposes a fitness cost on burying beetles, which rises with the potency of the antimicrobial defence. Burying beetles also carry phoretic mites (Poecilochirus carabi complex), which breed alongside them on the carcass. Here we test the novel hypothesis that P. carabi mites assist burying beetles in clearing the carcass of bacteria as a side-effect of grazing on the carrion. We manipulated the bacterial environment on carcasses and measured the effect on the beetle in the presence and absence of mites. With next-generation sequencing, we investigated how mites influence the bacterial communities on the carcass. We show that mites: 1) cause beetles to reduce the antibacterial activity of their exudates but 2) there are no consistent fitness benefits of breeding alongside mites. We also find that mites increase bacterial diversity and richness on the carcass, but do not reduce bacterial abundance. The current evidence does not support a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and P. carabi mites, but more work is needed to understand the functional significance and fitness consequences for the beetle of mite-associated changes to the bacterial community on the carcass.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Duarte A, Welch M, Swannack C, Wagner J, Kilner RM (2017). Strategies for managing rival bacterial communities: Lessons from burying beetles. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87(2), 414-427.
2016
Palmer WJ, Duarte A, Schrader M, Day JP, Kilner R, Jiggins FM (2016). A gene associated with social immunity in the burying beetle. Nicrophorus vespilloides. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1823), 20152733-20152733.
De Gasperin O, Duarte A, Troscianko J, Kilner RM (2016). Fitness costs associated with building and maintaining the burying beetle's carrion nest.
Sci Rep,
6Abstract:
Fitness costs associated with building and maintaining the burying beetle's carrion nest.
It is well-known that features of animal nest architecture can be explained by fitness benefits gained by the offspring housed within. Here we focus on the little-tested suggestion that the fitness costs associated with building and maintaining a nest should additionally account for aspects of its architecture. Burying beetles prepare an edible nest for their young from a small vertebrate carcass, by ripping off any fur or feathers and rolling the flesh into a rounded ball. We found evidence that only larger beetles are able to construct rounder carcass nests, and that rounder carcass nests are associated with lower maintenance costs. Offspring success, however, was not explained by nest roundness. Our experiment thus provides rare support for the suggestion that construction and maintenance costs are key to understanding animal architecture.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2015
De Gasperin O, Duarte A, Kilner RM (2015). Interspecific interactions explain variation in the duration of paternal care in the burying beetle. Animal Behaviour, 109, 199-207.
Duarte A, Cotter SC, Reavey CE, Ward RJS, De Gasperin O, Kilner RM (2015). Social immunity of the family: parental contributions to a public good modulated by brood size. Evolutionary Ecology, 30(1), 123-135.
2012
Duarte A, Pen I, Keller L, Weissing FJ (2012). Evolution of self-organized division of labor in a response threshold model. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(6), 947-957.
Duarte A, Scholtens E, Weissing FJ (2012). Implications of Behavioral Architecture for the Evolution of Self-Organized Division of Labor. PLoS Computational Biology, 8(3), e1002430-e1002430.
2011
Duarte A, Weissing FJ, Pen I, Keller L (2011). An Evolutionary Perspective on Self-Organized Division of Labor in Social Insects. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 42(1), 91-110.
2007
SIMÕES P, ROSE MR, DUARTE A, GONÇALVES R, MATOS M (2007). Evolutionary domestication in Drosophila subobscura. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 20(2), 758-766.
2004
Matos M, Simões P, Duarte A, Rego C, Avelar T, Rose MR (2004). CONVERGENCE TO a NOVEL ENVIRONMENT: COMPARATIVE METHOD VERSUS EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION. Evolution, 58(7), 1503-1503.