Overview
I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in social evolution and sexual selection. I am particularly interested in the causes and consequences of competition, conflict and cooperation at multiple levels of biological organisation, although so far my research has been at the organismal level. For my PhD, I explored the consequences of the social environment for male harmfulness and female fitness in seed beetles. For my current position, I will be investigating the fitness trade offs involved in DDT resistance gene under sexually antagonistic selection in Drosophila simulans, working with Prof David Hosken and Prof Nina Wedell.
Outside of work, I enjoy mythology, reading, board games and sport (particulary squash and both the English and Australian varieties of football).
Qualifications
PhD Zoology, The University of Western Australia (2019)
BSc Hons Zoology and Conservation Biology, The University of Western Australia (2014)
BSc Zoology and Conservation Biology, The University of Western Australia (2013)
Career
2020 Postdoctoral Research Associate at The University of Exeter
2015 to 2019 PhD at The University of Western Australia
2015 & 2019 Research Assistant at The University of Western Australia
2011 to 2014 Bachelors and Honours Degrees at the University of Western Australia
2010 to 2013 &2019 Research Assistant at Murdoch University
Research group links
Research
Research interests
I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in social evolution and sexual selection. I am particularly interested in the causes and consequences of competition, conflict and cooperation at multiple levels of biological organisation, although so far my research has been at the organismal level. For my PhD, I explored the consequences of the social environment for male harmfulness and female fitness in seed beetles. For my current position, I will be investigating the fitness trade offs involved in DDT resistance gene under sexually antagonistic selection in Drosophila simulans, working with Prof David Hosken and Prof Nina Wedell. This work will include the effect of the social environment on the expression fo sexual conflcit, and emergent population level effects. Please also contact me if you are interested in collaborating on any work in the broad areas of social evolution and sexual selection that you think I could usefully be involved in.
You can also read more about my research interests at my personal website.
Research projects
Pesticide resistance, sexual conflcit and population level effects on fitness in fruit flies.
The social enviornment and the outcome of sexual conflcit.
Research networks
Prof David Hosken (The Univeristy of Exeter)
Prof Nina Wedell (The University of Exeter)
Prof Leigh Simmons (The University of Western Australia)
Assoc Prof Joseph Tomkins (The University of Western Australia)
Prof Raphael Didham (The University of Western Australia and CSIRO)
Prof Stephen Hopper (The University of Western Australia)
Assoc Prof Alan Lymbery (Murdoch Univeristy)
Links
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Lymbery SJ, Simmons LW (2019). Gustatory cues to kinship among males moderate the productivity of females.
Behavioral EcologyAbstract:
Gustatory cues to kinship among males moderate the productivity of females
AbstractMales of many species harm females as a byproduct of intrasexual competition, but this harm can be reduced if males are less competitive in the presence of familiar relatives. We determined the cue males use to identify competitors in this context. We assessed genetic variance in a putative kin recognition trait (cuticular hydrocarbons) in male seed beetles Callosobruchus maculatus and found that five hydrocarbons had significant components of additive genetic variance and could serve as relatedness cues. Next, we tested whether hydrocarbons were the mechanism males use to distinguish the social identities of competitors when strategically adjusting their competitiveness/harmfulness. Pairs of female and male C. maculatus were mated in the presence of hydrocarbons extracted from males that differed in their relatedness and familiarity to the focal male. Females were more productive after mating in the presence of extracts from the focal male’s nonrelatives, if those extracts were also unfamiliar to the focal male. Relatedness had no effect on productivity when extracts were familiar to the focal male. These results may be reconciled with those of previous studies that manipulated the relatedness and familiarity of competing males if the difference between the effect of harmfulness on productivity following a single mating and the effect on lifetime reproductive fitness after multiple matings is accounted for. This study provides a novel demonstration of the mechanism of social recognition in the moderation of sexual conflict.
Abstract.
Lymbery SJ, Tomkins JL, Simmons LW (2019). Male responses to sperm competition when rivals vary in number and familiarity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1895), 20182589-20182589.
Simmons LW, Lovegrove M, Lymbery SJ (2018). Dietary antioxidants, but not courtship effort, affect oxidative balance in the testes and muscles of crickets.
Journal of Experimental Biology,
221(20).
Abstract:
Dietary antioxidants, but not courtship effort, affect oxidative balance in the testes and muscles of crickets
© 2018 Published by the Company of Biologists Ltd. Recent interest has focused on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as universal constraints in life-history evolution. Empirical studies have examined the oxidative costs of reproduction for females, with little work conducted on males. The male germline is thought to be particularly susceptible to oxidative damage because the testes, and the sperm themselves, can be prolific producers of ROS. We tested the hypothesis that protection of the male germline from oxidative damage represents a cost of reproduction for males. We fed male crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, with one of two experimental diets in which we manipulated the availability of dietary antioxidants, and we induced variation in their expenditure on courtship effort by manipulating access to females. We measured the total antioxidant capacity, levels of ROS production and the amount of oxidative damage to proteins in both testis and thoracic muscle tissues. Dietary antioxidants contributed to positive oxidative balance in both tissue types. Although the testes had greater antioxidant defences than muscle tissue, they also produced considerably higher levels of ROS and sustained higher levels of oxidative damage. Courtship effort had no impact on any measure of oxidative balance. Our data confirm that the male germline is especially susceptible to oxidative stress and that dietary antioxidants can alleviate this oxidative cost of reproduction.
Abstract.
Lymbery SJ, Simmons LW (2017). Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,
284(1867).
Abstract:
Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives
© 2017 the Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Sexual conflict occurs when reproductive partners have different fitness optima, and can lead to the evolution of traits in one sex that inflict fitness costs on the opposite sex. Recently, it has been proposed that antagonism by males towards females should be reduced when they compete with relatives, because reducing the future productivity of a female would result in an indirect fitness cost for a harmful male.We tested this prediction in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, the males of which harm females with genital spines and pre-copulatory harassment. We compared lifespan, lifetime egg production and lifetime offspring production among females housed with groups of males that varied in their familiarity and relatedness. Females produced significantly more eggs and offspring when grouped with males who were both related and familiar to each other. Therewas no effect of male relatedness or familiarity on female lifespan. Our results suggest that males plastically adjust their harmfulness towards females in response to changes in inclusive fitness payoffs, and that in this species both genetic relatedness and social familiarity mediate this effect.
Abstract.
Lymbery SJ, Didham RK, Hopper SD, Simmons LW (2016). Mutualists or parasites? Context-dependent influence of symbiotic fly larvae on carnivorous investment in the albany pitcher plant.
Royal Society Open Science,
3(11).
Abstract:
Mutualists or parasites? Context-dependent influence of symbiotic fly larvae on carnivorous investment in the albany pitcher plant
© 2016 the Authors. Carnivorous plants allocate more resources to carnivorous structures under nutrient-limited conditions, and relative investment can also be influenced by animals (infauna) that live in association with these plants and feed on their prey. We investigated these effects within a population of the pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis containing varying densities of larvae of the fly Badisis ambulans. For plants with a relatively high proportion of adult pitchers, increasing larval density was associated with lower relative leaf allocation to new pitcher buds. For plants with relatively few adult pitchers, however, there was greater relative leaf allocation to pitcher buds with increasing larval density. In a field experiment, there was no significant effect of experimental larval presence or absence on the change in carbon-tonitrogen (C/N) ratio of plants. Although the direction of the correlation between B. ambulans larvae and relative investment in carnivorous and non-carnivorous structures depends on the relative number of mature structures, whether the larvae enhance or reduce nutrient stress under different conditions remains unclear. The change in C/N was, however, less variable for pitchers that contained larvae, suggesting a stabilizing effect. Eighteen of 52 experimental pitchers were damaged by an unknown species, causing the pitcher fluid to drain. These pitchers were significantly more likely to survive if they contained larvae. These results suggest that the relationship between infauna and host varies with the initial resource status and environmental context of the host plant.
Abstract.
Publications by year
2019
Lymbery SJ, Simmons LW (2019). Gustatory cues to kinship among males moderate the productivity of females.
Behavioral EcologyAbstract:
Gustatory cues to kinship among males moderate the productivity of females
AbstractMales of many species harm females as a byproduct of intrasexual competition, but this harm can be reduced if males are less competitive in the presence of familiar relatives. We determined the cue males use to identify competitors in this context. We assessed genetic variance in a putative kin recognition trait (cuticular hydrocarbons) in male seed beetles Callosobruchus maculatus and found that five hydrocarbons had significant components of additive genetic variance and could serve as relatedness cues. Next, we tested whether hydrocarbons were the mechanism males use to distinguish the social identities of competitors when strategically adjusting their competitiveness/harmfulness. Pairs of female and male C. maculatus were mated in the presence of hydrocarbons extracted from males that differed in their relatedness and familiarity to the focal male. Females were more productive after mating in the presence of extracts from the focal male’s nonrelatives, if those extracts were also unfamiliar to the focal male. Relatedness had no effect on productivity when extracts were familiar to the focal male. These results may be reconciled with those of previous studies that manipulated the relatedness and familiarity of competing males if the difference between the effect of harmfulness on productivity following a single mating and the effect on lifetime reproductive fitness after multiple matings is accounted for. This study provides a novel demonstration of the mechanism of social recognition in the moderation of sexual conflict.
Abstract.
Lymbery SJ, Tomkins JL, Simmons LW (2019). Male responses to sperm competition when rivals vary in number and familiarity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1895), 20182589-20182589.
2018
Simmons LW, Lovegrove M, Lymbery SJ (2018). Dietary antioxidants, but not courtship effort, affect oxidative balance in the testes and muscles of crickets.
Journal of Experimental Biology,
221(20).
Abstract:
Dietary antioxidants, but not courtship effort, affect oxidative balance in the testes and muscles of crickets
© 2018 Published by the Company of Biologists Ltd. Recent interest has focused on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as universal constraints in life-history evolution. Empirical studies have examined the oxidative costs of reproduction for females, with little work conducted on males. The male germline is thought to be particularly susceptible to oxidative damage because the testes, and the sperm themselves, can be prolific producers of ROS. We tested the hypothesis that protection of the male germline from oxidative damage represents a cost of reproduction for males. We fed male crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, with one of two experimental diets in which we manipulated the availability of dietary antioxidants, and we induced variation in their expenditure on courtship effort by manipulating access to females. We measured the total antioxidant capacity, levels of ROS production and the amount of oxidative damage to proteins in both testis and thoracic muscle tissues. Dietary antioxidants contributed to positive oxidative balance in both tissue types. Although the testes had greater antioxidant defences than muscle tissue, they also produced considerably higher levels of ROS and sustained higher levels of oxidative damage. Courtship effort had no impact on any measure of oxidative balance. Our data confirm that the male germline is especially susceptible to oxidative stress and that dietary antioxidants can alleviate this oxidative cost of reproduction.
Abstract.
2017
Lymbery SJ, Simmons LW (2017). Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,
284(1867).
Abstract:
Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives
© 2017 the Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Sexual conflict occurs when reproductive partners have different fitness optima, and can lead to the evolution of traits in one sex that inflict fitness costs on the opposite sex. Recently, it has been proposed that antagonism by males towards females should be reduced when they compete with relatives, because reducing the future productivity of a female would result in an indirect fitness cost for a harmful male.We tested this prediction in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, the males of which harm females with genital spines and pre-copulatory harassment. We compared lifespan, lifetime egg production and lifetime offspring production among females housed with groups of males that varied in their familiarity and relatedness. Females produced significantly more eggs and offspring when grouped with males who were both related and familiar to each other. Therewas no effect of male relatedness or familiarity on female lifespan. Our results suggest that males plastically adjust their harmfulness towards females in response to changes in inclusive fitness payoffs, and that in this species both genetic relatedness and social familiarity mediate this effect.
Abstract.
2016
Lymbery SJ, Didham RK, Hopper SD, Simmons LW (2016). Mutualists or parasites? Context-dependent influence of symbiotic fly larvae on carnivorous investment in the albany pitcher plant.
Royal Society Open Science,
3(11).
Abstract:
Mutualists or parasites? Context-dependent influence of symbiotic fly larvae on carnivorous investment in the albany pitcher plant
© 2016 the Authors. Carnivorous plants allocate more resources to carnivorous structures under nutrient-limited conditions, and relative investment can also be influenced by animals (infauna) that live in association with these plants and feed on their prey. We investigated these effects within a population of the pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis containing varying densities of larvae of the fly Badisis ambulans. For plants with a relatively high proportion of adult pitchers, increasing larval density was associated with lower relative leaf allocation to new pitcher buds. For plants with relatively few adult pitchers, however, there was greater relative leaf allocation to pitcher buds with increasing larval density. In a field experiment, there was no significant effect of experimental larval presence or absence on the change in carbon-tonitrogen (C/N) ratio of plants. Although the direction of the correlation between B. ambulans larvae and relative investment in carnivorous and non-carnivorous structures depends on the relative number of mature structures, whether the larvae enhance or reduce nutrient stress under different conditions remains unclear. The change in C/N was, however, less variable for pitchers that contained larvae, suggesting a stabilizing effect. Eighteen of 52 experimental pitchers were damaged by an unknown species, causing the pitcher fluid to drain. These pitchers were significantly more likely to survive if they contained larvae. These results suggest that the relationship between infauna and host varies with the initial resource status and environmental context of the host plant.
Abstract.
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