An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat.

Female intrasexual competition can be intense in cooperatively breeding species, with some dominant breeders (matriarchs) limiting reproduction in subordinates via aggression, eviction or infanticide. In males, such tendencies bidirectionally link to testosterone, but in females, there has been little systematic investigation of androgen-mediated behaviour within and across generations. In 22 clans of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we show that matriarchs 1) express peak androgen concentrations during late gestation, 2) when displaying peak feeding competition, dominance behaviour, and evictions, and 3) relative to subordinates, produce offspring that are more aggressive in early development.

Population genomics of invasive rodents on islands: Genetic consequences of colonization and prospects for localized synthetic gene drive.

Introduced rodent populations pose significant threats worldwide, with particularly severe impacts on islands. Advancements in genome editing have motivated interest in synthetic gene drives that could potentially provide efficient and localized suppression of invasive rodent populations. Application of such technologies will require rigorous population genomic surveys to evaluate population connectivity, taxonomic identification, and to inform design of gene drive localization mechanisms.

Rodent gene drives for conservation: opportunities and data needs.

Invasive rodents impact biodiversity, human health and food security worldwide. The biodiversity impacts are particularly significant on islands, which are the primary sites of vertebrate extinctions and where we are reaching the limits of current control technologies. Gene drives may represent an effective approach to this challenge, but knowledge gaps remain in a number of areas.

Locally Fixed Alleles: A method to localize gene drive to island populations.

Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity on islands. While successes have been achieved using traditional removal methods, such as toxicants aimed at rodents, these approaches have limitations and various off-target effects on island ecosystems. Gene drive technologies designed to eliminate a population provide an alternative approach, but the potential for drive-bearing individuals to escape from the target release area and impact populations elsewhere is a major concern.

Development of an Online Experiment Platform for High School Biology.

We developed a novel online platform, Rex (eal periments) that immerses students in a scientific investigative process. Rex is a virtual web-based biological science experiment platform, hosted by real scientists, and uses actual lab experiments that generate real data for students to collect, analyze, and interpret. Seven neuroscience experiments use zebrafish and rats as model systems to study the effects of drugs such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), caffeine, alcohol, and cigarette smoke, which are of interest to high school students.

Controlling invasive rodents via synthetic gene drive and the role of polyandry.

House mice are a major ecosystem pest, particularly threatening island ecosystems as a non-native invasive species. Rapid advances in synthetic biology offer new avenues to control pest species for biodiversity conservation. Recently, a synthetic sperm-killing gene drive construct called t-Sry has been proposed as a means to eradicate target mouse populations owing to a lack of females.

Effects of acute corticosterone treatment on male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster): Territorial aggression does not accompany induced social preference.

Corticosterone (CORT) is a stress-related steroid hormone found in vertebrates, and is known to interact with behavior. In the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), acute stress and specifically acute CORT administration have been shown to facilitate male social preference for a familiar female, and this effect has been described as facilitation of the monogamous pair bond. It is possible, however, that the effects of stress on social preference may initially represent a short-term coping strategy.

Effects of population density on corticosterone levels of prairie voles in the field.

High population density is often associated with increased levels of stress-related hormones, such as corticosterone (CORT). Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous species known for their large population density fluctuations in the wild. Although CORT influences the social behavior of prairie voles in the lab, the effect of population density on CORT has not previously been quantified in this species in the field.

Phylogeography of the Rickett's big-footed bat, Myotis pilosus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): a novel pattern of genetic structure of bats in China.

Background: China is characterized by complex topographic structure and dramatic palaeoclimatic changes, making species biogeography studies particularly interesting. Previous researchers have also demonstrated multiple species experienced complex population histories, meanwhile multiple shelters existed in Chinese mainland. Despite this, species phylogeography is still largely unexplored.