Anne E Winters

The University of Queensland | UQ · School of Biological Sciences

1.The eggs of oviparous species are often subject to intense predation pressure. One parental strategy to deter predators is to produce eggs that are laced with noxious chemicals and are conspicuously coloured (i.e. aposematism). 2.Ladybird eggs are conspicuously coloured and contain alkaloids; these traits are believed to function in concert as vi...

Many taxa use conspicuous colouration to attract mates, signal chemical defences (aposematism) or for thermoregulation. Conspicuousness is a key feature of aposematic signals, and experimental evidence suggests that predators avoid conspicuous prey more readily when they exhibit larger body size and/or pattern elements. Aposematic prey species may...

A small sample of (-)-(5R,6Z)-dendrolasin-5-acetate, which was fully characterized by 2D NMR studies, was isolated from the nudibranch Hypselodoris jacksoni, along with the sesquiterpenes (+)-agassizin, (-)-furodysinin, (-)-euryfuran, (-)-dehydroherbadysidolide and (+)-pallescensone. A synthetic sample ([α]D -8.7) of the new metabolite was prepared...

Prey seldom rely on a single type of antipredator defence, often using multiple defences to avoid predation. In many cases, selection in different contexts may favour the evolution of multiple defences in a prey. However, a prey may use multiple defences to protect itself during a single predator encounter. Such "defence portfolios" that defend pre...

Chemical defences often vary within and between populations both in quantity and quality, which is puzzling if prey survival is dependent on the strength of the defence. We investigated the within- and between-population variability in chemical defence of the wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis). The major components of its defences, SBMP (2-sec-bu...

Chemical defences often vary within and between populations both in quantity and quality, which is puzzling if prey survival is dependent on the strength of the defence. We investigated the within- and between-population variability in chemical defence of the wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis). The major components of its defences, SBMP (2secbuty...

Defensive chemicals are used by plants and animals to reduce the risk of predation through different mechanisms, including toxins that cause injury and harm (weapons) and unpalatable or odiferous compounds that prevent attacks (deterrents). However, whether effective defences are both toxins and deterrents, or work in just one modality is often unc...

Aposematic organisms warn predators of their unprofitability using a combination of defenses, including visual warning signals, startling sounds, noxious odors, or aversive tastes. Using multiple lines of defense can help prey avoid predators by stimulating multiple senses and/or by acting at different stages of predation. We tested the efficacy of...

To understand how variation in warning displays evolves and is maintained, we need to understand not only how perceivers of these traits select color and toxicity but also the sources of the genetic and phenotypic variation exposed to selection by them. We studied these aspects in the wood tiger moth Arctia plantaginis, which has two locally co-occ...

Nudibranchs are often chemically defended with a variety of secondary metabolites that they obtain from dietary sources or produce de novo. This study details the chemical profile of the nudibranch Goniobranchus splendidus across five sites on the east coast of Australia. This species is especially diverse in secondary metabolites and sequesters a...

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]

Mimicry of warning signals is common, and can be mutualistic when mimetic species harbour equal levels of defence (Müllerian), or parasitic when mimics are undefended but still gain protection from their resemblance to the model (Batesian). However, whether chemically defended mimics should be similar in terms of toxicity (i.e. causing damage to th...

Many plants and animals store toxic or unpalatable compounds in tissues that are easily encountered by predators during attack. Defensive compounds can be produced de novo, or obtained from dietary sources and stored directly without selection or modification, or can be selectively sequestered or biotransformed. Storage strategies should be optimiz...

Warning signal variation is ubiquitous but paradoxical: low variability should aid recognition and learning by predators. However, spatial variability in the direction and strength of selection for individual elements of the warning signal may allow phenotypic variation for some components, but not others. Variation in selection may occur if predat...

Six new (1-6) spongian-16-one analogues have been characterized from the Australian nudibranch species Goniobranchus collingwoodi, along with four known spongian-16-one derivatives. The structures and relative configuration were suggested by spectroscopic analyses informed by molecular modeling. Dissection of animal tissue revealed that the mantle...

In contrast to many tropical animals expanding southwards on the Australian coast concomitant with climate change, here we report a temperate endemic newly found in the tropics. Chromodorid nudibranchs are bright, colourful animals that rarely go unnoticed by divers and underwater photographers. The discovery of a new population, with divergent col...

Five new diterpenes (1-5), each with a highly oxygenated spongian framework, were characterized from an organic extract of a specimen of the nudibranch Goniobranchus splendidus collected from Eastern Australia. The new diterpene 7- hydroxydendrillol-3 (6) was identified from specimens of Ardeodoris egretta. The structures and relative configuratio...

Natural products play an invaluable role as a starting point in the drug discovery process, and plants and animals use many interesting biologically active natural products as a chemical defense mechanism against predators. Among marine organisms, many nudibranch gastropods are known to derive defensive metabolites from the sponges they eat. Here w...

1H NMR spectra (500 MHz, CDCl3) of C. lochi (#1272) crude extract. (DOCX)

1H NMR spectra (500 MHz, CDCl3) of C. elisabethina (#552) crude extract. (DOCX)

1H NMR spectra (500 MHz, CDCl3) of C. kuiteri (#1280) crude extract. (DOCX)

1H NMR spectra (500 MHz, CDCl3) of C. magnifica (#432) crude extract. (DOCX)

Three new norditerpenes (1, 6, and 7) and four diterpenes (2-5) with extensively rearranged carbon skeletons have been characterized from Australian nudibranchs. The relative configuration of the cyclopropyl-containing verrielactone (1) from Goniobranchus verrieri was suggested by spectroscopic analysis at 500 MHz informed by a combination of molec...

This study reports the isolation and characterisation of six new metabolites with 'gracilin'-type carbon skeletons and of aplytandiene-3 from the Australian nudibranch Goniobranchus splendidus. The structure of gracilin G is revised, and the C-6 configuration deduced by comparison of calculated 3JC/H values with values measured using the EXSIDE pul...

Some species of nudibranchs (Mollusca) protect themselves from predatory attacks by storing defensive terpene chemicals acquired from dietary sponges (Porifera) in specialized body parts called MDFs (mantle dermal formations), often advertising their unpalatability to potential predators by means of bright coloration patterns. Consequently, the sur...

1. Inputs of animal and plant detritus are the main energy sources for food webs in a number of isolated container systems, including discarded automobile tyres and tree holes. Containers are dominated by mosquitoes in the genera Culex and Aedes, which among other differences often engage in different foraging behaviours. We hypothesised that becau...

Aedes albopictus, an invasive species from Asia, often interacts in containers with other species including Culex restuans. Past work has revealed differences in larval feeding behavior, with Culex filtering in the water column at the surface and Aedes browsing on surfaces. We hypothesized that these behaviors and other factors would produce differ...

Background/Question/Methods Aedes albopictus, an invasive species from Asia, is now the most dominant container species in the southeastern United States and has been found to be a strong competitor against many resident mosquitoes. In many parts of the United States, Aedes albopictus interacts with species in the genus of Culex, including the na...