Russell Bonduriansky’s research while affiliated with University of South Wales and other places

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Publications (136)


Mark-resighting study sites: The general study area is indicated by a red point on the inset map. Mixed-sex population CO is shown in purple and all-female populations CB and KB are shown in green. Population codes correspond to Miller et al. (2024a)
Marked Megacrania batesii individuals and their host plants: a marked female at CB, b marked female-male pair at CO. Host plants where Megacrania batesii individuals were marked or resighted were tagged with numbered plastic key tags (indicated in the images with blue arrows): cPandanus tectorius plant at CO, dBenstonea monticola plant at CB
Hatchling dispersal experiment: Left panel: a hatchling marked on the thorax with a red dot. Right panel: distribution of Pandanus plants in the controlled-temperature room. The total number of hatchlings introduced to each plant is indicated above each plant. The black arrows indicate the distances between the plants
Dispersal patterns of females in all-female populations CB and KB. Female dispersal between host plants (green points) is represented by coloured lines, with different colours representing different individuals within populations. At CB, mark-resighting studies were carried out in a swampy Benstonea monticola patch in 2020 and a beachfront Pandanus tectorius patch in 2022. The Pandanus patch at CB is sub-divided by a small estuary (represented by the dashed line), and locations on different sides of this estuary are shown at different scales. At KB, a mark-resighting study was carried out on immature Pandanus spp. plants in 2021. Letters “AD” represent codes of two females that travelled between the same two host plants
Movement patterns of individuals in mixed-sex population CO across three years. Movements by pairs (solid purple lines), unpaired females (solid orange lines) and unpaired males (dashed black lines) are shown separately for each year. Green points indicate host plants where Megacrania batesii individuals were marked or resighted. The habitat where the mark-resighting studies were carried out consists of three patches of P. tectorius host plants (Southern, Middle, Northern), but some patches were not studied in some years

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Could adult or juvenile dispersal shape geographical parthenogenesis? Evidence from the facultatively parthenogenetic phasmid Megacrania batesii
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December 2024

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59 Reads

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1 Citation

Evolutionary Ecology

Jigmidmaa Boldbaatar

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Russell Bonduriansky

Despite their individual reproductive flexibility, populations of many facultatively parthenogenetic animals vary in sex ratio and reproductive mode. Sex-specific dispersal could contribute to such spatial variation. We asked if sex-specific dispersal by adults or nymphs occurs in the facultatively parthenogenetic phasmid Megacrania batesii, which forms a geographical mosaic of mixed-sex (mostly sexually reproducing) and all-female (parthenogenetic) populations. If sex-specific dispersal contributes to sex-ratio variation in this species, we would expect to observe greater dispersal by females than by males. We carried out a mark-resighting field study over three years to investigate adult dispersal in mixed-sex and all-female populations. To better understand how males affect female behaviour, we also investigated pairing and mate-guarding. In addition, we investigated dispersal by hatchling nymphs in a semi-natural enclosure. Mean nightly movement distances did not differ between unpaired (single) females and males in the mixed-sex population. However, unpaired females moved further in mixed-sex than in all-female populations. Many adult females in the mixed-sex population continually carried guarding males on their dorsum. Pairs often remained together for multiple days, and few females or males were observed pairing with multiple partners. Paired females moved shorter distances than unpaired females, and such females’ movement increased following experimental removal of males. Hatchling nymphs rarely moved between plants. Our findings suggest that guarding males affect females’ movement patterns, but nymph and adult dispersal is unlikely to shape spatial variation in sex ratio in Megacrania batesii.

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Can sexual conflict drive transitions to asexuality? Female resistance to fertilization in a facultatively parthenogenetic insect

December 2024

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75 Reads

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1 Citation

Evolution

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Jigmidmaa Boldbaatar

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Soleille M Miller

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Russell Bonduriansky

Facultatively parthenogenetic animals could help reveal the role of sexual conflict in the evolution of sex. Although each female can reproduce both sexually (producing sons and daughters from fertilized eggs) and asexually (typically producing only daughters from unfertilized eggs), these animals often form distinct sexual and asexual populations. We hypothesized that asexual populations are maintained through female resistance as well as the decay of male traits. We tested this via experimental crosses between individuals descended from multiple natural sexual and asexual populations of the facultatively parthenogenic stick-insect Megacrania batesii. We found that male-paired females descended from asexual populations produced strongly female-biased offspring sex-ratios resulting from reduced fertilization rates. This effect was not driven by incompatibility between diverged genotypes but, rather, by both genotypic and maternal effects on fertilization rate. Furthermore, when females from asexual populations mated and produced sons, those sons had poor fertilization success when paired with resistant females, consistent with male trait decay. Our results suggest that resistance to fertilization resulting from both maternal and genotypic effects, along with male sexual trait decay, can hinder the invasion of asexual populations by males. Sexual conflict could thus play a role in the establishment and maintenance of asexual populations.



Male–female chemical interactions in a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect

September 2024

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27 Reads

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1 Citation

Ethology

Facultative parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which females can either lay unfertilised eggs that typically develop into female offspring only or mate and lay fertilised eggs that develop into male and female offspring. Intriguingly, facultative parthenogens often occur in mixed‐sex populations where reproduction is mostly sexual and all‐female populations where reproduction is asexual. How all‐female populations avoid invasion by males remains unknown. Here, we explored the use of pheromones in male–female communication in a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect, the peppermint stick insect ( Megacrania batesii ), and compared chemical signals between females descended from sexually versus parthenogenetically reproducing populations. If parthenogenetic females release less attractive pheromones, this could help explain the persistence of all‐female populations. We found that M. batesii exhibits slight sexual dimorphism in antenna morphology, and behavioural assays provided little evidence that males could locate females solely by volatile pheromones. However, CHC profiles differed substantially between different types of females. Analysis of CHC components indicated a clear genetic difference between females descended from all‐female versus mixed‐sex populations, as well as a maternal effect of female parthenogenetic versus sexual development. Together, our results suggest that males might rely more on close‐range chemical cues to differentiate females, and chemical communication could play a role in the persistence of all‐female populations.


Does ecology shape geographical parthenogenesis? Evidence from the facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect Megacrania batesii

August 2024

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49 Reads

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3 Citations

Closely related sexual and parthenogenetic species often show distinct distribution patterns, known as geographical parthenogenesis. Similar patterns, characterized by the existence of separate sexual and parthenogenetic populations across their natural range, can also be found in facultative parthenogens – species in which every female is capable of both sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction. The underlying mechanisms driving this phenomenon in nature remain unclear. Features of the habitat, such as differences in host‐plant phenotypes or niche breadth, could favour sexual or asexual reproductive modes and thus help to explain geographical parthenogenesis in natural insect populations. Megacrania batesii is a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect that displays geographical parthenogenesis in the wild. We aimed to explore whether sexual and parthenogenetic populations of M. batesii displayed niche differentiation or variations in niche breadth that could explain the separation of the two population types. To do this, we sampled host plants from across the range of M. batesii and quantified phenotypic traits that might affect palatability or accessibility for M. batesii, including leaf thickness, toughness, spike size and density, plant height, and chemical composition. We also quantified host‐plant density, which could affect M. batesii dispersal. We found little evidence of phenotypic differences between host plants supporting sexual versus asexual M. batesii populations, and no difference in host‐plant density or niche breadth between the two population types. Our results suggest that habitat parameters do not play a substantial role in shaping patterns of geographical parthenogenesis in wild populations of M. batesii. Instead, population sex ratio variation could result from interactions between the sexes or dispersal dynamics.


Weathering the storm for love: Mate searching behaviour of wild males of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus)

July 2024

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36 Reads

The risky business of mate-searching often leaves the actively searching sex facing threats and rapidly changing conditions. Yet, active mate-searching behaviour is rarely studied in invertebrates, and we have limited understanding of how mate-searching strategies have evolved to cope with risks posed by harsh weather. We investigated how mate-searching males move through their habitat and how their movement is affected by weather conditions in the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus), one of the world's most venomous spiders. As is common in mygalomorphs spiders, females are functionally sessile, and are thought to spend their whole lives in a single burrow, whereas males must permanently abandon their burrows to mate during the breeding season. Nineteen male spiders were fitted with micro-radio transmitters and tracked during their mating seasons in 2020 (n = 2), 2021 (n = 8) and 2022 (n = 9) in Lane Cove National Park, in Sydney, Australia. Males moved at night, typically in a zig-zag pattern, and were found in new locations on approximately 50% of daily resighting's. Males often spent several days in a female's burrow, and some female burrows were visited by multiple males. When outside a female's burrow, males constructed and occupied temporary shelters ('temporacula'). Males were most likely to move and/or moved furthest when there was no rain, and on warm nights after cool days. Our findings suggest that mate-searching A. robustus males prefer to search for females in less risky conditions, revealing novel risk-minimizing strategies, especially in response to rainfall and temperature.


Can developmental plasticity shape sexual competition and promote reproductive isolation?

June 2024

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11 Reads

Behavioral Ecology

Environmental factors such as dietary nutrients can shape the expression of developmentally plastic sexual traits in many species. However, while there has been extensive research into the developmental plasticity of sexual traits at the individual level, the broader consequences of this variation at the population scale remain poorly understood. Here, we asked whether plastic responses to the developmental environment can shape sexual competition and initiate reproductive isolation between populations. We reared neriid flies, Telostylinus angusticollis, on nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor larval diets, generating adult flies that differed in body size and secondary sexual trait expression. We then investigated sexual competition in experimental populations from each developmental environment, and tested for reproductive isolation between flies from mismatched environments. We found that, compared with poor-diet populations, rich-diet populations exhibited more frequent and escalated male-male combat and more frequent mating and mate-guarding. However, we found no evidence that sexual selection was affected by the developmental environment. Mismatched female-male pairs tended to take longer to mate and rich-diet females often rejected poor-diet males, but mismatched pairs were not less likely to mate within 1 hour or produce viable offspring. Our findings suggest that developmental plasticity could generate dramatic differences in sexual competition between populations, and could contribute to reproductive isolation.


Does ecology shape geographical parthenogenesis? Evidence from the facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect Megacrania batesii

April 2024

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42 Reads

Closely related sexual and parthenogenetic species often show distinct distribution patterns, known as geographical parthenogenesis. These patterns, characterized by a mosaic of separate sexual and parthenogenetic populations across their natural range, can also be found in facultative parthenogens – species in which every female is capable of both sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction. The underlying mechanisms driving this phenomenon in nature remain unclear. Features of the habitat, such as differences in host plant phenotypes or niche breadth, could favour sexual or asexual reproductive modes and thus help to explain geographical parthenogenesis in natural insect populations. Megacrania batesii is a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect that displays geographical parthenogenesis in the wild. We aimed to explore whether sexual and parthenogenetic populations of M. batesii displayed niche differentiation or variations in niche breadth that could explain the separation of the two population types. To do this, we sampled host plants from across the range of M. batesii and quantified phenotypic traits that might affect palatability or accessibility for M. batesii , including leaf thickness, toughness, spike size and density, height, and chemical composition. We also quantified host plant density, which could affect M. batesii dispersal. We found little evidence of phenotypic differences between host plants supporting sexual versus asexual M. batesii populations, and no difference in host-plant density or niche breadth between the two population types. Our results suggest that habitat parameters do not play a substantial role in shaping patterns of geographical parthenogenesis in wild populations of M. batesii . Instead, population sex ratio variation could result from interactions between the sexes or dispersal dynamics.


Sexual selection and speciation in the Anthropocene

March 2024

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50 Reads

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5 Citations

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Anthropogenic change threatens global biodiversity by causing severe ecologi- cal disturbance and extinction. Here, we consider the effects of anthropogenic change on one process that generates biodiversity. Sexual selection (a potent evolutionary force and driver of speciation) is highly sensitive to the environment and, thus, vulnerable to anthropogenic ecological change. Anthropogenic alter- ations to sexual display and mate preference can make it harder to distinguish between conspecific and heterospecific mates or can weaken divergence via sexual selection, leading to higher rates of hybridization and biodiversity loss. Occasionally, anthropogenically altered sexual selection can abet diversifica- tion, but this appears less likely than biodiversity loss. In our rapidly changing world, a full understanding of sexual selection and speciation requires a global change perspective.


A conceptual framework for understanding stress-induced physiological and transgenerational effects on population responses to climate change

September 2023

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44 Reads

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5 Citations

Evolution Letters

Organisms are experiencing higher average temperatures and greater temperature variability because of anthropogenic climate change. Some populations respond to changes in temperature by shifting their ranges or adjusting their phenotypes via plasticity and/or evolution, while others go extinct. Predicting how populations will respond to temperature changes is challenging because extreme and unpredictable climate changes will exert novel selective pressures. For this reason, there is a need to understand the physiological mechanisms that regulate organismal responses to temperature changes. In vertebrates, glucocorticoid hormones mediate physiological and behavioral responses to environmental stressors and thus are likely to play an important role in how vertebrates respond to global temperature changes. Glucocorticoids have cascading effects that influence the phenotype and fitness of individuals, and some of these effects can be transmitted to offspring via trans- or intergenerational effects. Consequently, glucocorticoid-mediated responses could affect populations and could even be a powerful driver of rapid evolutionary change. Here, we present a conceptual framework that outlines how temperature changes due to global climate change could affect population persistence via glucocorticoid responses within and across generations (via epigenetic modifications). We briefly review glucocorticoid physiology, the interactions between environmental temperatures and glucocorticoid responses, and the phenotypic consequences of glucocorticoid responses within and across generations. We then discuss possible hypotheses for how glucocorticoid-mediated phenotypic effects might impact fitness and population persistence via evolutionary change. Finally, we pose pressing questions to guide future research. Understanding the physiological mechanisms that underpin the responses of vertebrates to elevated temperatures will help predict population-level responses to the changing climates we are experiencing.


Citations (78)


... Work in another facultative stick-insect (Extatosoma tiaratum) shows that females can employ resistance behaviors and chemical signaling to prevent mating (Burke et al., 2015). Chemical signals are also modified in M. batesii females originating from Southern all-female populations (Ying et al., 2024), and these changes could potentially mediate mating avoidance as well. ...

Reference:

Can sexual conflict drive transitions to asexuality? Female resistance to fertilization in a facultatively parthenogenetic insect
Male–female chemical interactions in a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect
  • Citing Article
  • September 2024

Ethology

... Further research showed that Megacrania batesii populations vary in sex ratio throughout their range, forming a spatial mosaic of mixed-sex populations (mostly sexually reproducing and exhibiting approximately equal sex ratios) and all-female populations (parthenogenetically reproducing and containing only females). It remains unclear how all-female populations form and persist given that these populations occur in close proximity to mixed-sex populations, with few obvious barriers to dispersal and no known differences in habitat (Miller et al. 2024b). Mark-recapture/resighting is a common method for investigating dispersal in wild animals (Auckland et al. 2004). ...

Does ecology shape geographical parthenogenesis? Evidence from the facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect Megacrania batesii

... Sexual selection is considered a driver of local adaptation and, consequently, an initiator of the speciation process (Lorch et al. 2003;van Doorn et al. 2009;Bonduriansky 2011;Richardson et al. 2014;Boughman et al. 2024). Nevertheless, our observations align with findings from modeling studies (Kirkpatrick and Nuismer 2004;Ritchie 2007;Irwin and Schluter 2022;Yukilevich and Aoki 2022) and empirical research (Price 1998) that cast doubt on the importance of sexual selection as a primary initiator of speciation, suggesting it may be of minor importance. ...

Sexual selection and speciation in the Anthropocene
  • Citing Article
  • March 2024

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

... Developing animals can be affected by elevated temperatures directly through interactions with their environment, and indirectly through maternal effects. For example, in vertebrates, exposure to stressors or disturbances such as elevated temperature can increase maternal glucocorticoid hormone levels, which can, in turn, have sustained effects on developing animals (reviewed in Crino et al., 2024;Mentesana and Hau, 2022). The independent effects of elevated temperatures and glucocorticoids on developing animals have been well studied (reviewed in Crino and Breuner, 2015;Nesan and Vijayan, 2013;Noble et al., 2018;Seckl and Meaney, 2004;Weeks et al., 2022). ...

A conceptual framework for understanding stress-induced physiological and transgenerational effects on population responses to climate change

Evolution Letters

... In facultatively parthenogenetic species, every female can switch between asexual reproduction (which typically results in all-female broods) and sexual reproduction (which results in production of both sons and daughters), depending on whether mating occurs (Bedford 1978;Galis and van Alphen 2020). Yet, despite this individual reproductive flexibility, spatial gradients or mosaics of mixed-sex and all-female populations have been reported in facultatively parthenogenetic animals such as phasmids (Buckley et al. 2009;Morgan-Richards et al. 2010;Larose et al. 2023;Miller et al. 2024a), opilionids (Burns et al. 2018;Machado and Burns 2022), and ostracods (Chaplin and Ayre 1997). For example, in the New Zealand stick insect, Clitarchus hookeri, mixedsex populations are mainly found on the north island whereas all-female populations are mainly found on the south island (Morgan-Richards et al. 2010), while the stick insect Megacrania batesii forms a mosaic of mixed-sex and all-female populations throughout its range in Queensland, Australia (Miller et al. 2024a). ...

Genetic and Phenotypic Consequences of Local Transitions between Sexual and Parthenogenetic Reproduction in the Wild

The American Naturalist

... Moreover, DR can arguably only be interpreted as absent when in the same study routine conditions result in a robust and repeatable DR phenotype. A recent example of DR not extending lifespan of flies (Drosophila melanogaster) at lower temperatures has been interpreted as DR being a lab artefact with low temperature interpreted as representing stressful conditions (Zajitschek et al., 2023). There are several questions that can be posed to this study, for example: why did DR not extend lifespan at the most regularly used lab temperature of 25°C in females, the most studied sex in this paradigm? ...

Dietary restriction fails to extend life in stressful environments

... Aging is a natural and universal process that affects almost all living organisms. It manifests the age-related declines in physiological function, decreased reproductive capacity, increased illness susceptibility, and higher mortality risk, all of which led to death (Fedarko 2011;López-Otn et al. 2013;Aunan et al. 2016;Piper et al. 2022). Since natural selection on genes expressed later in life is usually weak, enabling the accumulation of late-acting detrimental mutations, almost no creature can escape from aging (Medawar 1952). ...

Dietary Restriction And Lifespan: Adaptive Reallocation Or Somatic Sacrifice?

... The fine differences between genetic consequences of the reproductive mode are numerous, complex and very deep [14,15]. Naturally, many efforts were made to describe the genetic diversity of asexual, sexual and mixed populations [16][17][18][19]. ...

Genetic and phenotypic consequences of local transitions between sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction in the wild

... In Canada, rising ambient temperatures have indirectly influenced the survival rates of major forest insect species such as Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) (Bellemin-Noël et al. 2021) and the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hoptions (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (Safranyik et al. 2010), by inducing warmer winters, which have resulted in the expansion of their native ranges. Furthermore, some studies have shown that elevated CO 2 concentrations can have either positive or negative direct impacts on the development of some insect species, including some lepidopterans (see reviews by Kocsis and Hufnagel 2011;Amiri-Jami et al. 2012;Li et al. 2021;Macartney et al. 2022;Zaman et al. 2024). Together, these findings demonstrate an urgent need for more research on the direct physiological impact of elevated CO 2 concentrations on major forest insect pest species such as C. fumiferana in North America. ...

Parental dietary protein effects on offspring viability in insects and other oviparous invertebrates: a meta-analysis

Current Research in Insect Science