Species interactions and the evolution of biological diversity: visual signalling in antagonistic and mutalistic coevolution
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Department Name: Zoology
Abstract
Much of the world's biological diversity was born of and crucially depends upon interactions between different species. They give us some of the most astonishing examples of adaptation seen in nature: a cuckoo egg perfectly mimicking that of its host, or a long-tongued fly pollinating a long-spurred orchid. These are products of coevolution, which is the process by which two or more species reciprocally influence one another's evolution. But coevolution is not only a potent force in generating biodiversity: it is crucial to human challenges such as conservation of ecosystems and the services they provide us, biocontrol, and the ever-changing threat of infectious disease and drug resistance. To address these challenges, we need a thorough understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms involved.
This project aims better to understand coevolution and the processes generating biological diversity by studying the interactions between birds and the antagonists they battle against (their brood parasites), and the mutualists they cooperate with (the plants they pollinate). Interactions between species are at their most ancient in the tropics, where they might be most revealing of general evolutionary processes. My parasitic research will therefore exploit three independently evolved tropical brood parasitic systems studied in Zambia. Brood parasites such as cuckoos are the cheats of the bird world, that exploit the care of other species to raise their young. They can become locked in coevolutionary arms races with their hosts, as parasites evolve ever better manipulation of hosts (such as mimicry of host eggs), and hosts respond with ever more refined defences (such as rejecting mimetic eggs).
In this project, I will first ask how interactions between species can generate diversity among individuals, and how this is shaped by visual perception. The Cuckoo Finch and African Cuckoo in Zambia are involved in biological arms races in bird egg appearance, whereby different host females are continually evolving new egg types to escape mimicry by their pursuing parasite. I will ask how hosts might make their eggs most difficult to mimic (just as the watermarks of banknotes deter forgers), how different hosts might affect one another's diversification, and how evolution proceeds when parasites achieve almost perfect egg forgeries. To do so I will carry out field experiments at hosts nests, together with computer modelling of vision in order to express egg appearance through a bird's eye, since birds vision is superior to our own. I will then ask whether similar processes might operate in mutualistic interactions: I will test whether visual discrimination by bird pollinators favours flower colour divergence or convergence between species flowering near one another, and thus cause plants of the same species to diversify between different local communities.
Second, I will attempt to solve a centuries-old conundrum for host-parasite research: how do different female brood parasites of the same species lay eggs that mimic those of their chosen host, despite interbreeding with males raised by other hosts? An hypothesis is that these specialised adaptations are inherited in the female line alone, via the female-specific avian W chromosome. In Zambia we have discovered that lineages of parasitic females have stayed perfectly faithful to their chosen hosts for millions of years, which could allow such specialisation to evolve. I propose to test this by locating the genes involved in mimicry of different host species and different host signatures. I will do so by way of breeding experiments on captive Cuckoo Finches, in combination with advanced DNA sequencing and studies of gene expression in the oviduct where eggs are formed. Finally, I will locate the host genes involved in generating complex egg signatures, to reveal whether similar genetic mechanisms have convergently evolved both in hosts and their parasites that so beautifully mimic them.
This project aims better to understand coevolution and the processes generating biological diversity by studying the interactions between birds and the antagonists they battle against (their brood parasites), and the mutualists they cooperate with (the plants they pollinate). Interactions between species are at their most ancient in the tropics, where they might be most revealing of general evolutionary processes. My parasitic research will therefore exploit three independently evolved tropical brood parasitic systems studied in Zambia. Brood parasites such as cuckoos are the cheats of the bird world, that exploit the care of other species to raise their young. They can become locked in coevolutionary arms races with their hosts, as parasites evolve ever better manipulation of hosts (such as mimicry of host eggs), and hosts respond with ever more refined defences (such as rejecting mimetic eggs).
In this project, I will first ask how interactions between species can generate diversity among individuals, and how this is shaped by visual perception. The Cuckoo Finch and African Cuckoo in Zambia are involved in biological arms races in bird egg appearance, whereby different host females are continually evolving new egg types to escape mimicry by their pursuing parasite. I will ask how hosts might make their eggs most difficult to mimic (just as the watermarks of banknotes deter forgers), how different hosts might affect one another's diversification, and how evolution proceeds when parasites achieve almost perfect egg forgeries. To do so I will carry out field experiments at hosts nests, together with computer modelling of vision in order to express egg appearance through a bird's eye, since birds vision is superior to our own. I will then ask whether similar processes might operate in mutualistic interactions: I will test whether visual discrimination by bird pollinators favours flower colour divergence or convergence between species flowering near one another, and thus cause plants of the same species to diversify between different local communities.
Second, I will attempt to solve a centuries-old conundrum for host-parasite research: how do different female brood parasites of the same species lay eggs that mimic those of their chosen host, despite interbreeding with males raised by other hosts? An hypothesis is that these specialised adaptations are inherited in the female line alone, via the female-specific avian W chromosome. In Zambia we have discovered that lineages of parasitic females have stayed perfectly faithful to their chosen hosts for millions of years, which could allow such specialisation to evolve. I propose to test this by locating the genes involved in mimicry of different host species and different host signatures. I will do so by way of breeding experiments on captive Cuckoo Finches, in combination with advanced DNA sequencing and studies of gene expression in the oviduct where eggs are formed. Finally, I will locate the host genes involved in generating complex egg signatures, to reveal whether similar genetic mechanisms have convergently evolved both in hosts and their parasites that so beautifully mimic them.
Technical Summary
Much of the world's biological diversity was born of and crucially depends upon species interactions. The proposed research will use the interactions between birds and their parasites and mutualists to investigate evolutionary mechanisms and processes generating biodiversity. It will address two main questions: first, what evolutionary processes generate biological diversity within and between interacting species? Second, what genetic mechanisms permit the evolution of specialised adaptations within a single species to multiple coevolutionary partners?
To address these questions, the project will investigate two main model systems. First, antagonistic interactions between hosts and avian brood parasites, which exploit other species to raise their young, leading to coevolutionary arms races between parasitic manipulation (such as egg mimicry) and host defence (such as better egg discrimination). Second, mutualistic interactions between nectar-feeding birds and the specialised plants that depend on them for pollination. Specifically, I will ask: 1. How does frequency-dependent selection generate phenotypic diversity both within and between interacting species, such as egg signatures of identity, and colour polymorphisms in flower colour? 2. How does visual discrimination shape the evolutionary outcome of species interactions, from variation between individuals to properties of entire biological communities? 3. How is specialisation to different coevolutionary partners (such as parasitic host-specificity) genetically maintained within a single species? 4. What is the genetic basis of defensive phenotypic variability (egg 'signatures' of identity) in hosts, and corresponding mimics in parasites?
In answering these questions, the projects will bring together behaviour, visual perception, evolution and diversity, using by way of field experiments, visual modelling, comparative analyses, classical genetics, genomics and transcriptomics.
To address these questions, the project will investigate two main model systems. First, antagonistic interactions between hosts and avian brood parasites, which exploit other species to raise their young, leading to coevolutionary arms races between parasitic manipulation (such as egg mimicry) and host defence (such as better egg discrimination). Second, mutualistic interactions between nectar-feeding birds and the specialised plants that depend on them for pollination. Specifically, I will ask: 1. How does frequency-dependent selection generate phenotypic diversity both within and between interacting species, such as egg signatures of identity, and colour polymorphisms in flower colour? 2. How does visual discrimination shape the evolutionary outcome of species interactions, from variation between individuals to properties of entire biological communities? 3. How is specialisation to different coevolutionary partners (such as parasitic host-specificity) genetically maintained within a single species? 4. What is the genetic basis of defensive phenotypic variability (egg 'signatures' of identity) in hosts, and corresponding mimics in parasites?
In answering these questions, the projects will bring together behaviour, visual perception, evolution and diversity, using by way of field experiments, visual modelling, comparative analyses, classical genetics, genomics and transcriptomics.
Planned Impact
1. Who will benefit from this research?
1.1. The research will benefit those working in the numerous applied fields to which the coevolutionary process is fundamental. There are particularly clear links with biomedical science (please see 2.1.).
1.2. The research will benefit conservation practitioners and policy-makers.
1.3. The research will benefit practitioners in science education, including preparators of educational materials and museum exhibits.
1.4. The research will benefit innovation in wider society by helping to inspire young people (particularly young women) towards science-related careers.
2. How will they benefit from this research?
2.1. The research will shed further light on the coevolutionary process, which is fundamental to important human challenges such as infectious disease, control of aliens, and pest and disease control in crops. These have clear implications for public health, society and the economy. Mutually beneficial conceptual links with biomedical science are particularly clear, given the close conceptual parallels between diversifying selection from brood parasites on birds' eggs, and diversifying selection from pathogens on tissue antigens (especially those encoded in the major histocompatability complex [MHC]) in adaptive immune systems, including the human immune system. I am currently working on a review paper clarifying these links, in collaboration with an immunologist in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge. Moreover, there are clear parallels between the evolution of host-specificity in brood parasites exploiting multiple hosts, and the evolution of pathogens exploiting multiple hosts or host genetic strains.
2.2. The biological richness of ecosystems and the services they provide to humans depend on ecological interactions between species. Species interactions also generate cryptic biological diversity. Basic science leading to a better understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms involved will become more crucial than ever in the face of environmental change. Globalisation and climate change pose a particularly severe threat to species interactions, and hence to healthy ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services.
2.3. The proposed research is likely to generate vivid examples of the power of natural selection to generate visually striking and easily-appreciated adaptations, with great potential application in science education programmes, including public engagement activities proposed by the applicant (see Pathways to Impact).
2.4. Science is a crucial driver of innovation and the economy. An issue of great concern in the UK is the recruitment of talented young people, and especially young women, to scientific careers. One of the obstacles to overcome is the widespread misconception that scientific careers are stuffy, tedious, and male-dominated. Coevolutionary research in general, and my research on brood parasitic research in particular, has the potential to make a substantial contribution in this regard. The proposed research is vivid, exciting, and easily captures the imagination of the public and young people, and so aids wider understanding and appreciation of science and the dispelling of prejudices about the nature of science and scientists. It has considerable potential to inspire young people, with ultimate benefits to UK society. Science outreach activities will be undertaken by the applicant from the outset of the research programme (see Pathways to Impact).
1.1. The research will benefit those working in the numerous applied fields to which the coevolutionary process is fundamental. There are particularly clear links with biomedical science (please see 2.1.).
1.2. The research will benefit conservation practitioners and policy-makers.
1.3. The research will benefit practitioners in science education, including preparators of educational materials and museum exhibits.
1.4. The research will benefit innovation in wider society by helping to inspire young people (particularly young women) towards science-related careers.
2. How will they benefit from this research?
2.1. The research will shed further light on the coevolutionary process, which is fundamental to important human challenges such as infectious disease, control of aliens, and pest and disease control in crops. These have clear implications for public health, society and the economy. Mutually beneficial conceptual links with biomedical science are particularly clear, given the close conceptual parallels between diversifying selection from brood parasites on birds' eggs, and diversifying selection from pathogens on tissue antigens (especially those encoded in the major histocompatability complex [MHC]) in adaptive immune systems, including the human immune system. I am currently working on a review paper clarifying these links, in collaboration with an immunologist in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge. Moreover, there are clear parallels between the evolution of host-specificity in brood parasites exploiting multiple hosts, and the evolution of pathogens exploiting multiple hosts or host genetic strains.
2.2. The biological richness of ecosystems and the services they provide to humans depend on ecological interactions between species. Species interactions also generate cryptic biological diversity. Basic science leading to a better understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms involved will become more crucial than ever in the face of environmental change. Globalisation and climate change pose a particularly severe threat to species interactions, and hence to healthy ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services.
2.3. The proposed research is likely to generate vivid examples of the power of natural selection to generate visually striking and easily-appreciated adaptations, with great potential application in science education programmes, including public engagement activities proposed by the applicant (see Pathways to Impact).
2.4. Science is a crucial driver of innovation and the economy. An issue of great concern in the UK is the recruitment of talented young people, and especially young women, to scientific careers. One of the obstacles to overcome is the widespread misconception that scientific careers are stuffy, tedious, and male-dominated. Coevolutionary research in general, and my research on brood parasitic research in particular, has the potential to make a substantial contribution in this regard. The proposed research is vivid, exciting, and easily captures the imagination of the public and young people, and so aids wider understanding and appreciation of science and the dispelling of prejudices about the nature of science and scientists. It has considerable potential to inspire young people, with ultimate benefits to UK society. Science outreach activities will be undertaken by the applicant from the outset of the research programme (see Pathways to Impact).
Organisations
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Lead Research Organisation)
- HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Niassa Carnivore Project (Collaboration)
- Copperbelt University (Collaboration)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (Collaboration)
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EXETER (Collaboration)
- Princeton University (Collaboration)
- University of Cape Town (Collaboration)
- Boston University (Collaboration)
- Yale University (Collaboration)
- National Museum of Natural History (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
Claire Spottiswoode (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications




Attwood MC
(2023)
Aggressive hosts are undeterred by a cuckoo's hawk mimicry, but probably make good foster parents.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences

Bourne A
(2021)
Direct and indirect effects of high temperatures on fledging in a cooperatively breeding bird
in Behavioral Ecology

Bourne A
(2020)
Compensatory Breeding in Years Following Drought in a Desert-Dwelling Cooperative Breeder
in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution


Bourne AR
(2021)
Dehydration risk is associated with reduced nest attendance and hatching success in a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor.
in Conservation physiology

Bourne AR
(2020)
High temperatures drive offspring mortality in a cooperatively breeding bird.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Title | BBC Natural History Unit: Life Story |
Description | The BBC Natural History Unit filmed one of my study systems at my field site in Zambia during October 2012, contributing to the Life Story series broadcast on BBC One in November 2014. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Impact | BBC One reaches many millions of viewers. |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p026vg04 |
Title | BBC Natural History Unit: Worlds Sneakiest Animals |
Description | The BBC Natural History Unit filmed another of my study systems at my field site in Zambia during October 2014, contributing to the World's Sneakiest Animals series broadcast on BBC Two at Christmas 2015, presented by Chris Packham. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2015 |
Impact | Unnown, but BBC Two reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers. |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06twzh9 |
Title | BBC documentary - Attenborough's Life in Colour |
Description | Facilitated BBC crew filming sequence on our research for David Attenborough documentary "Attenborough's Life in Colour". First aired 7 March 2021, BBC One, 7pm and available to watch on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000t18d/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-series-1-2-hiding-in-colour. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | Product reached audience of millions. |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000t18d/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-series-1-2-hiding-in-col... |
Description | The general question addressed by my fellowship research was how interactions between species generate, maintain and diminish biodiversity. Biotic interactions such as parasitism, predation and mutualism are key to understanding life's diversity, as Darwin illustrated with his vivid image of a tangled bank. They can generate rapid and ever-shifting dynamics because both parties have the capacity to evolve in response to one another (coevolution). My main focus has been on brood-parasitic birds and the hosts that they exploit to raise their young, which are locked in coevolutionary interactions demanding continual adaptation and counter-adaptation. First, we shed further light on how parasitism has driven hosts to evolve individual 'signatures' of identity on their eggs. We showed how coevolution has generated 'signatures' are made up of unpredictable combinations of colours, spots and scribbles that are distinctive among individuals in a species, and among species in an ecological community. The astonishing beauty and diversity of egg signatures is thus the outcome of an arms race between signatures and forgeries: hosts are driven to escape mimicry by evolving new egg types, but are constantly pursued by the parasite. Second, we showed that reciprocally, coevolution has shaped ancient genetic specialisation in parasites, which preserves the mimicry they need to foil host defences. In parasitic cuckoo finches in Zambia, we found that different lineages of females within a single parasite species transmit the genes for egg mimicry via the maternally-inherited W chromosome, and have remained perfectly faithful to different host species for several million years. However, we have shown that such maternal inheritance is a double-edged sword: it enables distinct mimicry of multiple host species, but stifles the potential for further adaptation by effectively reversing the advantages of sexual reproduction as a source of genetic variation. This prevents cuckoo finches from mimicking certain host egg signatures that are currently favoured by natural selection. These findings illustrate that coevolution not only generates diversity, but sometimes limits it. Finally, we investigated how mutually beneficial interactions between birds and the plants they pollinate might drive diversity within and between species. In South Africa's 'fynbos' biome, we showed that in some circumstances natural selection drives bird-pollinated Erica species in different plant communities to converge on the same flower colour, to better attract the sunbirds that pollinate them. However, when the reproductive parts of different species are similar in size, natural selection instead favours colour divergence to avoid receiving pollen from the wrong species. Together these two processes help to explain the remarkable diversity in flower colour within and between Erica species that we see in this global biodiversity hotspot. |
Exploitation Route | Our research sheds light on evolutionary principles which are also common to interactions between ourselves and the pathogens that cause disease. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
URL | http://www.africancuckoos.com |
Description | Our findings from research supported by this grant have been used in education (undergraduate textbooks, childrens' books, popular science magazines, and documentaries) and cultural output (radio and TV programmes on the BBC and elsewhere; and inspired several different art projects and museum exhibits around the world). |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Carnegie Corporation, Developing Emerging Academic Leaders (DEAL) programme |
Amount | R2,000,000 (ZAR) |
Organisation | Carnegie Corporation of New York |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Consolidator Grant |
Amount | € 1,998,885 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 725185 |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 04/2017 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | EC FP7 MC Intra-European Fellowships |
Amount | € 231,283 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 331232 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Department | Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 04/2013 |
End | 04/2015 |
Description | NRF Incentive Grant for Rated Researchers |
Amount | R160,000 (ZAR) |
Funding ID | 109466 |
Organisation | South African National Research Foundation (NRF) |
Sector | Public |
Country | South Africa |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | NRF Research Grant |
Amount | R473,000 (ZAR) |
Organisation | South African National Research Foundation (NRF) |
Sector | Public |
Country | South Africa |
Start | 06/2016 |
End | 07/2019 |
Description | National Geographic Society Standard Grant |
Amount | $25,000 (USD) |
Organisation | National Geographic |
Sector | Private |
Country | United States |
Start | 06/2017 |
End | 06/2018 |
Description | The Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant |
Amount | £183,593 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RPG-2013-251 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 09/2017 |
Title | All data relevant to the project as a csv file from Embryo movement is more frequent in avian brood parasites than birds with other reproductive strategies |
Description | Movement of the embryo is essential for musculoskeletal development in vertebrates, yet little is known about whether, and why, species vary. Avian brood parasites exhibit feats of strength in early life as adaptations to exploit the hosts that rear them. We hypothesized that an increase in embryonic movement could allow brood parasites to develop the required musculature for these demands. We measured embryo movement across incubation for multiple brood-parasitic and non-parasitic bird species. Using a phylogenetically controlled analysis, we found that brood parasites exhibited significantly increased muscular movement during incubation compared to non-parasites. This suggests that increased embryo movement may facilitate the development of the stronger musculoskeletal system required for the demanding tasks undertaken by young brood parasites. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/All_data_relevant_to_the_project_as_a_csv_file_from_Embryo_... |
Title | All data relevant to the project as a csv file from Embryo movement is more frequent in avian brood parasites than birds with parental reproductive strategies |
Description | Movement of the embryo is essential for musculoskeletal development in vertebrates, yet little is known about whether, and why, species vary. Avian brood parasites exhibit feats of strength in early life as adaptations to exploit the hosts that rear them. We hypothesized that an increase in embryonic movement could allow brood parasites to develop the required musculature for these demands. We measured embryo movement across incubation for multiple brood-parasitic and non-parasitic bird species. Using a phylogenetically controlled analysis, we found that brood parasites exhibited significantly increased muscular movement during incubation compared to non-parasites. This suggests that increased embryo movement may facilitate the development of the stronger musculoskeletal system required for the demanding tasks undertaken by young brood parasites. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/All_data_relevant_to_the_project_as_a_csv_file_from_Embryo_... |
Title | All data relevant to the project as a csv file from Embryo movement is more frequent in avian brood parasites than birds with parental reproductive strategies |
Description | Movement of the embryo is essential for musculoskeletal development in vertebrates, yet little is known about whether, and why, species vary. Avian brood parasites exhibit feats of strength in early life as adaptations to exploit the hosts that rear them. We hypothesized that an increase in embryonic movement could allow brood parasites to develop the required musculature for these demands. We measured embryo movement across incubation for multiple brood-parasitic and non-parasitic bird species. Using a phylogenetically controlled analysis, we found that brood parasites exhibited significantly increased muscular movement during incubation compared to non-parasites. This suggests that increased embryo movement may facilitate the development of the stronger musculoskeletal system required for the demanding tasks undertaken by young brood parasites. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/All_data_relevant_to_the_project_as_a_csv_file_from_Embryo_... |
Title | Color and W-chromosome sequence data from study on maternal inheritance of egg mimicry |
Description | This dataset supports a study demonstrating that host-specific egg mimicry in the brood-parasitic African cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis is maternally inherited. It includes egg reflectance spectra for the background colour of 188 cuckoo finch eggs from four host species in Zambia, and consensus sequences for 68 W-linked ddRAD-seq loci derived from 80 female cuckoo finches belonging to four different host-specific maternal lineages from three host species in Zambia. These data derive from two partially overlapping samples of eggs: some eggs with genetic data lacked egg spectral data, and vice versa. W-linked genetic data were all of offspring origin as they derived from embryonic or nestling tissue. Additional phenotypic data (host nest species and descriptions of egg phenotype), date and location data associated with each egg spectrum are provided in a separate file. Data on the origin of the individuals contributing to the W-linked loci are provided in Table S1 of the associated publication. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.rn8pk0pck |
Title | Combined measures of mimetic fidelity explain imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system |
Description | The persistence of imperfect mimicry in nature presents a challenge to mimicry theory. Some hypotheses for the existence of imperfect mimicry make differing predictions depending on how mimetic fidelity is measured. Here, we measure mimetic fidelity in a brood parasite-host system using both trait-based and response-based metrics of mimetic fidelity. Cuckoo finches Anomalospiza imberbis lay imperfectly mimetic eggs that lack the fine scribbling characteristic of eggs of the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava, a common host species. A trait-based discriminant analysis based on Minkowski functionals - that use geometric and topological morphometric methods related to egg pattern shape and coverage - reflects this consistent difference between host and parasite eggs. These methods could be applied to quantify other phenotypes including stripes and waved patterns. Furthermore, by painting scribbles onto cuckoo finch eggs and testing their rate of rejection compared to control eggs (i.e. a response-based approach to quantify mimetic fidelity), we show that prinias do not discriminate between eggs based on the absence of scribbles. Overall, our results support relaxed selection on cuckoo finches to mimic scribbles, since prinias do not respond differently to eggs with and without scribbles, though these consistent trait differences persist. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v60 |
Title | Data and code for Caves, Dixit, Colebrook-Robjent, Hamusikili, Stevens, Thorogood, and Spottiswoode: Hosts elevate either within-clutch consistency or between-clutch distinctiveness of egg phenotypes in defence against brood parasites |
Description | In host-parasite arms races, hosts can evolve signatures of identity to enhance detection of parasite mimics. In theory, signatures are most effective when within-individual variation is low ("consistency"), and between-individual variation is high ("distinctiveness"). However, empirical support for positive covariation in signature consistency and distinctiveness across species is mixed. Here we attempt to resolve this puzzle by partitioning distinctiveness according to how it is achieved: (1) greater variation within each trait, contributing to elevated "absolute distinctiveness" or (2) combining phenotypic traits in unpredictable combinations ("combinatorial distinctiveness"). We tested how consistency covaries with each type of distinctiveness by measuring variation in egg colour and pattern in two African bird families (Cisticolidae and Ploceidae) that experience mimetic brood parasitism. Contrary to predictions, parasitised species, but not unparasitised species, exhibited a negative relationship between consistency and combinatorial distinctiveness. Moreover, regardless of parasitism status, consistency was negatively correlated with absolute distinctiveness across species. Together, these results suggest that (i) selection from parasites acts on how traits combine rather than absolute variation in traits, (ii) consistency and distinctiveness are alternative rather than complementary elements of signatures, and (iii) mechanistic constraints may explain the negative relationship between consistency and absolute distinctiveness across species. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.02v6wwq34 |
Title | Data for: Aggressive hosts are undeterred by a cuckoo's hawk mimicry, but probably make good foster parents |
Description | Parasites face a trade-off if the highest quality hosts are also most resistant to exploitation. For brood parasites, well-defended host nests may be both harder to parasitize and harder to predate, leading to better survival of parasitic chicks. This trade-off could be accentuated if brood-parasitic adaptations to reduce front-line defences of hosts, such as mimicry of hawks by Cuculus cuckoos, do not deter hosts which aggressively mob raptors. Here we investigate the costs and benefits to the African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) of specializing on a highly aggressive host species, the fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis). Field experiments showed that drongos strongly attacked and mobbed both cuckoo and hawk models, implying that hawk mimicry does not deter front-line defences against African cuckoos. Attacks on cuckoo and hawk models generally declined after the egg stage but attacks on snake models sharply increased, suggesting drongos may treat hawks more like cuckoos than predators. We suggest that the cost to cuckoos of parasitizing an aggressive host may be alleviated by subsequent benefits to their offspring, since drongo nests survived better than nests of other species with similar nesting ecology. These results are indicative of a trade-off between host quality and susceptibility for a brood parasite. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.gb5mkkwsh |
Title | Data from: Migration distance does not predict blood parasitism in a migratory songbird |
Description | Migration can influence host-parasite dynamics in animals by increasing exposure to parasites, by reducing the energy available for immune defence, or by culling of infected individuals. These mechanisms have been demonstrated in several comparative analyses; however, few studies have investigated whether conspecific variation in migration distance may also be related to disease susceptibility. Here, we ask whether autumn migration distance, inferred from stable hydrogen isotope analysis of summer-grown feathers (d2Hf) in Europe, correlates with blood parasite prevalence and intensity of infection for willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus) wintering in Zambia. We also investigated whether infection was correlated with individual condition (assessed via corticosterone, scaled mass index, and feather quality). We found that 43% of birds were infected with Haemoproteus palloris (lineage WW1). Using generalized linear models, we found no relationship between migration distance and either Haemoproteus infection prevalence or intensity. There was spatial variation in breeding ground origins of infected vs. non-infected birds, with infected birds originating from more northern sites than non-infected birds, but this difference translated into only slightly longer estimated migration distances (~214 km) for infected birds. We found no relationship between body condition indices and Haemoproteus infection prevalence or intensity. Our results do not support any of the proposed mechanisms for migration effects on host-parasite dynamics, and cautiously suggest that other factors may be more important for determining individual susceptibility to disease in migratory bird species. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.57c0420 |
Title | Data from: Reciprocal signaling in honeyguide-human mutualism |
Description | Greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) lead human honey-hunters to wild bees' nests, in a rare example of a mutualistic foraging partnership between humans and free-living wild animals. We show experimentally that a specialized vocal sound made by Mozambican honey-hunters seeking bees' nests elicits elevated cooperative behavior from honeyguides. The production of this sound increased the probability of being guided by a honeyguide from about 33 to 66% and the overall probability of thus finding a bees' nest from 17 to 54%, as compared with other animal or human sounds of similar amplitude. These results provide experimental evidence that a wild animal in a natural setting responds adaptively to a human signal of cooperation. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.8c65s |
Title | Data from: Relative advantages of dichromatic and trichromatic color vision in camouflage breaking |
Description | There is huge diversity in visual systems and color discrimination abilities, thought to stem from an animal's ecology and life history. Many primate species maintain a polymorphism in color vision, whereby most individuals are dichromats but some females are trichromats, implying that selection sometimes favors dichromatic vision. Detecting camouflaged prey is thought to be a task where dichromatic individuals could have an advantage. However, previous work either has not been able to disentangle camouflage detection from other ecological or social explanations, or did not use biologically relevant cryptic stimuli to test this hypothesis under controlled conditions. Here, we used online "citizen science" games to test how quickly humans could detect cryptic birds (incubating nightjars) and eggs (of nightjars, plovers and coursers) under trichromatic and simulated dichromatic viewing conditions. Trichromats had an overall advantage, although there were significant differences in performance between viewing conditions. When searching for consistently shaped and patterned adult nightjars, simulated dichromats were more heavily influenced by the degree of pattern difference than were trichromats, and were poorer at detecting prey with inferior pattern and luminance camouflage. When searching for clutches of eggs-which were more variable in appearance and shape than the adult nightjars-the simulated dichromats learnt to detect the clutches faster, but were less sensitive to subtle luminance differences. These results suggest there are substantial differences in the cues available under viewing conditions that simulate different receptor types, and that these interact with the scene in complex ways to affect camouflage breaking. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.v1t1b |
Title | Data from: When perfection isn't enough: host egg signatures are an effective defence against high-fidelity African cuckoo mimicry |
Description | Most mimicry systems involve imperfect mimicry, whereas perfect and high-fidelity mimicry are rare. When the fidelity of mimicry is high, mimics might be expected to have the upper hand against their antagonists. However, in coevolving systems, diversification of model phenotypes may provide an evolutionary escape, because mimics cannot simultaneously match all model individuals in the population. Here we investigate high-fidelity mimicry in a highly specialised, Afrotropical brood parasite-host system: the African cuckoo and fork-tailed drongo. Specifically, we test whether host egg polymorphisms are an effective defence against such mimicry. We show, using a combination of image analysis, field experiments, and simulations, that 1) egg colour and pattern mimicry of fork-tailed drongo eggs by African cuckoos is near-perfect on average; 2) drongos show fine-tuned rejection of foreign eggs, exploiting unpredictable pattern differences between parasitic eggs and their own; and 3) the high degree of interclutch variation (polymorphic egg 'signatures') exhibited by drongos gives them the upper hand in the arms race, with 93.7% of cuckoo eggs predicted to be rejected, despite cuckoos mimicking the full range of drongo egg phenotypes. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of model diversification as a defence against mimics, even when mimicry is highly accurate. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9gv1 |
Title | Excel spreadsheet with supplemental data from Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs |
Description | Despite a recent explosion of research on pattern recognition, in both neuroscience and computer vision, we lack a basic understanding of how most animals perceive and respond to patterns in the wild. Avian brood parasites and their hosts provide an ideal study system for investigating the mechanisms of pattern recognition. The cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis and its host the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava lay highly polymorphic eggs with a great deal of variation in colour and patterning, with the cuckoo finch capable of close egg mimicry. Behavioural experiments in Zambia have previously shown that prinias use colour and multiple 'low-level' (occurring in early-stages of visual processing) pattern attributes, derived from spatial frequency analysis, when rejecting foreign eggs. Here, we explore the extent to which host birds might also use 'higher-level' pattern attributes, derived from a feature detection algorithm, to make rejection decisions. Using a SIFT-based pattern recognition algorithm, NaturePatternMatch, we show that hosts are more likely to reject a foreign egg if its higher-level pattern features-which capture information about the shape and orientation of markings-differ from those of the host eggs. A revised statistical model explains about 37% variance in egg rejection behaviour, and differences in colour, low-level and higher-level pattern features all predict rejection, accounting for 42%, 44% and 14% of the explained variance, respectively. Thus, higher-level pattern features provide a small but measurable improvement to the original model and may be especially useful when colour and low-level pattern features provide hosts with little information. Understanding the relative importance of low- and higher-level pattern features is a valuable goal for future work on animal coloration, especially in the contexts of mimicry, camouflage and individual recognition.This article is part of the theme issue 'The co-evolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/Excel_spreadsheet_with_supplemental_data_from_Higher-level_pattern_... |
Title | Excel spreadsheet with supplemental data from Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs |
Description | Despite a recent explosion of research on pattern recognition, in both neuroscience and computer vision, we lack a basic understanding of how most animals perceive and respond to patterns in the wild. Avian brood parasites and their hosts provide an ideal study system for investigating the mechanisms of pattern recognition. The cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis and its host the tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava lay highly polymorphic eggs with a great deal of variation in colour and patterning, with the cuckoo finch capable of close egg mimicry. Behavioural experiments in Zambia have previously shown that prinias use colour and multiple 'low-level' (occurring in early-stages of visual processing) pattern attributes, derived from spatial frequency analysis, when rejecting foreign eggs. Here, we explore the extent to which host birds might also use 'higher-level' pattern attributes, derived from a feature detection algorithm, to make rejection decisions. Using a SIFT-based pattern recognition algorithm, NaturePatternMatch, we show that hosts are more likely to reject a foreign egg if its higher-level pattern features-which capture information about the shape and orientation of markings-differ from those of the host eggs. A revised statistical model explains about 37% variance in egg rejection behaviour, and differences in colour, low-level and higher-level pattern features all predict rejection, accounting for 42%, 44% and 14% of the explained variance, respectively. Thus, higher-level pattern features provide a small but measurable improvement to the original model and may be especially useful when colour and low-level pattern features provide hosts with little information. Understanding the relative importance of low- and higher-level pattern features is a valuable goal for future work on animal coloration, especially in the contexts of mimicry, camouflage and individual recognition.This article is part of the theme issue 'The co-evolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/Excel_spreadsheet_with_supplemental_data_from_Higher-level_pattern_... |
Title | Repeatable randomness, invariant properties, and the design of biological signatures of identity |
Description | What makes a perfect signature? Optimal signatures should be consistent within individuals and distinctive between individuals. In defence against avian brood parasitism, some host species have evolved 'signatures of identity' on their eggs, comprising inter-individual variation in colour, spots, and squiggles. Tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava) egg signatures facilitate recognition and rejection of parasitic cuckoo finch (Anomalospiza imberbis) eggs. Here, we show that consistency and distinctiveness are negatively correlated in prinia eggs, perhaps because non-random, repeatable pattern generation mechanisms increase consistency but limit distinctiveness. We generate the hypothesis that pattern properties which are repeatable within individuals but random between individuals ('invariant properties') allow hosts to circumvent the consistency-distinctiveness trade-off. To find invariant properties, we develop a method to quantify entire egg phenotypes from images taken from different perspectives. We find that marking size, but not marking orientation or position, is an invariant property in prinias. Hosts should therefore use differences in marking size in egg recognition, but instead field experiments show that these differences do not predict rejection of conspecific eggs by prinias. Overall, we show that consistency and distinctiveness can coexist through the presence of invariant features, yet receiver behaviour is not optimally tuned to make use of this information. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.9ghx3ffmc |
Title | Research data supporting "Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite-host system despite rapid evolution of mimics" |
Description | Data to support the paper "Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry despite rapid evolution of mimics". This dataset contains a csv file and R code file detailing statistical analyses run using this file. 1. historical_complexities_full_priniacf.csv: a dataset detailing complexity scores for cuckoo finch and prinia eggs. Column names: Year_Nest_Egg_NestIn : Individual code for each egg Year: Year in which egg was laid Nest: Nest ID in which egg was laid Egg: Egg ID NestIn: Nest ID in which egg was placed (in cases where egg was moved to another next as part of other experiments) Complexity_a: complexity score for a single image of the egg Species: Species which laid the egg |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/356844 |
Title | Results from Scopus search on brood parasitism from The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: a call for integration |
Description | A BibTex file containing search results from Scopus search. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Results_from_Scopus_search_on_brood_parasitism_from_The_coe... |
Title | Results from Scopus search on brood parasitism from The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: a call for integration. |
Description | A BibTex file containing search results from Scopus search. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Results_from_Scopus_search_on_brood_parasitism_from_The_coe... |
Title | Results from Scopus search on brood parasitism from The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: a call for integration. |
Description | A BibTex file containing search results from Scopus search. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Results_from_Scopus_search_on_brood_parasitism_from_The_coe... |
Title | Visual complexity of egg patterns predicts egg rejection according to Weber's law |
Description | Visual complexity is ubiquitous in nature. Drivers of complexity include selection in coevolutionary arms races between antagonists. However, the causes and consequences of biological complexity and its perception are largely understudied, partly because complexity is difficult to quantify. Here, we address this by studying egg pattern complexity and its perception in hosts (tawny-flanked prinia Prinia subflava ), which visually recognize and reject mimetic eggs of their virulent brood parasite (cuckoo finch Anomalospiza imberbis ). Using field data and an optimization algorithm, we compute a complexity metric which predicts rejection of experimentally placed conspecific eggs in prinia nests. Real cuckoo finch eggs exhibit significantly lower pattern complexity than prinia eggs, suggesting that high complexity benefits hosts because it distinguishes host eggs from parasitic eggs. We show that prinias perceive complexity differences according to Weber's law of proportional processing (i.e. relative, rather than absolute, differences between stimuli are processed in discrimination, such that two eggs with simple patterns are more easily discriminable than two with complex patterns). This may influence coevolutionary trajectories of hosts and parasites. The new methods presented for quantifying complexity and its perception can help us to understand selection pressures driving the evolution of complexity and its consequences for species interactions. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6dvh |
Description | Anthropology collaboration |
Organisation | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contribute ideas, data, and access to a field site. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborator contributes ideas, data, and access to a field site. |
Impact | Data collection for a first paper from this collaboration is complete and a manuscript is in preparation. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Biophysical research on eggshell adaptations |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Chemistry |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas, samples and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators contributed ideas, technical expertise and writing. |
Impact | A first manuscript on our findings is nearly complete. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Brood parasite population genetics, genomics and transcriptomics |
Organisation | Boston University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | My research team and I have contributed ideas, field samples and expertise, and contributions to writing and analysis. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborator has contributed ideas, laboratory methodology and expertise, and contributions to writing and analysis. |
Impact | We have previously published one paper together, prior to the current grant (Spottiswoode et al. 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 108: 17738-17742). We currently have several manuscripts in progress but none are yet submitted for publication. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Camouflage research |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas, access to field study systems and field methodology. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators contributed ideas, data collection and analytical methodology. |
Impact | Four papers have been published (in Scientific Reports, American Naturalist, Behavioral Ecology and Ecology & Evolution) and a final manuscript is currently in revision. This research project has generated large amounts of media attention (please see details under Engagement Activities), including a BBSRC-produced short video which has received 537,000 views on YouTube. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Ecophysiological research on parasitic egg and chick adaptations |
Organisation | Royal Holloway, University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contribute ideas, samples and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators contribute idea, technical expertise and writing. |
Impact | A first manuscript on our findings is in progress. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Honeyguide-human mutualism |
Organisation | Niassa Carnivore Project |
Country | Mozambique |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas, field methodology, data collection, and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators at the Niassa Carnivore Project contributed ideas and access to a field study site; my collaborator at Yale University contributed ideas, data and access to a field study site |
Impact | A first paper on this research was published in Science in 2016. This paper received worldwide media coverage at the time and led to many subsequent articles being written on human-animal communication in popular science magazines and scientific journals. This research led to a successful application for a European Research Council Consolidator Grant awarded to C Spottiswoode in 2016. Talk given at the International Society for Behavioral Ecology congress by C Spottiswoode in 2014. Presentation given to the Wildlife Conservation Society headquarters in New York, regarding application of the research to conservation management of the Niassa National Reserve (Mozambique) where the study was carried out. Subsequent discussion with reserve management on the ground in Mozambique in 2015-2016. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Honeyguide-human mutualism |
Organisation | Yale University |
Department | Department of Neuroscience |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas, field methodology, data collection, and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators at the Niassa Carnivore Project contributed ideas and access to a field study site; my collaborator at Yale University contributed ideas, data and access to a field study site |
Impact | A first paper on this research was published in Science in 2016. This paper received worldwide media coverage at the time and led to many subsequent articles being written on human-animal communication in popular science magazines and scientific journals. This research led to a successful application for a European Research Council Consolidator Grant awarded to C Spottiswoode in 2016. Talk given at the International Society for Behavioral Ecology congress by C Spottiswoode in 2014. Presentation given to the Wildlife Conservation Society headquarters in New York, regarding application of the research to conservation management of the Niassa National Reserve (Mozambique) where the study was carried out. Subsequent discussion with reserve management on the ground in Mozambique in 2015-2016. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Mathematical modelling of eggshell signatures and forgeries |
Organisation | Harvard University |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have provided ideas and data. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborators are providing ideas and applied mathematical expertise. |
Impact | So far this new collaboration has resulted in one conference presentation; manuscripts will be prepared in due course. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Memorandum of Understanding with a Zambian university |
Organisation | Copperbelt University |
Country | Zambia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have contributed academic interactions (exchanges, seminars, workshops). |
Collaborator Contribution | Our partners have liaised on our behalf with the Zambian WildLife Authority to ensure that we obtain research permits, as now required under Zambian law. |
Impact | Several new collaborations initiated between Copperbelt University and the University of Cape Town as a result of our connection, and a student from Copperbelt University will be taking UCT's MSc course in Conservation Biology in 2016. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Spatial analyses of host-parasite interactions |
Organisation | University of Cape Town |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We contributed ideas and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborators contributed data, analysis and writing. |
Impact | A paper was published in Journal of Animal Ecology in 2016. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Theoretical analyses of host-parasite coevolution |
Organisation | National Museum of Natural History |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas and writing. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators contributed ideas, theoretical modelling and writing. |
Impact | A first manuscript on our findings is nearly complete. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Visual and cognitive modelling of host-parasite interactions |
Organisation | Princeton University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed ideas and experimental data. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborators contributed ideas and modelling expertise. ? In which |
Impact | A first paper on our findings was published in 2019. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | "Generating Genius" schools talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Gabriel Jamie was Invited speaker at "Generating Genius" academic taster session. A charity designed to support high achieving Black Year 12 students applying for STEM subjects. Audience size: 30 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | African Bird Fair talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Gabriel Jamie gave a talk entitled "Mimicry in the parasitic finches of Africa" for BirdLife South Africa's virtual bird fair. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCrWBYknu0U&t=146s |
Description | African Birdlife articles |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Two articles written in African BirdLife magazine on different aspects of our research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | BBC Attenborough documentary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Gabriel Jamie acted as consultant and sound recordist for BBC crew filming sequence on our research for David Attenborough documentary "Attenborough's Life in Colour". First aired 7 March 2021, BBC One, 7pm and available to watch on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000t18d/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-series-1-2-hiding-in-colour. Exact audience size unknown but likely to be in the millions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000t18d/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-series-1-2-hiding-in-col... |
Description | BirdLife South Africa webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The talk by BBSRC PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie was attended live by hundreds of people, sparking live questions and discussion, and has since received over 600 views on YouTube. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge Science Festival event - "Sensing the natural world: detection and avoidance" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie was a panellist discussing mimicry at Cambridge Science Festival event - "Sensing the natural world: detection and avoidance" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Cambridge press office video |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Gabriel Jamie made video with University of Cambridge press office "Cheating birds mimic host nestlings to deceive foster parents": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gq2VDjJ1wE. 5,409 views as of 10 March 2021 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gq2VDjJ1wE |
Description | Capacity building at Livingstone Museum, Zambia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We hosted at our field site for a week and helped further to train a Zambian ornithologist, Ms Maggie Mwale, from the Livingstone Museum, who reported benefitting greatly from the further training. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Community outreach in Zambia (Musumanene) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked a better understanding of the purpose and findings of our research amongst local communities in the study area. Audience reported a better understanding of our research and their role in it. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Community outreach in Zambia (Semahwa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked a better understanding of the purpose and findings of our research amongst local communities in the study area. Audience reported a better understanding of our research and their role in it. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www2.zoo.cam.ac.uk/africancuckoos/fieldwork/outreach.html |
Description | Conference talk at Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology, Montpellier |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Selected talk on "What limits speciation in the parasitic finches of Africa?" at the joint meeting of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, the American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society of Systematic Biologists, by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie. Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Copperbelt University workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A two week online workshop was presented on research design and R programming, for staff and postgraduate students at Copperbelt University and Livingstone Museum, Zambia. Audience feedback was very positive. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Crick Institute Postdoc retreat |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | I gave a presentation about academic careers to an audience of postdocs from the various London institutes comprising the Francis Crick Institute, and this was well received and sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Event entitled "Belonging and Un-belonging in the English Countryside", reflecting on the experiences of people from minority/marginalised backgrounds when interacting with nature in UK. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie was a panellist and speaker at an event entitled "Belonging and Un-belonging in the English Countryside", at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes organised by Professor Paul Gilroy and Dr Cora Gilroy-Ware. This event reflected on the experiences of people from minority/marginalised backgrounds when interacting with nature in UK, and sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Human-Wildlife Mutualisms workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Claire Spottiswoode co-organised and gave a talk as part of a two day online workshop on "Human Wildlife Mutualisms", involving students, researchers and practioners from 17 countries. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | International Society for Behavioural Ecology congress |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Conference presentation; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Interspecies Conversations Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Two presentations at the Interspecies Conversations workshop sparked questions and discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.interspecies.io |
Description | Invited guest scientist on Cam FM radio |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie was invited guest scientist on Cam FM radio broadcast for "Feli's Science Show" discussing biodiversity, birds and how he became a scientist. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Media coverage of Evolution paper |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Media coverage of our paper in Evolution (Jamie et al. 2020) included The Daily Mail, Der Spiegel, the Cambridge Independent, Science Daily, Phys.org, Internewscast and Mirage News Australia. As of October 2020, the media coverage had received over 29 million independent views across these media outlets. Additionally, the research was covered by IFLScience which has over 24 million followers on Facebook. A YouTube video on this research has received over 5,000 views as of March 2020. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gq2VDjJ1wE |
Description | Media coverage of brood parasite genetics paper in PNAS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The University of Cambridge issued a press release on our paper, and the research was widely covered by many newspapers and websites internationally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/egg-forging-evolutionary-puzzle-cracked |
Description | Media coverage of honeyguide-human cooperation paper in Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The University of Cambridge issued a press release on our paper which was widely covered by many newspapers, websites and radio stations internationally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/human-honeyguide-communication |
Description | Media interest (aggressive mimicry study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release issued by the Australian National University. Press articles in various places including Nature and The Conversation, amongst many others. Positive feedback from the general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v522/n7556/full/522258c.html |
Description | Media interest (bird song study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Magazines (including New Scientist, The Atlantic, and the Smithsonian Magazine) contacted us for interviews and published articles, and the lead author was interviewed on Canadian national radio ('Quirks & Quarks' science programme). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Media interest (camouflage study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The BBSRC issued a press release about our collaborative research. Two videos about our collaborative research, made by the BBSRC, received over a half a million views on YouTube. The Guardian (Grrlscientist) blogged about our research. There has been much public interest in our work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JzELgqdicQ&feature=youtu.be |
Description | Media interest (cuckoo finch repeat laying study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The BBSRC issued a press release on our study, which resulted in articles in, amongst others, The New York Times, the BBC Nature News website, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, the Smithsonian Magazine blog, the Pentagon Post, and the LA Times. Unknown. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Media interest (egg signature study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release issued by Duke University. Paper covered by Royal Society Publishing's blog. Media coverage from various sources. Positive feedback from the general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://blogs.royalsociety.org/publishing/natures-best-con-artists-egg-signatures-and-cuckoo-forgeri... |
Description | Media interest (honeyguide multiple parasitism study) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The University of Cambridge issued a press release about this research which resulted in articles on a National Geographic blog, the Take Part blog, the Earth Times, and a podcast from the The Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Podcast. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/honeyguide-birds-destroy-own-species-eggs-to-eliminate-competitio... |
Description | Plenary talk at Max Planck Institute workshop: The Biology and Economics of Mutualisms |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The talk sparked lots of questions, discussion and offers of collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at WCS (New York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards, concerning how the results of our work could be incorporated into management of the Niassa National Reserve, co-managed by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and the Mozambique government. Continued communication with the Niassa National Reserve management. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Press coverage of camouflage research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our camouflage research was covered by the international press including The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The International Business Times, Cosmos Magazine and Audubon Magazine. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Press coverage of coevolutionary research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our research on brood parasite-host coevolution was the focus of an article in The Economist (18 May 2017). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Press coverage of honeyguide research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our honeyguide research was widely covered by the international press including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, the BBC News website, etc, and many non-English language national newspapers. A press release was issued by the University of Cambridge press office. I continue to receive regular enquiries about this research for coverage in popular science magazines and childrens' books internationally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Primary School talk (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Dr Gabriel Jamie gave a talk entitled "The wonder of birds" talk to Naima primary school, London, UK. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Public lecture at Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture to conservation practitioners, Mozambican national politicians, postgraduate students, and foreign tourists visiting national park; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Public talk, BirdLife Zimbabwe, Harare |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Radio Interview - National Public Radio |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Radio interview for a food & science programme ("The Salt") on National Public Radio (USA). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/07/21/486471339/how-wild-birds-team-up-with-humans-to-guide... |
Description | Radio feature - BBC Radio 4 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Substantial contribution to an episode of the BBC Radio 4 series "Natural Histories". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Radio interview - BBC World Service |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Two radio interviews for BBC World Service, one live for the programme "Newsday", reported to have one of the largest audiences of any radio programme in the world. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p041hc9x |
Description | Radio interview - Voice of America |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Radio interview for a science programme on Voice of America news. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.voanews.com/a/honeyguides-lead-human-hunters-to-honey/3432394.html |
Description | Research design and scientific writing training workshop with Mozambican MSc students |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | I presented a week-long module on research design and proposal writing to Mozambican MSc students (and field technicians) in conservation biology at the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory, Gorongosa National Park (a joint initiative between Lúrio University, Zambeze University, and Manica Higher Polytechnic Institute). The students reported that they found this extremely useful and it gave them fresh focus and confidence with their research projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Panel presentation sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Impact does not seem measurable for a public event such as this. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/events/2014/07/scientists-in-the-field/ |
Description | Royal Society mentorship scheme |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | The mentee I have acted as a mentor to (a newly appointed Sir Henry Dale Fellow) reported that interactions with me were constructive for her career. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Royal Society public event (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Panel discussion sparked questions afterwards and received excellent audience feedback via The Royal Society's audience questionnaire. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/events/2015/11/life-through-a-lens/ |
Description | School outreach (Mariri Environmental Centre, Mozambique) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Bird walk and discussion about bird ecology, conservation and our local research with schoolchildren (and their teachers) from various villages in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique, visiting the Mariri Environmental Centre. Children and teachers were very interested and engaged and asked good questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | School talks for British Science Week |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | PhD student Mairenn Attwood led interactive talks at the Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech, a school partnered with 'Teach First'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.thomasclarksonacademy.org/news/?pid=3&nid=6&storyid=2401 |
Description | School visit (Cambridge) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions afterwards and pupils reported to teachers that they had found it interesting and inspiring. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | School visit in Mozambique (Mbamba) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Schoolchildren asked questions and showed a good understanding. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Bangor University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Seminar at Bielefeld University (Germany) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Boston University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Seminar at Bristol University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Durham University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Liverpool University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Manchester University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Seminar at Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (France) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar at Oxford University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Seminar at Princeton University, USA |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Seminar at Royal Society for the Protection of Birds |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Stellenbosch University, South Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Seminar at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Feedback from talk organisers that graduate students present found talk inspiring with respect to continuing their careers in science. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at University of Cambridge (Spottiswoode) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Seminar at University of Cambridge (Tong) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Seminar at University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Seminar at University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at University of Cape Town, South Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk given by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie, sparking questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Seminar at University of Exeter |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at University of Lausanne, Switzerland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Seminar at University of Limpopo (South Africa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards and led to my sharing samples with researchers at this institution. Students and researchers from University of Limpopo have stayed in contact by email. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at University of Lincoln |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar at University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Seminar at University of Roehampton |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Research seminar to students and faculty; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Seminar at University of Sussex |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Seminar at University of York |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. None known. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Society for Experimental Biology Satellite Meeting (Brighton, UK) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Keynote talk at Satellite Meeting of Society for Experimental Biology conference: "An Integrative Biology of the Egg".Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Stamford Raffles Lecture, Zoological Society of London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture at Zoological Society of London; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards and several students got in touch later, interested in the research field. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Summer School talk at University of Cape Town |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk at the University of Cape Town's 'Summer School' series of outreach lectures, sparking questions and discussion afterwards/ |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Talk at 'Frontiers in Behavioural Research' Symposium, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The seminar sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and new collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at African Bird Club AGM, Natural History Museum, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk on "Africa's avian cheats: exploring the deceitful ways of cuckoos, honeyguides and parasitic finches", by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie. Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Talk at BirdLife South Africa's 2019 AGM, Johannesburg |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussions afterwards, and offers of collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at BirdWatch Zambia in Lusaka |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk given by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie, sparking questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at Cambridge University Wildlife and Conservation Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk on "Africa's avian cheats: exploring the deceitful ways of cuckoos, honeyguides and parasitic finches" by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie. Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Talk at Department of National Parks and Wildlife (Zambia) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation given to relevant government department (conservation practitioners and national research permit authority) in Lusaka; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Talk at School of Natural Resources at Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk given by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie, sparking questions and discussions and further collaborative plans. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at St Johns College Science Society, Cambridge |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk to a student science society; sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Talk at the British Ornithologists Club |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I gave a talk about our research to local birding enthusiasts; the talk sparked some interesting, engaged and insightful questions from the audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Talk at the Cambridge Bird Club |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I gave a talk about our research to local birding enthusiasts; the talk sparked many interesting, engaged and insightful questions from the audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2017 |
Description | Talk at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative: Cuckoo Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public talk to interested members of the general public; talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Talk at the Livingstone Museum, Zambia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Together with other members of my research group, I gave a talk about our research to local birding enthusiasts, local educators and museum scientific staff; the talk sparked many interesting, engaged and insightful questions from the audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Talk on at Choma primary school, Zambia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talk to school pupils on "Becoming a scientist", at Choma primary school, Zambia, by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie. Talk sparked enthusiasm and questions from the pupils. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | The Conversation Africa article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Gabriel Jamie wrote an article for The Conversation Africa entitled Mimicry and manipulation: how baby birds deceive their finch foster parents. 1,352 views as of 10 March 2021 (having been published on 2 March 2021). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://theconversation.com/mimicry-and-manipulation-how-baby-birds-deceive-their-finch-foster-paren... |
Description | Witherby Lecture at British Trust for Ornithology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lecture given to members of the British Trust for Ornithology |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Youth Day presentation in Choma, Zambia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Address at "Entrepreneurship and Future Leaders" event in preparation for National Youth Day at Choma Museum, Zambia, to local schoolchildren and other youth, and Zambian government ministers, on birds, science and conservation, by PDRA Dr Gabriel Jamie. As a result of this event, a local conservation issue was discovered and resolved. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |