Epidemiological consequences of reproductive senescence in a long-lived vector
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Biological Sciences
Abstract
Tsetse flies transmit single-celled parasites - trypanosomes - to livestock with a single infectious bite. Once infected, the animal develops animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT), a fatal disease which kills 1-2 million cattle and costs sub-Saharan Africa 3-5 billion USD in lost agricultural potential each year. Strategies to control this disease are informed by mathematical models describing rates of parasite transmission between tsetse and hosts and changes in the numbers of tsetse.
A crucial aspect of an insect's ability to transmit a disease-causing parasite is its longevity and susceptibility to infection. For a wide variety of animals, longevity and susceptibility to infection are affected by the investment made by an individual's mother. This maternal effect is likely to be very important for tsetse because of their unusual reproductive biology. Unlike most other insects, female tsetse get pregnant, lactate and give birth to live young, which weigh more than the mother. Tsetse can survive over six months in the field with females producing a single larva every ~10 days. The close link between an individual fly and its mother suggests that there will be a marked maternal effect on tsetse longevity and immunity and hence parasite transmission. Models for trypanosomiasis are based on the Ross-Macdonald model for human malaria, however, and do not consider the role of maternal investment in tsetse population dynamics or epidemiology as malaria mosquitoes - like most other vectors - reproduce through egg laying.
This project will investigate how maternal investment changes with age and nutrition in tsetse, the consequences for offspring survival and ability to spread trypanosomes, and the contribution of these processes to tsetse population and disease transmission dynamics. We will conduct parallel observations of tsetse in the laboratory - using a large colony of flies at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - and in the field, using flies of estimated age caught using an innovative sampling method in their natural habitat in Zimbabwe. We will experimentally manipulate nutrition in females and measure the costs of reproduction by preventing females from mating until they are older, to assess whether late-life declines in reproductive output (such as those reported in humans) reflect depleted resources or build-up of damage as a by-product of reproduction. We will develop new evolutionary models to understand whether such patterns represent adaptive strategies to maximize the total number of offspring produced in a lifetime, constraints due to physiology, or a combination of these processes.
We will follow offspring born to mothers of varying age and nutritional state to test whether offspring born to older or nutritionally stressed mothers are more likely to die young or become infected by trypanosomes. We will also test whether maternal effects are stronger in sons than daughters.
Finally, we will use insights from these experimental observations and evolutionary models to improve epidemiological models predicting the spread of tsetse-borne diseases. These diseases can persist at low prevalence and vector density, only to flare up when control efforts are relaxed or new habitats become suitable. Our new models will be used to predict the role of mothers in helping tsetse populations to persist or shift range as a result of human-related and environmental change. The accuracy of these models will be validated against existing data on the distribution and abundance of tsetse, their hosts and disease prevalence.
A crucial aspect of an insect's ability to transmit a disease-causing parasite is its longevity and susceptibility to infection. For a wide variety of animals, longevity and susceptibility to infection are affected by the investment made by an individual's mother. This maternal effect is likely to be very important for tsetse because of their unusual reproductive biology. Unlike most other insects, female tsetse get pregnant, lactate and give birth to live young, which weigh more than the mother. Tsetse can survive over six months in the field with females producing a single larva every ~10 days. The close link between an individual fly and its mother suggests that there will be a marked maternal effect on tsetse longevity and immunity and hence parasite transmission. Models for trypanosomiasis are based on the Ross-Macdonald model for human malaria, however, and do not consider the role of maternal investment in tsetse population dynamics or epidemiology as malaria mosquitoes - like most other vectors - reproduce through egg laying.
This project will investigate how maternal investment changes with age and nutrition in tsetse, the consequences for offspring survival and ability to spread trypanosomes, and the contribution of these processes to tsetse population and disease transmission dynamics. We will conduct parallel observations of tsetse in the laboratory - using a large colony of flies at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - and in the field, using flies of estimated age caught using an innovative sampling method in their natural habitat in Zimbabwe. We will experimentally manipulate nutrition in females and measure the costs of reproduction by preventing females from mating until they are older, to assess whether late-life declines in reproductive output (such as those reported in humans) reflect depleted resources or build-up of damage as a by-product of reproduction. We will develop new evolutionary models to understand whether such patterns represent adaptive strategies to maximize the total number of offspring produced in a lifetime, constraints due to physiology, or a combination of these processes.
We will follow offspring born to mothers of varying age and nutritional state to test whether offspring born to older or nutritionally stressed mothers are more likely to die young or become infected by trypanosomes. We will also test whether maternal effects are stronger in sons than daughters.
Finally, we will use insights from these experimental observations and evolutionary models to improve epidemiological models predicting the spread of tsetse-borne diseases. These diseases can persist at low prevalence and vector density, only to flare up when control efforts are relaxed or new habitats become suitable. Our new models will be used to predict the role of mothers in helping tsetse populations to persist or shift range as a result of human-related and environmental change. The accuracy of these models will be validated against existing data on the distribution and abundance of tsetse, their hosts and disease prevalence.
Technical Summary
Epidemiological and demographic models are essential for predicting and mitigating risks of vector-borne diseases to livestock and humans, including animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT), which is transmitted by tsetse flies. We hypothesize that failure to consider maternal investment and reproductive senescence in tsetse has limited the accuracy of models for animal trypanosomiasis.
Our aim is to improve models of tsetse population and disease dynamics, through the following objectives:
1. Establish how maternal investment changes as female tsetse age;
2. Measure the effects of maternal investment on offspring lifespan and capacity to transmit disease;
3. Elucidate how maternal effects influence tsetse population and disease dynamics.
We will achieve these objectives by combining empirical observations with evolutionary and epidemiological models. First, we will measure fat transferred by mothers to offspring, using laboratory flies of known ages and age-estimated wild flies from Zimbabwe. We will experimentally manipulate female nutrition and costs of reproduction in laboratory flies to establish the physiological determinants of age-dependent patterns. We will develop evolutionary models to ascertain whether maternal investment reflects adaptive decisions or physiological constraints.
Second, we will monitor offspring born to mothers of varying nutrition and age to establish how maternal effects influence offspring size, lifespan and reproductive success. We will infect offspring with trypanosomes to measure how maternal investment influences offspring competence at spreading disease.
Lastly, we will incorporate empirical findings into models of tsetse population and disease dynamics, using differential equation models and agent-based simulations. These models will be validated using data on tsetse abundance, host densities and trypanosome prevalence, to predict the spread of tsetse-borne disease as new habitats become suitable for this vector.
Our aim is to improve models of tsetse population and disease dynamics, through the following objectives:
1. Establish how maternal investment changes as female tsetse age;
2. Measure the effects of maternal investment on offspring lifespan and capacity to transmit disease;
3. Elucidate how maternal effects influence tsetse population and disease dynamics.
We will achieve these objectives by combining empirical observations with evolutionary and epidemiological models. First, we will measure fat transferred by mothers to offspring, using laboratory flies of known ages and age-estimated wild flies from Zimbabwe. We will experimentally manipulate female nutrition and costs of reproduction in laboratory flies to establish the physiological determinants of age-dependent patterns. We will develop evolutionary models to ascertain whether maternal investment reflects adaptive decisions or physiological constraints.
Second, we will monitor offspring born to mothers of varying nutrition and age to establish how maternal effects influence offspring size, lifespan and reproductive success. We will infect offspring with trypanosomes to measure how maternal investment influences offspring competence at spreading disease.
Lastly, we will incorporate empirical findings into models of tsetse population and disease dynamics, using differential equation models and agent-based simulations. These models will be validated using data on tsetse abundance, host densities and trypanosome prevalence, to predict the spread of tsetse-borne disease as new habitats become suitable for this vector.
Planned Impact
Livestock keepers and communities in tsetse-suitable areas. This project will improve efforts against animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT). Some 10 million km2 of sub-Saharan Africa, covering 37 countries, are infested with tsetse and effective control of AAT could benefit people within this area. There is currently no vaccine for AAT and the only means of mitigating the disease are through tsetse control and use of trypanocides. Reducing the incidence of AAT through vector control improves cattle productivity and, ultimately, reduces poverty; currently, the loss of livestock to AAT causes annual economic losses of $4 billion. Healthier herds will improve the functioning of livestock as stores of value and indicators of social status contributing to the natural, financial and social capital of affected communities.
Policymakers in tsetse control. The project has close links to the Tsetse Control Division in Zimbabwe and outputs from our project will inform their monitoring and control efforts directly. Thus, if our project shows that maternal nutritional stress increases tsetse offspring's susceptibility to disease, our models will highlight the need for increased surveillance and trapping in areas affected by drought for several months after conditions improve, to account for carryover effects across generations. Several members of the team (Torr, Hargrove, Vale, Keeling) have strong links to national, regional and international organisations (e.g. WHO, FAO), private companies (e.g. Vestergaard, CEVA) and donors (BMGF) concerned directly with developing, supporting and implementing interventions against human and animal trypanosomiases. Outputs from this project will contribute to the knowledge that underpins the policy and practice of trypanosomiasis control being developed by these organisations.
General public. Our project is not just about predicting tsetse-borne disease, but, more broadly, understanding the profound effects that mothers can have on their offspring. This will capture the interest of the general public, as it is not generally known that tsetse - like mammals - ovulate, can get pregnant and also lactate, and thus serve as an evolutionary model of pregnancy. As an example, our project will produce evolutionary explanations for why - in a system such as mammals and tsetse, where mothers invest enormously in each offspring - mothers terminate in utero development when they are nutritionally stressed. The enormous difference between tsetse and humans notwithstanding, these few but remarkable points of similarity mean that results of our project will be of interest to our society in which maternal under- and over-nutrition is of concern, and where women are waiting until much later in life to start reproducing.
Policymakers in tsetse control. The project has close links to the Tsetse Control Division in Zimbabwe and outputs from our project will inform their monitoring and control efforts directly. Thus, if our project shows that maternal nutritional stress increases tsetse offspring's susceptibility to disease, our models will highlight the need for increased surveillance and trapping in areas affected by drought for several months after conditions improve, to account for carryover effects across generations. Several members of the team (Torr, Hargrove, Vale, Keeling) have strong links to national, regional and international organisations (e.g. WHO, FAO), private companies (e.g. Vestergaard, CEVA) and donors (BMGF) concerned directly with developing, supporting and implementing interventions against human and animal trypanosomiases. Outputs from this project will contribute to the knowledge that underpins the policy and practice of trypanosomiasis control being developed by these organisations.
General public. Our project is not just about predicting tsetse-borne disease, but, more broadly, understanding the profound effects that mothers can have on their offspring. This will capture the interest of the general public, as it is not generally known that tsetse - like mammals - ovulate, can get pregnant and also lactate, and thus serve as an evolutionary model of pregnancy. As an example, our project will produce evolutionary explanations for why - in a system such as mammals and tsetse, where mothers invest enormously in each offspring - mothers terminate in utero development when they are nutritionally stressed. The enormous difference between tsetse and humans notwithstanding, these few but remarkable points of similarity mean that results of our project will be of interest to our society in which maternal under- and over-nutrition is of concern, and where women are waiting until much later in life to start reproducing.
Publications
Barreaux AMG
(2022)
Incorporating effects of age on energy dynamics predicts nonlinear maternal allocation patterns in iteroparous animals.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
English S
(2020)
Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases
English S
(2023)
Investigating the unaccounted ones: insights on age-dependent reproductive loss in a viviparous fly
in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
English S
(2020)
The evolution of sensitive periods in development: insights from insects
in Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
English S
(2019)
Physiological dynamics, reproduction-maintenance allocations, and life history evolution.
in Ecology and evolution
English S
(2020)
Population Biology of Vector-Borne Disease
Haines LR
(2020)
Big Baby, Little Mother: Tsetse Flies Are Exceptions to the Juvenile Small Size Principle.
in BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
Hargrove J
(2019)
Wing length and host location in tsetse (Glossina spp.): implications for control using stationary baits.
in Parasites & vectors
Title | Burrowing for Knowledge: mini-documentary about tsetse reproduction |
Description | A short film was made about our project which showcases the unique reproduction of tsetse and implications for understanding the diseases they spread |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Impact | It was featured at the Bristol Science Film Festival |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-dekOKCoRA |
Description | Our project had three objectives. First, we aimed to establish how maternal investment changes as tsetse age. To achieve this, we conducted a major laboratory-based study to test whether intraspecific variation in senescence patterns can be driven by resource availability or reproductive history. We did this by developing a novel system which allowed us to track the effects of variation in (i) nutritional stress and (ii) age at first reproduction on the age-dependent reproductive output of individual female tsetse. We found that for all treatments, offspring weight followed a bell-shaped curve with maternal age. Nutritionally stressed females had a higher probability of abortion and produced offspring with lower starvation tolerance. There was no evidence of an increased rate of reproductive senescence in nutritionally stressed females, or a reduced rate due to delayed mating, as measured by offspring weight or starvation tolerance. Therefore, although we found evidence of reproductive senescence in tsetse, our results did not indicate that resource allocation trade-offs or costs of reproduction increase the rate of senescence. These findings are reported in an article published in Ecology Letters (doi.org/10.1111/ele.13839). We also conducted field studies in Zimbabwe where we determined the age, reproductive status and nutritional condition of tsetse caught in artificial warthog burrows. For wild-caught tsetse, we were unable to detect any effects of maternal age on offspring quality (doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171739). The contrast between our laboratory- and field-based studies may be related to the fact that tsetse in the laboratory are free of the stresses associated with temperature variation and food availability that can reduce longevity in the field. Hence, older females which produce poor quality offspring in the laboratory might never reach old age in the field. Our second objective was to measure the effects of maternal investment on offspring lifespan and capacity to transmit disease. For the latter, we conducted laboratory studies in which we infected offspring with trypanosomes to measure how maternal investment influences offspring competence at spreading disease. Analyses of ~1200 tsetse showed that there was no significant effect of maternal age on the vector competence of their offspring. Our third objective was to elucidate how maternal effects influence tsetse population and disease dynamics. To achieve this, we aimed to incorporate empirical findings into models of tsetse population and disease dynamic (DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198853244.003.0010). Since we found strong evidence for the effects of environmental temperature but not maternal effects, our models focussed on the effects of the former. Highlights from our modelling work include a study (doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002675) showing that climate-related increases in temperature may explain the decline in tsetse abundance in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe. Building on this model, we also examined how increases in temperature may have changed the distribution and abundance of tsetse across northern Zimbabwe (doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04398-3). The model predicts that temperature changes in the period 2000-2016 have decreased the abundance of tsetse in low elevation areas but increased it in high ones (> 1000 m above sea level); areas previously considered too cold to sustain tsetse, may now be climatically suitable. Finally, we produced evolutionary models to analyse the trade-off between allocating current resources to reproduction versus maximizing survival to produce further offspring. For many taxa, including tsetse, parental allocation varies across age following a hump-shaped pattern. This nonlinear allocation pattern lacks a general theoretical explanation. We developed a life-history model of maternal allocation in tsetse to identify the optimal allocation strategy in response to stochasticity when energetic costs, feeding success, energy intake and environmentally driven mortality risk are age-dependent. Diverse scenarios generate a hump-shaped allocation when energetic costs and energy intake increase with age and also when energy intake decreases and energetic costs increase or decrease. We suggest that age-dependence in these traits explain the prevalence of nonlinear maternal allocation across diverse taxonomic groups (doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1884). |
Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this funding can be taken forward and put to use in the following key ways: 1. Insights both from the laboratory experiments and evolutionary models can be incorporated into further population and disease transmission dynamic models. These could highlight how changes in livestock availability - and subsequent nutritional stress for tsetse - will impact transmission of tsetse-borne disease through changes in offspring longevity or vector competence. Models can also show how adjustment of maternal investment according to environmental conditions (as predicted by evolutionary models) will affect offspring survival and hence population dynamics. 2. Development of the individual-based tracking of females in the laboratory allows for more detailed analyses on how maternal conditions in pregnancy influence offspring outcomes, including other forms of nutritional manipulation (e.g. diet supplements) and environmental stress (e.g. heatwaves). This can set tsetse up as a tractable model system for understanding evolutionarily conserved aspects of pregnancy. 3. The use of artificial burrows to capture individual mothers and their offspring at the time of birth, in field conditions, offers unique insights - not available for other tsetse sampling methods - on how maternal condition at birth is correlated to offspring traits. Future work can use more detailed microclimate tracking technology and pupal transplant experiments to test evolutionary predictions about how mothers adaptively respond to their environment to prime their offspring for coping with later conditions. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment Healthcare Other |
Description | To date, the impact of our award has mainly been through (1) nucleation of a new research area within academia, and (2) increased public awareness of reproductive ecology of the tsetse fly, and the importance of studying this. For the first impact, our laboratory experiments on reproductive senescence in tsetse have sparked the attention of colleagues within the field of evolutionary ecology, resulting in invitations to two journal special issues (Current Opinion in Behavioral Science, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution). The topic of nutritional stress in pregnancy is of relevance to those interested in similar processes in humans, and Dr Sinead English is developing a new research direction linking experiments in viviparous insects with analyses of longitudinal cohort studies. She has extended her collaboration network by joining initiatives like the 4M consortium (on menstruation, menarche, menopause and mental health, https://4mhealth.uk/). For the second impact, popular science articles and the publicly available mini-documentary describing our project (hosted on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-dekOKCoRA, but screened at the 2021 Bristol Science Film Festival) have captured the public imagination about the extraordinary reproductive strategy of the tsetse fly, where a mother gives birth to a single offspring the same size as herself. This aspect of tsetse biology is often underappreciated even by those who work on tsetse control policy, yet our research shows that it has important implications for understanding tsetse survival given that maternal physiological state is highly predictive of offspring quality. |
Description | Team member developing PhD proposal with chief Glossinologist in Zimbabwe government |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | EPSRC/Macquarie Cotutelle PhD studentship |
Amount | £38,062 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 06/2024 |
Description | Global Challenges Pump-Priming Call |
Amount | £26,700 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2018 |
End | 07/2018 |
Description | Industrial and International Leverage Fund (part of EPRSC DTP award) |
Amount | £38,062 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 07/2024 |
Description | International Strategic Fund: "The interactive effect of maternal nutrition and microbiome on offspring immunity and fitness" |
Amount | £2,730 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2020 |
End | 08/2020 |
Description | Janet Hemingway Fellowship |
Amount | £0 (GBP) |
Organisation | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2020 |
End | 07/2023 |
Description | Public Engagement Fund |
Amount | £5,480 (GBP) |
Funding ID | PEF\R3\3011 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | Royal Society Research Fellows Enhanced Research Expenses 2021 |
Amount | £143,620 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RF\ERE\210228 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 06/2023 |
Description | UKRI Covid-19 Grant Extension Allocation (CoA) |
Amount | £27,875 (GBP) |
Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship |
Amount | £1,107,946 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/W007711/1 |
Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2023 |
End | 10/2027 |
Description | University of Bristol Climate and Health PhD Studentship |
Amount | £120,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2023 |
End | 09/2027 |
Description | You are what your mother eats: understanding mother-offspring interactions in tsetse vectors of disease. |
Amount | £93,344 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2266363 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 09/2023 |
Title | Method for individual housing of tsetse flies |
Description | The technician funded by our BBSRC project developed a new method for housing individual tsetse in such a way that does not interfere with their feeding and minimises effect on mortality: previous efforts to house flies individually tend to have higher mortality because flies feed better when housed together. |
Type Of Material | Biological samples |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The impact generated has been the ability to track the reproductive output of individual female flies, which is key for testing predictions of reproductive senescence, and will also be useful in future studies manipulating breeding the condition or environment of breeding females and measuring output for their offspring. Note that full details of the method will be published as a supplementary file alongside our paper on the experimental results (currently under review). |
Title | Incorporating effects of age on energy dynamics predicts non-linear maternal allocation patterns in iteroparous animals |
Description | Iteroparous parents face a trade-off between allocating current resources to reproduction versus maximizing survival to produce further offspring. Optimal allocation varies across age, and follows a hump-shaped pattern across diverse taxa, including mammals, birds and invertebrates. This non-linear allocation pattern lacks a general theoretical explanation, potentially because most studies focus on offspring number rather than quality and do not incorporate uncertainty or age-dependence in energy intake or costs. Here, we develop a life history model of maternal allocation in iteroparous animals. We identify the optimal allocation strategy in response to stochasticity when energetic costs, feeding success, energy intake, and environmentally-driven mortality risk are age-dependent. As a case study, we use tsetse, a viviparous insect that produces one offspring per reproductive attempt and relies on an uncertain food supply of vertebrate blood. Diverse scenarios generate a hump-shaped allocation: when energetic costs and energy intake increase with age; and also when energy intake decreases, and energetic costs increase or decrease. Feeding success and mortality risk have little influence on age-dependence in allocation. We conclude that ubiquitous evidence for age-dependence in these influential traits can explain the prevalence of non-linear maternal allocation across diverse taxonomic groups. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None as yet |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.v41ns1rxr |
Description | Eco-physiology of tsetse (English/Terblanche) |
Organisation | University of Stellenbosch |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have established a research collaboration with Professor John Terblanche (Applied Ecophysiology Lab, University of Stellenbosch) and we currently work together on several projects. I have led on a successful pilot funding grant application (University of Bristol GCRF funding) and we are finalising the analysis and writing up the outcome of this work. We are cosupervising a PhD student (BBSRC SWBio), and the student is currently on a research visit at Stellenbosch. |
Collaborator Contribution | Professor Terblanche has contributed excellent mentorship to considering other aspects of tsetse physiology in the context of transgenerational stress. We are testing new methods pioneered in his laboratory to measure effect of thermal stress on fertility in males and females. |
Impact | - University of Bristol GCRF award - SWBio PhD studentship |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Eco-physiology of tsetse (English/Terblanche) |
Organisation | University of Stellenbosch |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have established a research collaboration with Professor John Terblanche (Applied Ecophysiology Lab, University of Stellenbosch) and we currently work together on several projects. I have led on a successful pilot funding grant application (University of Bristol GCRF funding) and we are finalising the analysis and writing up the outcome of this work. We are cosupervising a PhD student (BBSRC SWBio), and the student is currently on a research visit at Stellenbosch. |
Collaborator Contribution | Professor Terblanche has contributed excellent mentorship to considering other aspects of tsetse physiology in the context of transgenerational stress. We are testing new methods pioneered in his laboratory to measure effect of thermal stress on fertility in males and females. |
Impact | - University of Bristol GCRF award - SWBio PhD studentship |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | SACEMA |
Organisation | University of Stellenbosch |
Department | South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have provided intellectual input in interpreting data analysis and helping to draft a manuscript. |
Collaborator Contribution | My partner has provided data on tsetse maternal investment and the opportunity to co-author a paper on maternal investment in wild tsetse. Results from this study form important background to our work on how maternal investment changes with age, and we are continuing data collection at the same study site in Zimbabwe. |
Impact | Publication: doi: 10.1098/rsos.171739 |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Stress (nutrition, heat, infection) in pregnancy and use of insect models (English with Benoit [U. Cincinnati] and Ponton [Maquarie]) |
Organisation | Macquarie University |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have been conducting experiments using simulated heatwaves to understand how pregnancy outcomes are affected by stress. I have developed research proposals to take this work further also considering infections and nutritional stress. |
Collaborator Contribution | Benoit (U Cincinnati) is helping to interpret the genomic data from this work. Ponton (Maquarie) is contributing expertise on understanding the immune response and microbiome in these interactions. |
Impact | Three main outcomes relevant that have emerged from this partnership: - Benoit and Ponton supported my successful application for a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (in Further Funding section) - Being involved in this work contributed to a new Bristol collaboration and PhD studentship in the Climate and Health Scheme - Ponton is co-supervisor of a Macquarie/EPSRC-funded cotutelle PhD on microbiome and host-pathogen interactions. - This experimental heatwave project was supported by a Royal Society Enhancement Award (in Further Funding section) |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Stress (nutrition, heat, infection) in pregnancy and use of insect models (English with Benoit [U. Cincinnati] and Ponton [Maquarie]) |
Organisation | University of Cincinnati |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have been conducting experiments using simulated heatwaves to understand how pregnancy outcomes are affected by stress. I have developed research proposals to take this work further also considering infections and nutritional stress. |
Collaborator Contribution | Benoit (U Cincinnati) is helping to interpret the genomic data from this work. Ponton (Maquarie) is contributing expertise on understanding the immune response and microbiome in these interactions. |
Impact | Three main outcomes relevant that have emerged from this partnership: - Benoit and Ponton supported my successful application for a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (in Further Funding section) - Being involved in this work contributed to a new Bristol collaboration and PhD studentship in the Climate and Health Scheme - Ponton is co-supervisor of a Macquarie/EPSRC-funded cotutelle PhD on microbiome and host-pathogen interactions. - This experimental heatwave project was supported by a Royal Society Enhancement Award (in Further Funding section) |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Advanced Science News blog |
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 | We were invited to write a popular science article based on our review published in BioEssays, which along with press releases for our article, facilitated the review having a wide reach (an Altmetric score of 74 - in the top 5% of outputs - with 65 tweets, across 9 countries). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/meet-the-tsetse-fly-the-supermom-of-the-insect-world/ |
Description | Article in Bristol Student Newspaper |
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 | An article about our BioEssays review was written by a Paleobiology Master's student, Alex Lawrence, and published in Epigram, the University of Bristol's Independent Student Newspaper. As there is no comments section in this newspaper it is difficult to estimate the impact, but given that the paper has almost 6,000 followers it is likely to have a wide reach across the University student community and beyond. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://epigram.org.uk/2020/12/05/the-insect-mothers-that-give-birth-to-babies-as-large-as-themselve... |
Description | BBC Radio Merseyside feature interview for SciFri |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Lee Haines (co-investigator at LSTM) was interviewed by Tony Snell about working with the largest breeding colony of tsetse flies in the UK. This interaction with the BBC staff resulted in her being asked if she would like to be the designated entomology specialist for the station. She agreed and was invited back to discuss a) the unprecedented midge outbreak in Scotland and what personal protection is advisable to use (June 11, 2018) and b) the practice of entomophagy in relation to Sainsbury's release of cricket chips and the I'm a Celebrity challenge (Nov 26, 2018). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/news-events/news/scifri-on-bbc-radio-merseyside |
Description | Blogs about Nature Communications article |
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 | As a result of the press release of our paper about insect responses to climate change (Weaving et al. 2022 Nat Comm) we were invited to write several blogs for a wider audience, which were published on The Conversation and the Nature Ecology and Evolution platforms. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://theconversation.com/insects-will-struggle-to-keep-pace-with-global-temperature-rise-which-co... |
Description | Bristol Science Film Festival |
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 | Our mini-documentary was part of the official selection of the Bristol Science Film Festival, which was screened online on July 16 and 17 2021. It was widely advertised and reached an international audience, and there was an online chat function where viewers could interact with both the film-maker and researchers involved in the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://brisscifilm.wordpress.com/2021/08/24/bsff-2021-official-selection/ |
Description | FutureLearn Vector-Borne Disease course |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Dr Lee Haines (LSTM) from our team contributed a lecture on the biology of tsetse flies for a freely available, massive online-open course on vector-borne disease, hosted on the FutureLearn website and developed as part of an initiative between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and its ARCTEC team, the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) and LSTM. Her lecture received almost 70 positive comments from course attendees. The course has had over 4000 people enrolled across the world including many lower and middle income countries, and it has received an overall review score of 4.8/5. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.futurelearn.com/info/press-releases/new-online-course-launched-on-the-control-of-vector-... |
Description | Hosted class of Art in Science students |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Hosted a class of Art in Science students (at Liverpool John Moores University) and discussed tsetse and its unique life history in terms of art and how to revisit science with artistic eyes. This is part the teaching curriculum where art students, oftentimes scientific illustrators, have a chance to interact with scientist. A few tsetse were brought out on display as well. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Interview on Bristol University Radio Station (BURST) NatureXposed programme |
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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Dr Sinead English was interviewed by two Bristol postgraduate students, Amy and Benito, who host a radio programme called Nature Xposed which covers different topics in natural history each week. She discussed why she was interested in tsetse life history strategies, and in particular the role of maternal investment in this unusual disease vector, during an interview which was interspersed with 'tsetse-inspired' music including songs about the tsetse fly as well as about mothers. She gave a broad explanation of the main aims of the BBSRC-funded project and discussed the link between studying flies in the wild, conducting experiments in the lab and developing predictive models. The presenters said it was one of the most popular episodes of their show with a high number of downloads afterwards, and that they personally were fascinated by the fact that these flies gave birth to live young - something they had not realised before planning for the show. On hearing the interview, another broadcaster contacted Sinead to express enthusiasm to interview her for a podcast which explores the link between biology and the law. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.mixcloud.com/benitowainwright/dr-sinead-english-tsetse-flies-and-meerkats/ |
Description | Liverpool LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) at the TATE |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Perception Machine was a working studio-laboratory at Tate Exchange presented by LJMU's MA Art in Science programme, bringing together artists and scientists to discover where our mutual interests intersect. It was a space to explore and engage with new interpretations of selected artworks on display in the first floor galleries at Tate Liverpool. Some of Liverpool's leading scientists worked with us to explore overlooked or hidden details of familiar works. Their particular 'lenses' of experience reveal unexpected insights. The Perception Machine was supported by a Liverpool LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) event that asked a group of artists and scientists to speak on their perceived role of art in science, and science in art. During 'The Perception Machine' LASER our speakers used their own research and experiences to discuss the possibilities that arise from Art and Science collaborations. Dr Lee Haines (co-investigator at LSTM) gave a talk in this event, which was streamed on YouTube for a wider audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaZkHSf4ow&list=PLD_jFJJqLKxLRm5lyKEGT0x5e66MjEIcn?dex=4&t=0s Most significant impacts: expanded collaboration with MA students at John Moores, invited to participate in MA Art in Science 7001MAAS Studio Practice module showcasing tsetse reproduction and introducing concepts of senescence and impact of climate change on the species (Nov 27, 2018). Have been invited to participate in the organisation of a series of events which cross Arts and Science at the Keller III gallery in Hannover (Germany) and two German art grants have now been submitted to the German funding bodies. The main aim of this event would be to bring down the "big invisible wall" between the wider audience, artists and scientists, using lectures, hands-on activities, music concerts and art projects as platforms. Scientists confirmed to contribute are all from University of Oxford and include Prof. Matthew Freeman, the head of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Prof. Ulrike Gruneberg from the Dunn School, and Dr. Richard Wheeler from the Nuffield Department of Medicine. If this goes forward (we´ll know in end February/mid March) a group of artists and Hannover local scientists would meet at the Keller III on the weekend of 4th/5th May 2019 to discuss ideas so that the artists could work on a piece inspired in this meeting/workshop. The artistic outcome would be presented at the final exhibition from 14th September to 6th October later this year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/news-events/events/lstm%E2%80%99s-dr-lee-haines-at-liverpool-laser-tate-liv... |
Description | Mini-documentary on YouTube |
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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | A professional film-maker created a short documentary to describe our project aims - to understand tsetse reproductive ecology, senescence and link to disease transmission - and our international and interdisciplinary approach. This was released on YouTube around the time of one of the major review papers from our project (31 October 2020), and has been viewed 290 times. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-dekOKCoRA |
Description | Mosquitoes to Microbes Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The workshop involved setting up a pop-up science lab within the centre to showcase tsetse flies and other insects under the microscope and in display cases, swabbing surfaces for microbes that may provide new antibiotics to fight antimicrobial resistance and encouraging students to create a scientific report, complete with hand drawn images of what they saw and encountered. Dr Lee Haines (research co-investigator at LSTM) was involved in this activity. Feedback on the event highlighted the effect it had both on audiences and the volunteers involved, see some examples below: • The ingenuity and excitement about swabbing for bacteria took me off guard. Who likes swabbing for critters? Well this group did, and it ended up being a competition about who could swab the most disgusting place imaginable. In the end, this quest produced something scientifically astounding - a bacterial isolate from an old magnifying glass that was a super-secreter of something antimicrobial. How amazing is that? These kids played a role in a scientific discovery that has the potential to become something life-saving. Without such outreach activities like this, and the enthusiasm of the participants, this discovery would never have happened. • When kids can interact with real scientists, it does several amazing things. In my case, it helped reverse a gender stereotype that all scientists are old white men. It also uncovers a whole new world, via microscopy, which unleashes the imagination. science engagement also helps people deal with fear. If you can understand and appreciate that which scares you, like bugs, then suddenly the fear is replaced by understanding and sometimes even a bit of wonder. Who knew tsetse and mosquito babies could hold such fascination?! • i still think of my interaction with one of the young adults helping us organise all the kids. he was just as amazed with the science as the kids and was synthesizing the information being told him. so many questions asked. it made me realise we still have such a long way to go to pass on our knowledge to everyone. after a few minutes of digesting what he had been told about mosquito biology, he asked me if mosquitoes are susceptible to diabetes. such far out thinking but with logic and reason - if you could get all the sugar feeding male mosquitoes to contract diabetes, then they all would die and would not be able to breed. how's that for a novel vector control strategy? why not?! why do we always bias our research to target female, blood feeding, mosquitoes? i walked away from this interaction with even more things to ponder as i returned to the lab. The impact of this activity was engaging an underprivileged community of kids, aged 8 - 17, in scientific discovery. Audience reported change in views as did colleagues who were volunteering. Several colleagues returned to help with other workshops. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/news-events/events/microbes-to-mosquitoes-workshop-at-centre-63 |
Description | National Insect Week display |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We hosted National Insect Week in the Life Sciences Building, I coordinate the event and also put on a display about insect growth (including about tsetse reproduction). Around 150 people attended the event, from nursery-school children through adult members of the public. We received extremely positive feedback, children in particular were excited to interact with the live insects on display and hear about the research going on in Biology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | News article on Proceedings 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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Our press release describing the evolutionary model of why mothers in their prime produce the best quality audience reached 13 news outlets across the world and achieved an altmetric score of 102. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://bristol.ac.uk/news/2022/february/parents-in-prime-produce-best-offspring.html |
Description | Podcast about Proceedings paper |
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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Dr Antoine Barreaux was interviewed in a podcast, Science Today, on BNR News Radio (the Netherlands) about the work he led on developing an evolutionary model about why tsetse mothers in their prime produce the best quality offspring. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bnr.nl/podcast/wetenschap-vandaag/10467885/kosten-baten-computermodel-op-basis-van-de-ts... |
Description | School visit (Bristol) |
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 | Researcher visited a primary school and talked to children across two classes (30 children each) about topics related to the grant research - maternal investment in insects. Some specimens were brought so children could interact closely with insects, and had the opportunity to ask questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
Description | School visit to LSTM as part of the London International Youth Science Forum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A group of students visited LSTM as part of the the London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF), which is a residential event at Imperial and the Royal Geographical Society, which involves "lecture demonstrations from leading scientists, visits to world class laboratories and universities combined with cultural interaction, with 500 students aged 16-21 years old from 70 countries" https://www.liysf.org.uk/. In many of the student feedback comments, they were particularly impressed by the remarkable tsetse life history and reproduction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at the Bristol Entomological Research Colloquium during National Insect Week |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A talk was given by Dr Sinead English during the Bristol Entomological Research Colloquium to explain her current research on viviparity in tsetse flies and cockroaches, and work on why senescence occurs in flies and the implications for understanding the diseases they transmit. The talk sparked questions about the unusual life histories of these animals afterwards, and several postgraduate students approached the speaker later to express interest in understanding more about live-bearing in insects and to visit the breeding colony. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk/events/bristol-entomological-research-colloquium |