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May 2016

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2 discussions

FW: Reminder: Extra Monday Seminar- Natalie Pilakouta
by Phyllis Lee 23 May '16

23 May '16

-----Original Message----- From: Luc Bussiere Sent: 23 May 2016 08:30 Subject: Reminder: Extra Monday Seminar- Natalie Pilakouta Hi everyone, Just a quick reminder that we have an extra seminar today at noon in room 3A142 by Natalie Pilakouta from Edinburgh University (see below for details). Please come along if you can! Thanks, Luc > ** > > Next Monday, May 23 (noon in room 3A142), I am pleased to host Natalie Pilakouta (http://www.nataliepilakouta.com/) from the University of Edinburgh, who will deliver one last seminar for our spring series, titled "Maternal effects alter the magnitude of inbreeding depression in the offspring” (short abstract below). Natalie is a really engaging speaker, and her research features both fascinating questions (e.g., on the evolution of parental care & inbreeding) and charismatic creatures (who doesn’t love burying beetles?). > > I will take her for lunch after the seminar, and anyone is welcome to join us (let me know by Monday morning). She is also keen to meet with other Stirling academics during her visit — let me know if you want me to arrange a meeting. > > Thanks! > > Luc > > Maternal effects alter the magnitude of inbreeding depression in the offspring > > A maternal effect is a causal influence of the maternal phenotype on the offspring phenotype over and above any direct effects of genes that the offspring inherit from their mother. There is abundant evidence that maternal effects can have a major impact on offspring fitness. Yet, no previous study has investigated the potential role of maternal effects in influencing the severity of inbreeding depression in the offspring. Inbreeding depression is a reduction in the fitness of inbred offspring relative to outbred offspring. We tested whether maternal effects due to body size alter the magnitude of inbreeding depression in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We found that inbreeding depression was more severe for offspring of large females than offspring of small females. This might be due to differences in how small and large females invested in inbred broods because of their different prospects for future breeding opportunities. This work provides the first evidence for a causal effect of the maternal phenotype on the severity of inbreeding depression in the offspring. We propose that in natural populations that are subject to inbreeding, maternal effects may drive variation in the magnitude of inbreeding depression and consequently contribute to variation in the strength and direction of selection for inbreeding avoidance. -- Luc Bussière Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA United Kingdom Voice: +44 (0)1786 467758 Fax: +44 (0)1786 467843 Mobile: +44 (0)79 1384 9238 This is a Calm Inbox: email is checked once in the AM and once in the PM. Learn why at www.calmbox.me

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18.05.16: Dr. Betsy Herrelko - Evidence-based animal management
by Eoin O'Sullivan 17 May '16

17 May '16

Dear BERGers, Tomorrow we will have our last meeting before the summer break with Dr. Betsy Herrelko returning to BERG to talk about: "Evidence-based animal management: Incorporating husbandry research into life at the zoo (aka: what Betsy's been up to in her post Stirling life) ". We will be going for dinner with Betsy after the meeting so if anyone is interested in joining us, please let me know before tomorrow. As usual, we will be having some drinks and nibbles in the psychology common room from 5:20pm. I look forward to seeing you all then! All the best, Eoin

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