A5015340386- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Plant and animal studies
- Diet and metabolism studies
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Dietary Effects on Health
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Organometallic Complex Synthesis and Catalysis
- Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Insect behavior and control techniques
The University of Sydney
2016-2025
Nepean Hospital
2024
Foundation Center
2023
University of Chicago
2023
Novo Nordisk Foundation
2023
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research
2023
Sydney Local Health District
2023
Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Scientific Instruments
2022
Anzac Research Institute
2017-2020
Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology
2017-2019
Recent models from theoretical physics have predicted that mass-migrating animal groups may share group-level properties, irrespective of the type animals in group. One key prediction is as density group increases, a rapid transition occurs disordered movement individuals within to highly aligned collective motion. Understanding such crucial control mobile swarming insect pests desert locust. We confirmed ordered and identified critical for onset coordinated marching locust nymphs. also...
Modest dietary restriction (DR) prolongs life in a wide range of organisms, spanning single-celled yeast to mammals. Here, we report the use recent techniques nutrition research quantify detailed relationship between diet, nutrient intake, lifespan, and reproduction Drosophila melanogaster. Caloric (CR) was not responsible for extending lifespan our experimental flies. Response surfaces fecundity were maximized at different protein-carbohydrate intakes, with longevity highest...
Summary 1. The science of nutritional ecology spans a wide range fields, including ecology, nutrition, behaviour, morphology, physiology, life history and evolutionary biology. But does have unique theoretical framework research program thus qualify as field in its own right? 2. We suggest that the distinctive feature is integrative nature, would benefit from more attention to formalizing quantitative for developing this. 3. Such framework, we propose, should satisfy three minimal...
Many herbivores and omnivores adjust their food selection behavior to regulate the intake of multiple nutrients. Carnivores, however, are generally assumed optimize rate prey capture rather than select according nutrient composition. We showed experimentally that invertebrate predators can forage selectively for protein lipids redress specific nutritional imbalances. This take place at different stages handling: The predator may among foods composition, eat more a if it is rich in nutrients...
We present and apply to data for insects, chickens rats a conceptual experimental framework studying nutrition as multi-dimensional phenomenon. The enables the unification within single geometrical model of several nutritionally relevant measures, including: optimal balance amounts nutrients required by an animal in given time (the intake target), animal's current state relation these requirements, available foods, ingested which are retained eliminated, performance. Animals balanced food,...
We have presented and tested in experiments with insects a new framework which integrates functional, mechanistic, ontogenetic comparative aspects of nutrition. The firstly identifies local optim (nutritional, intake growth ‘targets’) within multi-dimensional nutritional space, where each functionally relevant nutrient forms single dimension. positions these targets are located experimentally through studies feeding behaviour physiology their functional significance is using independent...
Mounting effective resistance against pathogens is costly in terms of energy and nutrients. However, it remains unexplored whether hosts can offset such costs by adjusting their dietary intake so as to recoup the specific resources involved. We test this possibility experimentally challenging caterpillars ( Spodoptera littoralis ) with a highly virulent entomopathogen (nucleopolyhedrovirus), under regimes varying content protein digestible carbohydrate. found that influenced both pathogen...
Desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, show extreme phenotypic plasticity, transforming between a little-seen solitarious phase and the notorious swarming gregarious depending on population density. An essential tipping point in process of swarm formation is initial switch from strong mutual aversion locusts to coherent group greater activity locusts. We here that serotonin, an evolutionarily conserved mediator neuronal responsible for this behavioral transformation, being both necessary if...
Summary 1. Diet and health are intimately linked recent studies have found that caloric restriction can affect immune function. However, when given a choice between diets differ in their macronutrient composition, pathogen–infected individuals select diet improves survival, suggesting the nutritional composition of diet, as well its calorie content, play role defence against disease. Moreover, change infected, it suggests is optimal for growth not immunity, leading to trade‐offs. 2....
An important goal in nutritional ecology is to understand what governs the diet selection of free-living animals. Relevant information however scarce because considerable challenges collecting and interpreting such data. Here we use recent advances theory analyze data on food nutrient intake by wild spider monkeys (Ateles chamek). We show that hypotheses traditionally used explain vertebrate selection, as energy or protein maximization, avoidance plant secondary metabolites, cannot observed...
The niche concept is central to ecology but often depicted descriptively through observing associations between organisms and habitats. Here, we argue for the importance of mechanistically modelling niches based on functional traits explore possibilities achieving this integration three theoretical frameworks: biophysical (BE), geometric framework nutrition (GF) dynamic energy budget (DEB) models. These frameworks are fundamentally conservation laws thermodynamics, describing mass balance at...
A significant contributor to the rising rates of human obesity is an increase in energy intake. The ‘protein leverage hypothesis’ proposes that a dominant appetite for protein conjunction with decline ratio fat and carbohydrate diet drives excess intake could therefore promote development obesity. Our aim was test lean humans by disguising macronutrient composition foods offered subjects under ad libitum feeding conditions. Energy intakes hunger ratings were measured 22 studied over three...