A5055367411- Plant and animal studies
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Health disparities and outcomes
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Vibrio bacteria research studies
- Plant Reproductive Biology
- Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
- Agricultural Innovations and Practices
- Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Animal Diversity and Health Studies
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
Mpala Research Center and Wildlife Foundation
2017-2025
Stony Brook University
2014-2025
Princeton University
2019-2024
Great Basin College
2024
Harvard University
2008-2023
Ajuntament de Barcelona
2023
Institut Botànic de Barcelona
2023
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
2023
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
2016-2022
National Agency for National Parks
2022
Abstract The global increase in the proportion of land cultivated with pollinator‐dependent crops implies increased reliance on pollination services. Yet agricultural practices themselves can profoundly affect pollinator supply and pollination. Extensive monocultures are associated a limited reduced pollination, whereas diversification enhance both. Therefore, areas where diversity has increased, or at least been maintained, may better sustain high more stable productivity crops. Given that...
Cultivation of pollinator-dependent crops has expanded globally, increasing our reliance on insect pollination. This essential ecosystem service is provided by a wide range managed and wild pollinators whose abundance diversity are thought to be in decline, threatening sustainable food production. The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) amongst the best-monitored insects but state other less well known. Here, we review status trends all based publicly accessible databases published...
Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that thought to have evolved with plants dispersed throughout the world in response key geological events. However, these hypotheses not been extensively tested because comprehensive phylogenetic framework datasets for butterfly larval hosts global distributions lacking. We sequenced 391 genes from nearly 2,300 species, sampled 90 countries 28 specimen collections, reconstruct new phylogenomic tree of butterflies representing 92% all...
Abstract Two new species of gall midges are described whose larvae feed on the small morphotype Guinea grass Megathyrsus maximus in Africa. Arabukodiplosis basalis Kolesik, gen. et sp. nov. causes galls at base plant's crown Kenya and vesicaria blister stems South Africa Kenya. Description morphology sequence a fragment COI mitochondrial gene insects provided. A genus is erected to contain two species. belongs supertribe Cecidomyiidi its closest relative Mitodiplosis Kieffer, 1914, an...
Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) are considered important pollinators in tropical regions, but the frequency and degree of reciprocal specialization interactions between hawkmoths flowers remain poorly understood. Detailed observations at two sites Kenya over a two-year period indicate that adult routinely polyphagous opportunistic, regardless their proboscis length. About 700 individuals 13 hawkmoth species were observed visiting wide range plant study sites, including 25 taxa appear to...
Neo-sex chromosomes are found in many taxa, but the forces driving their emergence and spread poorly understood. The female-specific neo-W chromosome of African monarch (or queen) butterfly Danaus chrysippus presents an intriguing case study because it is restricted to a single ‘contact zone’ population, involves putative colour patterning supergene, co-occurs with infection by male-killing endosymbiont Spiroplasma. We investigated origin evolution this system using whole genome sequencing....
Supergenes maintain adaptive clusters of alleles in the face genetic mixing. Although usually attributed to inversions, supergenes can be complex, and reconstructing precise processes that led recombination suppression their timing is challenging. We investigated origin BC supergene, which controls variation warning coloration African monarch butterfly, Danaus chrysippus . By generating chromosome-scale assemblies for all three alleles, we identified multiple structural differences. Most...
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise worldwide. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes among a long list of "lifestyle" that were rare throughout human history but now common. The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis posits humans evolved in environments radically differ from those we currently experience; consequently, traits once advantageous may be "mismatched" disease causing. At genetic level, this predicts loci with selection will exhibit "genotype by environment"...
Abstract Global biodiversity gradients are generally expected to reflect greater species replacement closer the equator. However, empirical validation of global largely relies on vertebrates, plants, and other less diverse taxa. Here we assess temporal spatial dynamics arthropod using a beta-diversity framework. Sampling includes 129 sampling sites whereby malaise traps deployed monitor changes in communities. Overall, encountered more than 150,000 unique barcode index numbers (BINs) (i.e....
The African orchid flora has a high proportion of species with long-spurred white flowers. Few data exist to test the prediction that this floral syndrome pattern reflects an important role for hawkmoth pollination in evolution and ecology these orchids. biology five aerangoid (Rangaeris amaniensis, Aerangis brachycarpa, A. confusa, thomsonii, kotschyana) was investigated Kenya. Four have long spurs (>10 cm) were pollinated by Agrius convolvuli Coelonia fulvinotata. which relatively short...
Sexually antagonistic selection can drive both the evolution of sex chromosomes and speciation itself. The tropical butterfly African Queen, Danaus chrysippus , shows two such sexually phenotypes, first being sex-linked colour pattern, second, susceptibility to a male-killing, maternally inherited mollicute, Spiroplasma ixodeti which causes approximately 100% mortality in male eggs instar larvae. Importantly, this is not affected by infection status parent horizontal transmission unknown. In...
Migratory insects are key players in ecosystem functioning and services, but their spatiotemporal distributions typically poorly known. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) may be used to predict species seasonal distributions, the resulting hypotheses should eventually validated by field data. The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) performs multigenerational migrations between Europe Africa has become a model for insect movement ecology. While annual migration cycle of this is well...
The "mismatch" between evolved human physiology and Western lifestyles is thought to explain the current epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in industrialized societies. However, this hypothesis has been difficult test because few populations concurrently span ancestral modern lifestyles. To address gap, we collected interview biomarker data from individuals Turkana ancestry who practice subsistence-level, nomadic pastoralism (the way life for group), as well no longer live urban areas....
Supergenes can evolve when recombination-suppressing mechanisms like inversions promote co-inheritance of alleles at two or more polymorphic loci that affect a complex trait. Theory shows such genetic architectures be favoured under balancing selection local adaptation in the face gene flow, but they also bring costs associated with reduced opportunities for recombination. These may turn offset by rare ‘gene flux’ between inverted and ancestral haplotypes, range possible outcomes. We aimed...
The discovery of novel antibiotics to tackle the growing threat antimicrobial resistance is impeded by difficulties in accessing full biosynthetic potential microorganisms. development new tools unlock biosynthesis cryptic bacterial natural products will greatly increase repertoire product scaffolds. Here, we report a strategy for ectopic expression pathway-specific positive regulators that can be rapidly applied activate lanthipeptide gene clusters. This allowed antibiotic directly from...
Hypolimnas misippus is a Batesian mimic of the toxic African Queen butterfly (Danaus chrysippus). Female H. butterflies use two major wing patterning loci (M and A) to imitate three color morphs D. chrysippus found in different regions Africa. In this study, we examine evolution M locus identify it as an example adaptive atavism. This phenomenon involves morphological reversion ancestral character that results phenotype. We show has re-evolved pattern present other species, repurposing for...