Rob Knell

@[email protected]
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218 Posts
Evolutionary ecologist (whatever that means). Prof. of #Zoology at the University of Hull. #Population #ecology / #evolution / #sexual #selection / #adaptation / #Rstats / #beetles / occasionally #dinosaurs / #scuba diving / #triathlon / #photography
Show threadRob KnellMar 16, 2024

4) Dunno... but alternative tactics are awfully common and there are big clades (e.g. dynastid beetles, onthophagine horned dung beetles) where it seems to be the norm. Not the distribution you'd expect if it was increasing extinction rates?

Lots more to do! Watch this space.

Show threadRob KnellMar 16, 2024
3) Eventually we worked out what as going on. If low-quality males are excluded from 'normal' competition for matings completely then the pool of competing males is smaller and the best males get an even larger proportion of matings, so the alternative tactic increases reproductive skew. Is this reflective of what happens in the real world?
Show threadRob KnellMar 16, 2024
2) We used an individual-based model to simulate populations faced with a changing environment with and without males pursuing alternative tactics. Turns out that yes, sneak males do impede adaptation and increase extinction, but only if they are facultative sneaks. If sneaks are obligate, according to our model, the rate of adaptation increases and extinction is less likely. Huh? This result is so weird and counter-intuitive that I thought there was an error and sat on the model it for a year.
Rob KnellMar 16, 2024

1) New paper out! Alternative reproductive tactics and evolutionary rescue—do low-condition males that acquire matings by other means affect the rate of adaptation? Intuitively you'd think yes: some of these males will have poor condition because of maladaptive alleles or a high mutational load, so if the alternative tactic increase the input of their genes into the next generation that should be A Bad Thing

https://academic.oup.com/evlett/advance-article/doi/10.1093/evlett/qrae010/7630433?searchresult=1

Alternative reproductive tactics and evolutionary rescue

Abstract. Almost all life on earth is facing environmental change, and understanding how populations will respond to these changes is of urgent importance. One

OUP Academic
Rob KnellNov 22, 2023
PhD studentship on ranavirus, eDNA and a soupçon of modelling now up on http://findaphd.com, please pass on to any froggy/pathogen types who might be interested. Any questions drop me a line. https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/nerc-panorama-dtp-eco-evo-dynamics-of-ranavirus-infection-in-uk-amphibian-communities/?p165393
PhD Programmes, Research Projects & Studentships in the UK & Europe

FindAPhD is a comprehensive guide to PhD studentships and postgraduate research degrees

www.FindAPhD.com
Rob KnellNov 20, 2023
Dr. Korinna AllhoffNov 20, 2023

🚨 Heads up, dear fellow modellers! 🚨

It's not official yet, but there will be a vacancy in my #ecoevo #modelling team starting early next year for at least 3 years. It's 50% university funded and open for either a PhD student or a postdoc. More info will follow soon - but you are of course welcome to get in touch now in case you are interested! 😉

#PhDposition
#Postdoc
#TheoreticalEcology
#EcologicalModelling
#Yomos
#ecoevojobs

Rob KnellOct 20, 2023
Know someone who's keen on amphibians, conservation, eDNA or modelling? #PhD #studentship on spatio-temporal #ecology and #modelling of #ranavirus infection in UK amphibians available. https://panorama-dtp.ac.uk/research/eco-evo-dynamics-of-ranavirus-infection-in-uk-amphibian-communities/
Eco-evo dynamics of ranavirus infection in UK amphibian communities - NERC Panorama DTP

In the late 1980s members of the public in the UK began reporting unusual mass mortalities of common frogs (Rana temporaria). These were caused by a virus from the FV3 group of ranaviruses, and FV3 ranaviruses are now recognised as a significant threat to amphibians in the UK, especially to common frogs which have suffered ... Read more

NERC Panorama DTP
Rob KnellOct 19, 2023
Things you find clearing your house out #Comradesmarathon #Palaeolithic
Rob KnellOct 6, 2023

If you're a UK scientist please consider adding your name to this letter to the secretary of state for science regarding her recent remarks on "kicking woke ideology out of science". Thanks!

https://hull.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/edi_in_science

Letter to Secretary of State re EDI in science

Online survey BOS

BOS online surveys
Rob KnellSep 25, 2023

Lost, frightened birds blown across the Atlantic and arrive in utterly foreign land bereft of conspecifics where most of them will die. Birders, who love birds, are ecstatic.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/25/canada-warbler-magnolia-uber-rare-american-birds-land-in-uk-aoe

‘In total shock’: birdwatchers amazed as ‘uber-rare’ American birds land in UK

Birders have flocked in their hundreds to see the songbirds, blown across the Atlantic by Hurricane Lee

The Guardian