Dr Amy Leedale's Outputs (14)

Kin recognition for incest avoidance in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis (2024)
Journal Article
Leedale, A. E., Vullioud, P., Seager, D., Zöttl, M., Glauser, G., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2024). Kin recognition for incest avoidance in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291(2033), Article 20241138. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1138

Across taxa, breeding among close relatives is usually avoided because it incurs fitness costs to offspring. Incest is often averted through the dispersal of either sex from the natal area to breed. In some philopatric species, association among rela... Read More about Kin recognition for incest avoidance in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis.

Evidence for inbreeding depression in captive Damaraland mole-rats. (2024)
Journal Article
Seager, D., Leedale, A. E., Thorley, J. B., Vullioud, P., Zöttl, M., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2024). Evidence for inbreeding depression in captive Damaraland mole-rats. Biology Letters, 20(10), 20240407. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0407

Mating between closely related individuals can result in a reduction in offspring fitness, known as inbreeding depression. Here, we investigate whether breeding with close relatives affects the reproductive output of parents and the development of th... Read More about Evidence for inbreeding depression in captive Damaraland mole-rats..

The Evolution of Kin Discrimination Across the Tree of Life (2024)
Journal Article
Green, J. P., Biernaskie, J. M., Mee, M. C., & Leedale, A. E. (in press). The Evolution of Kin Discrimination Across the Tree of Life. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 55, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102221-051057

Kin discrimination, the differential treatment of conspecifics based on kinship, occurs across the tree of life, from animals to plants to fungi to bacteria. When kin and nonkin interact, the ability to identify kin enables individuals to increase th... Read More about The Evolution of Kin Discrimination Across the Tree of Life.

Impacts of anthropogenic sounds on bird call activities: A case study in Aachen, Germany (2023)
Journal Article
Engel, M., Leedale, A., Young, R., Davies, W., & Wood, M. (2023). Impacts of anthropogenic sounds on bird call activities: A case study in Aachen, Germany. https://doi.org/10.61782/fa.2023.0912

Since the definition of the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC, various tools, reports, and action plans have
been developed to assess and improve the sonic environment according to human perception and well-being. Few methodologies and report... Read More about Impacts of anthropogenic sounds on bird call activities: A case study in Aachen, Germany.

An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil (2023)
Journal Article
Jayne Glover, N., Elizabeth Wilson, L., Leedale, A., & Jehle, R. (2023). An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil. PloS one, 18(6), e0285084. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285084

Detection dogs are increasingly used to locate cryptic wildlife species, but their use for amphibians is still rather underexplored. In the present paper we focus on the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), a European species which is experiencin... Read More about An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil.

An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil (2023)
Journal Article
Glover Id, N. J., Wilson, L. E., Leedale ld, A., & Jehle Id, R. (2023). An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil. PLoS ONE, 18, Article e0285084. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.+pone.0285084

Detection dogs are increasingly used to locate cryptic wildlife species, but their use for amphibians is still rather underexplored. In the present paper we focus on the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), a European species which is experiencin... Read More about An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at distance and through soil.

Coordination of care by breeders and helpers in the cooperatively breeding long-tailed tit (2022)
Journal Article
Halliwell, C., Beckerman, A., Germain, M., Patrick, S., Leedale, A., & Hatchwell, B. (2022). Coordination of care by breeders and helpers in the cooperatively breeding long-tailed tit. Behavioral Ecology, 33(4), 844-858. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arac048

In species with biparental and cooperative brood care, multiple carers cooperate by contributing costly investments to raise a shared brood. However, shared benefits and individual costs also give rise to conflict among carers conflict among carers o... Read More about Coordination of care by breeders and helpers in the cooperatively breeding long-tailed tit.

Odour-based social recognition in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis (2021)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Thorley, J., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2021). Odour-based social recognition in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis. Animal Behaviour, 179, 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.019

The ability to discriminate between conspecifics functions in mate choice, kin-selected cooperation and territory defence. In mammals, olfaction plays a key role in such social interactions. Olfactory cues may be particularly important for subterrane... Read More about Odour-based social recognition in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis.

Cost, risk, and avoidance of inbreeding in a cooperatively breeding bird (2020)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Simeoni, M., Sharp, S., Green, J., Slate, J., Lachlan, R., …Hatchwell, B. (2020). Cost, risk, and avoidance of inbreeding in a cooperatively breeding bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(27), 15724-15730. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1918726117

Inbreeding is often avoided in natural populations by passive processes such as sex-biased dispersal. But, in many social animals, opposite-sexed adult relatives are spatially clustered, generating a risk of incest and hence selection for active inbr... Read More about Cost, risk, and avoidance of inbreeding in a cooperatively breeding bird.

Helping decisions and kin recognition in long-tailed tits: is call similarity used to direct help towards kin? (2020)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Lachlan, R., Robinson, E., & Hatchwell, B. (2020). Helping decisions and kin recognition in long-tailed tits: is call similarity used to direct help towards kin?. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences, 375(1802), https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0565

Most cooperative breeders live in discrete family groups, but in a minority, breeding populations comprise extended social networks of conspecifics that vary in relatedness. Selection for effective kin recognition may be expected for more related ind... Read More about Helping decisions and kin recognition in long-tailed tits: is call similarity used to direct help towards kin?.

Kith or kin? Familiarity as a cue to kinship in social birds (2020)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Li, J., & Hatchwell, B. (2020). Kith or kin? Familiarity as a cue to kinship in social birds. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8(77), https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00077

Interacting with relatives provides opportunities for fitness benefits via kin-selected cooperation, but also creates potential costs through kin competition and inbreeding. Therefore, a mechanism for the discrimination of kin from non-kin is likely... Read More about Kith or kin? Familiarity as a cue to kinship in social birds.

Fine-scale genetic structure and helping decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird (2018)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Sharp, S., Simeoni, M., Robinson, E., & Hatchwell, B. (2018). Fine-scale genetic structure and helping decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird. Molecular Ecology, 27(7), 1714-1726. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14553

In animal societies, characteristic demographic and dispersal patterns may lead to genetic structuring of populations, generating the potential for kin selection to operate. However, even in genetically structured populations, social interactions may... Read More about Fine-scale genetic structure and helping decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird.

Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) increase the whistle part of their song in response to simulated territorial intrusion (2015)
Journal Article
Leedale, A., Collins, S., & de Kort, S. (2015). Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) increase the whistle part of their song in response to simulated territorial intrusion. Ethology, 121(4), 403-409. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12349

Bird song is a sexually selected signal that serves two main functions, attracting a mate and deterring rivals. Different signal parameters may be important in advertising to females compared to advertising to rival males. Species solve the problem o... Read More about Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) increase the whistle part of their song in response to simulated territorial intrusion.

Drosophila male sex peptide inhibits siesta sleep and promotes locomotor activity in the post-mated female (2009)
Journal Article
Isaac, R., Li, C., Leedale, A., & Shirras, A. (2009). Drosophila male sex peptide inhibits siesta sleep and promotes locomotor activity in the post-mated female. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1678), 65-70. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1236

Quiescence, or a sleep-like state, is a common and important feature of the daily lives of animals from both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa, suggesting that sleep appeared early in animal evolution. Recently, Drosophila melanogaster has been shown... Read More about Drosophila male sex peptide inhibits siesta sleep and promotes locomotor activity in the post-mated female.