Dr Andrew F Russell
Tel: +44 (0)114 222 0122
Fax: +44 (0)114 222 0002
email : a.f.russell@sheffield.ac.uk
Career
Royal Society University Research Fellow, University of Sheffield (2003-present)
Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of Cambridge (1999-2003)
Ph.D, University of Sheffield (1995-1999)
RA, University of Sheffield (1994-1995)
B.Sc, University of Glasgow (1993)
Model Systems & Key Research Interests
- Maternal allocation and differential allocation in cooperative birds and mammals
My main research is aimed at (1) investigating how helper number and predictability influence maternal allocation of resources in the eggs of cooperatively breeding birds and the young offspring of cooperatively breeding mammals; and (2) examining the fitness consequences of such differential allocation.
- Evolution of cooperative breeding in birds and mammals, including humans
Cooperative breeding normally arises when offspring delay dispersal and help to rear (half)siblings. I am interested in the ecological and life-history factors that influence the evolution and dissolution of families, as well as the fitness benefits that individuals gain from helping to rear the offspring of others. I am currently using energetics in combination with longitudinal data to test between indirect and direct models of fitness benefits.
- Individual contributions to cooperation in vertebrates
In cooperative societies, individuals vary markedly in their contributions to cooperation, with some individuals contributing nothing and others contributing more than the parents. Accounting for this variation and explaining why aggressive interactions between individuals are surprisingly rare despite the variation in care is critical to understanding the factors that stabilise cooperative societies. We know that variation is caused, in part, by helper differences in age, sex, and condition, but these terms have low explanatory power. Consequently, I am currently interested in the relative importance of genetics, hormones and maternal effects in explaining the observed differences.
Current Collaborations
University of Sheffield: Ben Hatchwell & Virpi Lummaa
Macquarie University, Sydney: Simon Griffith
University of Cambridge: Tim Clutton-Brock, Becky Kilner, Rufus Johnstone
University of Falmouth, Exeter: Mike Cant
University of Wollongong: Bill Buttemer & Lee Astheimer
Australian National University: Naomi Langmore
Trondheim University, Norway: Jon Wright & Ani Kazem
Current PHD Students
Mirkka Lahdenperä: Fitness benefits of grand-parenting in humans.
University of Turku, Finland (Funded by Wihuri Foundation).
Jointly supervised with Virpi Lummaa
Beth Woodward: Maintenance of cooperation in migratory long-tailed tits.
University of Sheffield (Funded by NERC).
Jointly supervised with Ben Hatchwell
Marie-France Barrette: Hormones & cooperative behaviour in meerkats.
Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Jointly supervised with Marco Festa-Bianchet
Dean Portelli: Ecology and cooperative behaviour of Hall's babbler.
University of New South Wales, Australia.
Jointly supervised with Simon Griffith
Lucy Browning: Personality & cooperation in chestnut-crowned babblers.
University of Cambridge (Funded by NERC).
Jointly supervised with Nick Davies
Ian Rickard: Consequences of early life conditions on fitness in humans.
University of Sheffield (Funded by NERC).
Jointly supervised with Virpi Lummaa
Duncan Gillespie: Post-reproductive senescence and lifespan in women.
University of Sheffield (Funded by White Rose Consortium).
Jointly supervised with Virpi Lummaa
Enrico Sorato: Genetic structure of chestnut-crowned babblers
Macquarie University (funded by Macquarie University)
Jointly supervised by Simon Griffith
Recent Publications (2001 to date)
Russell AF & Lummaa V 2009. Maternal effects in cooperative breeders: from hymenopterans to humans. Philosophical Transactions of London Series B-Biological Sciences. 364, 1143-1167.
Russell AF, Langmore NE, Gardner JL & Kilner RM. 2008 Maternal investment tactics in superb fairy-wrens. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences. 275, 29-36.
Russell AF, Langmore NE, Cockburn A, Astheimer LB & Kilner RM 2007. Reduced egg investment can conceal helper effects in cooperative birds. Science 317, 941-944.
Lummaa V, Pettay J & Russell AF 2007. Male twins reduce fitness of female co-twins in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 104, 10915-10920.
Russell AF, Young AJ, Spong G, Jordan NR & Clutton-Brock TH. 2007. Helpers increase the reproductive potential of offspring in cooperative meerkats. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 274, 513-520.
Clutton-Brock TH, Hodge SJ, Spong G, Russell AF, Jordan NR, Bennett NG & Manser MB. 2006. Sexual selection among females in cooperative meerkats. Nature 444, 1065-1068.
Young AJ, Carlson AA, Montfort SL, Russell AF, Bennett NG & Clutton-Brock TH 2006. Stress and the suppression of subordinate reproduction in cooperative meerkats. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 103, 1205-1210.
Lahdenperä M, Lummaa V, Helle S, Tremblay M & Russell AF 2004. Fitness benefits of prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in women. Nature 428, 178-181.
Russell AF, Carlson AA, McIlrath GM, Jordan NR & Clutton-Brock TH. 2004. Adaptive size modification by dominant female meerkats. Evolution 58, 1600-1607.
Russell AF, Sharpe LL, Brotherton PNM & Clutton-Brock TH 2003. Cost minimization by helpers in cooperative vertebrates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.100, 3333-3338.
Russell AF, Brotherton PNM, McIlrath GM, Sharpe LL & Clutton-Brock TH 2003. Breeding success in cooperative meerkats: effects of helper number and maternal state. Behavioural Ecology 14, 486-492.
Clutton-Brock TH, Russell AF, Young AJ, Sharpe LL, McIlrath GM & Balmforth Z 2002. Evolution and development of sex differences in cooperative behavior in meerkats. Science 297, 253-256.
Russell AF, Clutton-Brock TH, Brotherton PNM, Sharpe LL, McIlrath GM, Dalerum FD, Cameron EZ & Barnard JA 2002. Factors affecting pup growth and survival in cooperatively breeding meerkats Suricata suricatta. Journal of Animal Ecology 71, 700-709.
Cunningham EJA & Russell AF. 2001. Differential allocation of sex hormones in avian eggs: reply. Nature 410, 548-549.
Clutton-Brock TH, Russell AF, Sharpe LL, Brotherton PNM, McIlrath GM, White S & Cameron EZ. 2001. Effects of helpers on juvenile development and survival in meerkats. Science 293, 2446-2449.
Clutton-Brock TH, Brotherton PNM, Russell AF, O´Riain MJ, Gaynor D, Kansky R, Manser M, Sharpe L, McIlrath GM, Small T, Moss A & Monfort S 2001. Cooperation, conflict, and concession in meerkat groups. Science 201, 43-48.
Russell AF 2001. Dispersal costs set the scene for helping in an atypical avian cooperative breeder. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 268, 95-99.
Russell AF & Hatchwell BJ 2001 Experimental evidence for kin-biased helping in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 268, 2169-2174.
Cunningham EJA & Russell AF 2000. Egg investment is affected by male attractiveness in mallards. Nature 404, 74-77.
Book Chapters
Cant MA, Johnstone RA & Russell AF 2009. Reproductive skew and the evolution of menopause, In: Reproductive skew in vertebrates (ed R Hager & CB Jones), Cambridge University Press. In Press.
Russell AF. 2004. Mammals: comparisons & contrasts: In Ecology of Cooperative breeding birds, vol II (Eds WD Koenig & J Dickinson). Ch 14. University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Teaching
APS126 Behaviour of humans and other animals
APS320 Sex and reproduction
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