Dr. Phil Byrne

Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellow - University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Private Bag 3 WITS 2050 South Africa   Email: Phillip.Byrne@anu.edu.au Website: http://www.anu.edu.au/BoZo/Scott/KeoghLab/PhilByrneHome.html

Background

I became fascinated with biology as an undergraduate and between 1992 and 1995 completed a Bachelor of Science degree, with double major in Botany and Zoology, at the University of Western Australia. In 1996 I studied for an honours degree in Zoology. During this year I worked on two projects. The first was an investigation of the reproductive behaviour of the acoustically orienting parasitic fly Homotrixa allenii. During this study I attained skills in behavioural analysis, the collection of data under field and laboratory conditions and animal husbandry. The second was an investigation of the eco-physiology of West Australian house spiders. This research was multi-disciplinary in nature so I attained skills in a broad range of fields, including population ecology, physiology and taxonomy. I also developed my skills in experimental design.

In 1997 my attention turned strongly towards Behavioural Ecology and I commenced my Ph.D. investigating the evolutionary significance of Sperm Competition in Australian anuran amphibians. My project was supervised by Professor Dale Roberts and Professor Leigh Simmons. Prof. Roberts is an outstanding Herpetologist and Evolutionary Biologist with over 25 years of experience regarding the ecology, taxonomy and evolution of Australian anurans. Prof. Simmons is a world leader in the fields of Behavioural Ecology, Sexual Selection and Sperm Competition.

Research for my doctorate involved three components: 1) a comparative analysis between 190 species of Australian frogs to determine how gametic investment by males has evolved in response to mating system structure and risk of sperm competition 2) an investigation of the costs and genetic benefits of polyandry and multiple paternity in the West Australian myobatrachid frog Crinia georgiana and 3) an empirical evaluation of models of sperm allocation for external fertilisers using C. georgiana as a model species. This work has provided me with an in-depth knowledge of current models regarding sperm competition, sexual selection and sexual conflict and strong familiarity with empirical work conducted in these areas. It has also resulted in me being proficient in behavioural observation and quantification and having solid experience in performing manipulative, controlled laboratory and field experiments.

After submitting my Ph.D. I obtained employment as a postdoctoral researcher for Prof. William Rice at the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California in Santa Barbara. William Rice is a world renowned Evolutionary Biologist, Quantitative geneticist and Bio-statistician. Following this I took up an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Australian National University hosted by Assoc.Prof. Scott Keogh who is a top molecular systematist and ecologist. For the first 6 months of this position I returned to UCSB to continue my work in the Rice lab. Following completion of this work I returned to ANU where my focus remains on questions relating to the evolution of polyandry but my study animal switched back to frogs. I am currently working in South Africa at the University of Witwatersrand in the lab of Assoc. Prof. Martin Whiting, a world expert on sexual selection in reptiles. In his lab I am working on sexual selection of foam nesting frogs. In mid-2007 I will start a five year Monash Research Fellowship at Monash University.

Research Interests

My primary interests are within the fields of Evolutionary Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Sexual Selection. Specifically, I am interested in the evolution of mating systems. My interest in this field lies in several areas:

• the evolution of polyandry
• the potential for female choice to operate via sperm competition
• the fitness consequences of sperm competition to males and females
• the proximate mechanisms which determine the outcome of sperm competition
• the evolutionary influence of sperm competition upon the morphology, physiology and behaviour of animals
• the evolutionary implications of sexual conflict
• the evolution of male-mate choice
  

Awards and Scholarships

• Monash University Research Fellowship (2007-2011).
• Claude Leon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa)(2006-2007).
• Australian Research Council Postdoctoral fellowship (Australian National University)(2002-2005).
• Australian Postgraduate Award (University of Western Australia)(1997-2000).
• Jean Rodgerson Postgraduate Scholarship (awarded for high achievement in undergraduate study)(1997-2000).
• Faculty of Science (U.W.A.) Travel Assistance Award (2000).
• University of Western Australia Postgraduate Research Travel Award (1999).
• Peter Rawlinson Postgraduate Award for best oral presentation at the Australian Society of Herpetologists conference in Queensland Australia (1998).
• Commendation from the Dean of Science (U.W.A.) for an oral presentation given at the University of Western Australia Postgraduate conference held in Perth Australia (1998).

Research Publications

16. Byrne, P.G. and Keogh, J.S. 2006. Terrestrial toadlets use chemosignals to recognise conspecifics, locate mates and strategically adjust calling behaviour. Animal Behaviour. In Press.

15. Byrne, P.G. 2006. Strategic male calling behavior in an Australian terrestrial toadlet (Pseudophryne bibronii). Copeia. In Press.

14. Rice, W. R., A. D. Stewart, E. H. Morrow, J. E. Linder, N. Orteiza, and P. G. Byrne. 2006. Assessing sexual conflict in the Drosophila melanogaster laboratory model system. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 361 (1466): 287-299.

13. Byrne, P.G. and Rice, W.R. Evidence that costs influence male-mate choicein the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 273(1589): 917-922.

12. Friberg, U., Lew, T, Byrne, P.G. and Rice, W.R. Assessing the potential for an ongoing arms race within and between the sexes: Selection and heritable variation. Evolution 59:1540-1551. PDF.

11. Byrne, P.G. and Rice, W.R. 2005. Remating in Drosophila melanogaster: an examination of the trading-up and intrinsic male-quality hypotheses. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 18:1324-1331. PDF.

10. Byrne, P.G. 2004. Male sperm expenditure under sperm competition risk and intensity in quacking frogs. Behavioural Ecology 15 (5) 857-863. PDF.

9. Byrne, P.G. and Roberts, J.D. 2004. Intrasexual selection and group spawning in quacking frogs (Crinia georgiana). Behavioural Ecology 15 (5) 872-882. PDF.

8. Byrne, P.G., L.W. Simmons and Roberts, J.D. 2003. Sperm competition and the evolution of gamete morphology in frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 270: 2079-2086. PDF.

7. Byrne, P.G., Roberts, J.D. and L.W. Simmons 2002. Sperm competition selects for increased testes mass in Australian frogs. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 15 347-355. PDF.

6. Byrne, P.G. 2002. Climatic correlates of polyandry in the frog Crinia georgiana, Journal of Herpetology 36: 125-129. PDF.

5. Byrne, P.G. and Roberts, J.D. 2000. Does multiple paternity improve fitness in the frog Crinia georgiana ? Evolution 54: 968-973. PDF.

4. Byrne, P.G. and Roberts, J.D. 1999. Simultaneous mating with multiple males reduces fertilisation success in the myobatrachid frog Crinia georgiana. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 264: 95-98. PDF.

3. Roberts, J.D., Standish, R.J., Byrne, P.G. and Doughty, P. 1999. Synchronous polyandry and multiple paternity in the frog Crinia georgiana (Anura: Myobatrachidae). Animal Behaviour 57: 721-726. PDF.

2. Byrne, P.G. 1998. Frustrated frogs in quacking frenzy. Landscope 13 (2): 7.

1. Allen, G., Berry, O., Byrne, P.G., Kamien, D. and Hunt, J. 1997. Larval position, host cues and behaviour in the sound locating parasitoid fly Homotrixa alleni. Journal of Insect Behaviour 12: 67-69.

Papers currently in review

Byrne, P. G. G. R. Rice & W. R. Rice Influence on female fitness of a refuge from persistent male courtship in the Drosophila melanogaster laboratory environment.