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Professor Andrew Cockburn
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Main Research Interest
Evolutionary Ecology
Background
I obtained my honours degree in botany and a PhD in zoology on the ecology of rodents in the genus Pseudomys from Monash University. I then took up a CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1980-1 at the University of California at Berkeley, working with Bill Lidicker on population dynamics in microtine rodents. I returned to Monash in 1981 as a Monash postdoctoral fellow in Tony Lee's lab to start long-term research on life history evolution and behavioural ecology of Antechinus, a bizarre group of marsupials that exhibit semelparity, with all males plunging to their deaths immediately after mating. This not only requires special explanation, but also allows clear tests of otherwise intractable hypotheses, because the extreme simplicity of the life history throws several issues into sharp relief. My interest in Antechinus persisted through a Queen Elizabeth II postdoc with Charley Krebs at CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology and Hugh Comins at the Research School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University, and a lectureship in Zoology at the ANU that I took up in early 1984. In 1990 my life changed in three dramatic ways. First, I was appointed Professor and Head of the newly merged Division of Botany and Zoology at ANU. Second, I took a sabbatical in Malte Andersson's lab at Göteborg, and Tim Clutton-Brock's lab at Cambridge. Third, and most remarkably, I realised that I was not having nearly as much fun tramping through leech-infested rainforests in pursuit of antechinuses, as one of my graduate students was having teasing apart the intricate sex lives of superb fairy-wrens in the croissant-infested Botanic Gardens in Canberra. I have worked on fairy-wrens ever since, seeking an answer to the centrally important question of the benefits that females obtain from discrimination among mates, the implications of those benefits for understanding the maintenance of genetic variation, and the evolution of the extraordinarily complex societies of fairy-wrens.
Research Interests
I am interested in the evolution of life histories, complex mating systems, and gender and sex in animal societies, and my favourite study animals are birds and dasyurid marsupials. Most of my research group work on the following interconnected headings:
Cooperative breeding in birds. Cooperative breeding occurs where more than two individuals combine to rear a single brood of young. It is extraordinarily prevalent in the Australian avifauna, for both phylogenetic and ecological reasons, and we are conducting a number of studies to understand this prevalence. Current work focuses on superb fairy-wrens and woodswallows, though we have worked with kookaburras, bee-eaters, kingfishers, thornbills, choughs and parrots. In addition to this empirical work, I have developed a 'back-to-basics' comparative study on the phylogenetic patterns of parental care in all 9700 species of birds. I hope to develop a web-based version of the related database, which integrates data from thousands of references, and summarises the basic life histories, diets and patterns of parental care in all the species of birds for which there are relevant data.
Key references:
Cockburn, A. 1998. Evolution of helping behavior in cooperatively breeding birds. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29 : 141-177
Cockburn, A. 2003. Cooperative breeding in oscine passerines: does sociality inhibit speciation? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 270: 2207-2214
Cockburn, A. 2006. Prevalence of different modes of parental care in birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 273, 1375-1383.
Sexual selection. What causes those extreme differences in morphology between males and females that cannot be associated with the machinery of reproduction? What are the benefits of female choice in free-living populations? How is genetic variation maintained in the face of intense sexual selection? Our primary study system is the superb fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus , which combines cooperative breeding with extreme cuckoldry, so that young are typically raised by males to which they are completely unrelated. We are also interested in the evolution of reversed sex dimorphism in raptors.
Key references:
Cockburn, A. 2004. Mating systems and sexual conflict. In Ecology and evolution of cooperative breeding in birds (ed by W.D. Koenig & J.L. Dickinson) pp 81-101. Cambridge University Press
Cockburn, A., Osmond, H.L., Mulder, R.A., Green, D.J. & Double, M.C. 2003. Divorce, dispersal and incest avoidance in the cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus . Journal of Animal Ecology 72: 189-202
Double, M.C., Cockburn, A. 2000. Pre-dawn infidelity: females control extra-pair mating in superb fairy-wrens. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B . 267 : 465-470
Double, M.C. & Cockburn, A. 2003. Subordinate superb fairy-wrens ( Malurus cyaneus ) parasitize the reproductive success of attractive dominant males. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 270: 379-384.
Sex allocation. Parents typically produce offspring of two completely distinct sorts- males and females. Can birds and mammals manipulate the ratio of males to females, and what benefits do they derive from such manipulation? We have been interested in the development of molecular techniques that allow the gender of young to be determined at a very early age.
Key references:
Cockburn, A., Legge, S. & Double, M.C. 2002. Sex allocation in birds and mammals: can the hypotheses be disentangled? In Sex Ratios: Concepts and Research Methods (ed by ICW Hardy) pp 266-286. Cambridge University Press
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005. Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter? Behavioral Ecology 16: 922-930Cockburn, A. 2006. Prevalence of different modes of parental care in birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 273, 1375-1383.
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005. Recruitment, reproductive success, parental investment and body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism Behavioral Ecology 16: 48-56
Senescence and semelparity. Marsupials in the familes Dasyuridae and Didelphidae suffer from an unexplained evolutionary predisposition to post-reproductive senescence, that in its extreme form leads to semelparity, or reproducing only once in their life. Having explored this problem with long-term studies of antechinuses, we have commenced studies of larger species (northern quolls and Tasmanian devils) in an attempt to understand this predisposition. The simple 'minimalist' population structure of semelparous species also allows us unusual insights into many questions that are difficult to dissect in species with complex overlapping generations.
Key references:
Cockburn, A. 1997. Living slow and dying young: senescence in marsupials. In Marsupial Biology: Recent Research, New Perspectives. (ed. N.R. Saunders & L.A. Hinds), pp 163-171. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press
Oakwood, M., Bradley, A.J. & Cockburn, A. 2001. Semelparity in a large marsupial. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 268: 407-41
Fisher, D.O., Cockburn, A. 2006. The large male reproductive advantage in brown antechinuses: female choice, male dominance and delayed male death. Behavioral Ecology 17: 164-171
Conservation biology. Some of the tools we have developed for analysis of the genetics of populations have applications to conservation programs. We have recently completed work on North Island kokako, shy albatross and palm cockatoos.
Key references:
Abbott, C.L., Double, M.C., Trueman, J.W.H., Robinson, A., Cockburn, A. 2005. An unusual source of apparent mitochondrial heteroplasmy: duplicate mitochondrial regions in Thalassarche albatrosses. Molecular Ecology 14: 3605-3613
Abbott, C.L., Double, M.C., Gales, R., Cockburn, A. 2006. Copulation and paternity in shy albatross Thalassarche cauta . Journal of Zoology, London [accepted 15 Feb 2006]
Selected Publications 2004-08
Cockburn, A. 2008. Cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens show no facultative manipulation of offspring sex ratio despite plausible benefits. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 62: 681-688.
Cockburn, A., Osmond, H.L., Double, M.C. 2008. Swingin' in the rain: condition dependence and sexual selection in a capricious world. Proc. R. Soc. B 275: 605-612.
Cockburn, A., Osmond, H.L., Mulder, R.A., Double, M.C., Green, D.J. 2008. Demography of male reproductive queues in cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus . Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 297-304.
Cockburn, A., Sims, R.A., Osmond, H.L., Green, D.J., Double, M.C., Mulder, R.A. 2008. Can we measure the benefits of help in cooperatively breeding birds: the case of superb fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus? Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 430-438.
Dalziell, A.H., Cockburn, A. 2008. Dawn song in superb fairy-wrens: a bird that seeks extrapair copulations during the dawn chorus. Animal Behaviour 75: 489-500.
Cockburn, A. 2007. Solitary obsession or ménage à trois, but cooperative breeding is never a two-party game. Behavioural Processes 76: 106-108.
Abbot, C.., Double, M., Gales, R., Cockburn, A. 2006. Copulation behaviour and paternity in shy albatrosses (Thalassarche cauta). Journal of Zoology 270: 628-635.
Adcock, G.J., Hodges, K., Boland, C.R.J., Cockburn, A., Ebert, D., Heinsohn, R. 2006. Microsatellite loci for behavioural studies of rainbow bee-eaters (Merops ornatus: Aves). Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 734-736.
Cockburn, A., (2006) "Prevalence of different modes of parental care in birds", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, Vol 273, pp 1375-1383.
Fisher, D.O., Double, M.C., Blomberg, S.P., Jennions, M.D., Cockburn, A. 2006. Post-mating sexual selection increases lifetime fitness of polyandrous females in the wild. Nature 444: 89-92.
Fisher, D., Cockburn, A., (2006) "The large-male advantage in brown antechinuses: female choice, male dominance, and delayed male death", Behavioral Ecology, Vol 17, pp 164-171.
Starling, M., Heinsohn, R., Cockburn, A., Langmore, N., (2006) "Cryptic gentes revealed in pallid cuckoos Cuculus pallidus using reflectance spectrophotometry", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, Vol 273, pp 1929-1934.
Abbott, C., Double, M., Trueman, J., Robinson, A., Cockburn, A., (2005) "An unusual source of apparent mitochondrial heteroplasmy: duplicate mitochondrial control regions in Thalassarche albatrosses", Molecular Ecology, Vol 14, pp 3605-3613.
Double, M., Peakall, R., Beck, N., Cockburn, A., (2005) "Dispersal, philopatry, and infidelity: dissecting local genetic structure in superb fairy-wrens ( Malurus cyaneus )", Evolution, Vol 59, Issue 3, pp 625-635.
Fisher, D., Cockburn, A., (2005) "The large-male advantage in brown antechinuses: female choice, male dominance, and delayed male death", Behavioral Ecology, Vol 17, pp 164-171.
Langmore, N., Kilner, R., Butchart, S., Maurer, G., Davies, N., Cockburn, A., Macgregor, N., Peters, A., Magrath, M., Dowling, D., (2005) "The evolution of egg rejection by cuckoo hosts in Australia and Europe", Behavioral Ecology, Vol 16, pp 686-692.
McDonald, P., Olsen, P., Cockburn, A., (2005) "Selection on body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are bigger females better?", Behavioral Ecology, Vol 16, Issue 1, pp 48-56.
McDonald, P., Olsen, P., Cockburn, A., (2005) "Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter?", Behavioral Ecology, Vol 16, pp 922-930.
Green, D., Krebs, E., Cockburn, A., (2004) "Mate choice in the brown thornbill ( Acanthiza pusilla ): are settlement decisions, divorce and extrapair mating complementary strategies?", Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol 55, pp 278-285.
Cockburn, A., (2004) "Mating systems and sexual conflict", in Ecology and Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Birds , Walter Koenig and Janis Dickinson (eds) First edition, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp 81-101.
McDonald, P., Olsen, P., Cockburn, A., (2004) "Weather dictates reproductive success and survival in the Australian brown falcon Falco berigora ", Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol 73, pp 683-692.
Current Research Group
Visiting fellows
- Greg Adcock - Molecular ecology of cuckoos
- Erik Doerr - Dispersal in cooperatively-breeding treecreepers
- Veronica Doerr - Cooperative breeding in treecreepers
- Diana Fisher - Benefits of polyandry in antechinus
- Becky Kilner - Begging in nestling cuckoos
- Hanna Kokko - Evolution of cooperation and sexual selection
- Kat Munro - Behavioural ecology of grey fantails
- Penny Olsen - Life history evolution in raptors
ARC Senior Research Associate
- Mike Double - Molecular ecology, particularly sexual selection in fairy-wrens and conservation genetics of albatrosses
ARC Research Fellow
PhD Students
- Stuart Cooney - Breeding and behavioural ecology of hooded parrots
- Rachel Sims - Cooperative breeding in migratory woodswallows
Senior Technical Officer
- Helen Osmond - Behavioral ecology of cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens
Past Students
- Cath Abbott (former PhD student) is a postdoctoral fellow in the Biodiversity (Mycology and Botany) section of Agrigulture and Agri-Food Canada: abbotc@agrc.gc.ca
- Tom Aumann (former PhD student) is Manager of Special Projects at Swinburne College of Technical and Further Education: taumann@swin.edu.au
- Kristin Ardlie (former honours student) received her PhD from Princeton University and is now Vice-President Genetics at Genomics Collaborative International: ardlie@genome.wi.mit.edu
- Nadeena Beck (former honours student) has completed a PhD at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University: nbeck@cres.anu.edu.au
- Caroline Blackmore (former Masters student) is now studying for a PhD at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University: cjb@cres20.anu.edu.au
- Chris Boland (former PhD student) can still be contacted through his ANU address: chris.boland@anu.edu.au
- Rosie Cooney (former honours student) received her PhD from the University of Cambridge and now works on international environmental policy for IUCN-the World Conservation Union, based in Cambridge, UK. Email rosie.cooney@fauna-flora.org
- Peter Dunn (former postdoc) is now an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin: pdunn@csd.uwm.edu
- David Green (former PhD student) is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University: david_green@sfu.ca
- Rob Heinsohn (former PhD student and postdoc) is now a Senior Fellow in the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University: robert.heinsohn@anu.edu.au
- Menna Jones (former postdoc) is now a Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania: menna.jones@anu.edu.au
- Sarah Legge (former doctoral student and postdoc) works for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy based at Mornington in the Kimberley: sarah.legge@anu.edu.au
- Nick Macgregor (former honours student) is now a PhD student at Cambridge University: nam29@cam.ac.uk
- Michael Magrath (former honours student) is currently a Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne: m.magrath@unimelb.edu.au
- Paul McDonald (former PhD student) is now a Postdoctoral Fellow split between Bangor, Trondheim and LaTrobe.
- Raoul Mulder (former PhD student and postdoc) is now a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne: r.mulder@unimelb.edu.au
- Steve Murphy (former PhD student) works for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy based at Mornington in the Kimberley: steve@australianwildlife.org
- Meri Oakwood (former PhD student) is an Associate Lecturer at the University of New England: moakwood@metz.une.edu.au
- Anne Peters (former Ph D student) is an Assistant Professor at the Max Planck at Radolzfell: peters@erl.ornithol.mpg.de
- Dewi Prawiradilaga (former PhD student) is with the Indonesian program of Flora and Fauna International: ffi@indo.net.id
- David Westcott (former honours student) works in the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology at Atherton: David.Westcott@tfrc.csiro.au
Funding
My research group is primarily funded by the Australian Research Council, through its Discovery Scheme and Fellowships Scheme.
Courses Taught
My undergraduate teaching involves two third year courses Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology (Biology 3131) and Field Studies in Behavioural Ecology (Biology 3132)
Other Activities
I am the Reviews Editor of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology and on the editorial board of BMC Ecology. I am a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. I am currently Head of the School of Botany and Zoology.
