Website: http://www2.unine.ch/ecophy/page-26828_en.html; University of Pretoria, South Africa & University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland Contact: rutemmendonca@gmail.com Oxidative stress in Damaraland mole-rats Helping frequently takes the form of energetically demanding activities, which involve high cellular oxygen consumption and the creation of by-product reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS production can lead to…
Website: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/philippe-vullioud Contact: philippe.vullioud@gmail.com Socio-endocrine mechanisms of individual variation in cooperative behaviours Large differences in cooperative effort are a universal characteristic of cooperative societies. There is growing evidence suggesting that individuals can adjust their cooperative investment as a function of its costs and benefits, yet the physiological causes and evolutionary…
Website: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/jack-thorley Contact: jbt27@cam.ac.uk Life history trade-offs in co-operative breeders The social mole-rats, of which Damaraland mole-rats present an extreme case, are physiological enigmas, as exemplified by their ability to withstand hypoxia, their resistance to cancer-like phenotypes, and their extraordinary longevity. Such characteristics have catapulted social mole-rats (largely…
Website: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-markus-zottl Contact: mz338@cam.ac.uk Variation in cooperative behaviour, life-histories and individual fitness in Damaraland mole-rat My main research interest is the evolution and the maintenance of helping and seemingly altruistic behaviour in animals. My interest originates from a deep fascination for animals and in particular for animal behaviour…