Per Smiseth

Tel: +44 (0)131 651 3682
Email: per.t.smiseth@ed.ac.uk

Street: Rm. G61A, Ashworth Building
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Biography

Background

1999 PhD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

2000-2002 Research Council of Norway Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester

2002-2005 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester

2005-2008 NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester

2008-Present Lecturer in Animal Behaviour, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh

Teaching & PhD supervision

Undergraduate teaching

Animal Biology (second year)

Field Zoology (third year)

Behavioural Ecology (third year)

Evolution of Parental Care (honours)

Zoology (honours)

I am interested in the evolution of parental care and the evolutionary resolution of conflicts within families over the allocation of care. My background is from behavioural ecology, but I am currently interested in the integration between behavioural ecology, quantitative genetics and behavioural endocrinology. My main study system is the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, but I have a broad taxonomic background that includes work on birds and mammals. Current research projects focus on the evolution of parental care, the quantitative genetics of parental care, the evolution of parent-offspring communication and its role in conflict resolution, the evolution of sibling competition, sexual conflict between male and female parents, the adaptive value of asynchronous hatching, the hormonal regulation of offspring begging, and resource competition between animals and microbes.

Grants

My research is funded by NERC, but I have also collaborations with Daniel Rozen at The University of Manchester funded by The Leverhulme Trust and NERC.

Publications

The presence of conspecific intruders alters the magnitude of sex differences in care in a burying beetle (9 pages) 14 Oct 2022 In: Animal Behaviour, vol. 194, pp. 57-65
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.09.014
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Having a better home range does not reduce the cost of reproduction in Soay sheep (11 pages) 1 Oct 2022 In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 35, pp. 1352-1362
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.14083
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Access to resources buffers against effects of current reproduction on future ability to provide care in a burying beetle (11 pages) 9 Sep 2022 In: Ecology and Evolution, vol. 12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9266
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Access to resources shapes sex differences between caring parents (10 pages) 20 Jul 2021 In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.712425
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Adjustment of egg laying by both hosts and intraspecific brood parasites in a beetle (11 pages) 5 Jul 2021 In: Ethology: international journal of behavioural biology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.13209
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Carry on caring: Infected females maintain their parental care despite high mortality 21 Apr 2021 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab028
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Separating differential allocation by females from direct effects of male condition in a beetle 25 Mar 2021 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa146
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Offspring beg more towards larger females in a burying beetle 11 Sep 2020 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa078
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Effects of inbreeding on behavioural plasticity of parent-offspring interactions in a burying beetle 10 May 2020 In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13640
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Increased allocation to reproduction reduces future competitive ability in a burying beetle 1 May 2020 In: Journal of Animal Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13242
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Maternity uncertainty in cobreeding beetles: Females lay more and larger eggs and provide less care 18 Feb 2020 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa006
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Females adjust maternal hormone concentration in eggs according to male condition in a burying beetle 17 Feb 2020 In: Hormones and Behavior, vol. 121
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104708
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Coordination, cooperation and conflict between caring parents in burying beetles 24 Oct 2019 In: Ecology and Evolution
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00397
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published)
Linking genetic merit to behavioral data: Behavior and genetic effects on lamb growth in Soay sheep? (9 pages) 20 Oct 2019 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz166
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Parental responses to increasing levels of handicapping in a burying beetle 23 Sep 2019 In: Behavioral Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz157
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Food deprivation affects egg laying and maternal care but not offspring performance in a beetle 19 Jun 2019 In: Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz104
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Parental care buffers against effects of ambient temperature on offspring performance in an insect (8 pages) 19 Jun 2019 In: Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz100
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Nutrition during sexual maturation and at the time of mating affects mating behaviour in both sexes of a burying beetle (9 pages) 1 May 2019 In: Animal Behaviour, vol. 151, pp. 77-85
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.013
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Effects of variation in resource acquisition during different stages of the life cycle on life-history traits and trade-offs in a burying beetle (12 pages) 9 Jan 2019 In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 32, pp. 19-30
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13388
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Interplay between age-based competitive asymmetries within the brood and direct competition between inbred and outbred offspring in a burying beetle (12 pages) 28 Nov 2018 In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13398
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)

View all 103 publications on Research Explorer

This article was published on 22 Apr, 2024

Per Smiseth

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