Qualifications and Experience
BSc. (Hons) Zoology, University of Sheffield
PhD. Sperm competition in Callosobruchus maculatus. University of Sheffield
PGRA Fresh water ecotoxicology, Dept. Zoology, University of Sheffield.
PDRA Primate Ecology, Dept. Psychology, University of Sheffield.
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer Animal Behaviour, University of Sunderland.
Research Supervision :
Dr Nina Wilson 1995-1998 Multiple mating in Callosobruchus maculatus: a male and female perspective, University of Sunderland.
Dr Denise Brown 1998-2001 Post-copulatory sexual selection in Callosobruchus maculatus, University of Sunderland.
Dr Paul Rugman-Jones 1999-2003 Mechanisms and consequences of post-copulatory sexual selection in the Bruchidae, University of Sunderland.
I am currently co-supervising Miss Sarah Redgate (Equine Nutrition) and Miss Laura Woodcock (Forensic Entomology) in conjunction with Drs Jonathan Cooper and Dorothy Gennard respectively.
Current Research Projects:
Post-copulatory sexual selection – Post-copulatory sexual selection (including sexual conflict theory) has been linked to the rapid evolutionary divergence of primary reproductive traits. My research programme examines the implications of micro-evolutionary change on macro-evolutionary processes, namely speciation. This programme has yielded a number of significant findings and promises more success in the future from long term studies of populations that have been exposed to different selection regimes (namely enforced monogamy versus promiscuity). These populations are approaching their 80 th generation of selection and thus offer a unique opportunity to study the evolutionary implications of post-copulatory sexual selection.
Animal Nutrition – I am currently involved in two projects studying the feeding preferences of horses and dermestid beetles. Although very diverse in aims, the two projects draw upon similar theory. Although in the early stages of development, the concepts and methods employed in these studies offer a number of interesting applications to a range of fields including animal welfare, obesity and forensic entomology.
Avian Incubation – In collaboration with Dr Charles Deeming (Independent Hatchery Consultant) I have been exploring an extensive data set on avian incubation patterns across ~ 1000 species of bird. The aim of this project is to analyse patterns of incubation in relation to ecological differences between species. The analysis will develop sophisticated statistical models to explore the relationships between incubation behaviour and avian ecology and will utilise techniques that control for the non-independence of data, which are constrained by phylogenetic relationships.
Publications:
Eady, P.E. (1991) Sperm competition in Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae): a comparison of two methods used to estimate paternity. Ecological Entomology 16: 45-53.
Eady, P.E. (1994) Sperm transfer and storage in relation to sperm competition in Callosobruchus maculatus. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 35: 123-129.
Eady, P.E. (1994) Intraspecific variation in sperm precedence in the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Ecological Entomology 19: 11-16.
Eady, P.E. (1995) Why do male Callosobruchus maculatus males inseminate so many sperm? Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 36: 25-32.
Eady, P.E. & Tubman, S.C. (1996) Last-male sperm precedence does not break down when females mate with three males. Ecological Entomology 21: 303-304.
Wilson, N., Tubman, S.C., Eady, P.E. & Robertson, G.W. (1997) Female genotype affects male success in sperm competition. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 264: 1491-1495.
Wilson, K., Eady, P.E. & del Nevo, A.J. (1998) Origin of an insular population of the wood mouse based on parasitological evidence. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 34: 150-154.
Andrews, M., Sprent, J.I., Raven, J.A. & Eady, P.E. (1999) Relationships between shoot to root ratio, growth and leaf soluble protein concentrations of Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris and Triticum aestivum under different nutrient deficiencies. Plant, Cell and Environment 22: 949-958.
Wilson, N., Tufton, T.J. & Eady, P.E. (1999) The effect of single, double and triple matings on the lifetime fecundity of Callosobruchus analis and Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Journal of Insect Behaviour 12: 295-306.
Eady, P.E. & Brown, D.V. (2000) Ejaculate size and mate fecundity in the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution 2(12): 203-207.
Eady, P.E. , Wilson, N. and Jackson, M. (2000) Copulating with multiple mates enhances female fecundity but not egg-to-adult-survival in the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Evolution. 54(6): 2161-2165.
Eady, P.E. (2001) Postcopulatory, prezygotic reproductive isolation. Journal of Zoology. 253: 47-52.
Rugman-Jones, P.F. & Eady, P.E. (2001) The sterile male technique: a potential source of error in estimating paternity? Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 98: 241-244.
Eady, P.E. & Hardy, I.C.W. (2001) Overt versus covert competition in Soay sheep. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 16: 279-280.
Brown, D.V. & Eady, P.E. (2001) Functional incompatibility in the fertilization systems of two allopatric populations of Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Evolution 55(11): 2257-2262.
Eady, P.E. , Rugman-Jones, P.F. & Brown, D.V. (2004) Prior oviposition, female receptivity and last-male sperm precedence in the cosmopolitan pest Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Animal Behaviour. 67: 559-565.