At present, my research can be encompassed by two main themes: intraspecific phenotypic variation and human impacts on ecology and evolution. The questions that I find particularly interesting, and that I attempt to answer within these themes, fall within the fields of animal behaviour, parasitism, and evolution. To address these questions, I use a combination of fieldwork, laboratory, and meta-analytical techniques.

 

Intraspecific phenotypic variation

Even within a single species, animals differ markedly in their phenotypic traits. This variation has been shown to be have strong ecological and evolutionary implications. Understanding why biodiversity exists in nature, along with the possible consequences of this biodiversity through space and time, thus requires an understanding of the factors that generate variation within a species. In threespine stickleback and Trinidadian guppies, I am exploring some of these factors that generate phenotypic variation within- and among-populations, including variation in behavioural traits, evolutionary history, and parasitism/immune responses.
 

Relevant publications:

Heckley, A. M., Pearce, A. E., Gotanda, K. M., Hendry, A. P.,  Oke, K. B. (2022) Compiling forty years of guppy research to investigate the factors contributing to (non)parallel evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.14086

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Heckley, A.M., de Lira, J.J.P.R., Hendry, A.P., Perez-Jvostov, F. (2022) How might Gyrodactylus parasitism modify trade-offs between female preference and susceptibility of males to predation in Trinidadian guppies? International Journal for Parasitology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2022.01.006 

 

Heckley, A.M., Harding, C.D., Page, R.A., Klein, B. A., Yovel, Y. Diebold., C.A., Tilley, H.B. (2024) The effect of group size on sleep in a Neotropical bat, Artibeus jamaicensis. Journal of Experimental Zoology, Part A. ​https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2860 ​

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​​​Human impacts

Anthropogenic disturbances around the world are forcing animals to respond to rapid environmental changes. These impacts will have strong effects on animal phenotypes, and ecological or evolutionary processes. Habitat degradation is one source of disturbance that is particularly pressing in tropical regions and can have severe effects on wildlife. Thus far, using Neotropical bat ectoparasites and viruses as case studies, I have investigated how habitat degradation can impact the prevalence and intensities of parasite infections.
 

Human “impacts” can also be considered in another way; that is, rather than disturbing environments, humans often attempt to restore them. With this being said, much of my research is conducted in the context of conservation translocations. In particular, I am investigating variation in movement outwards from the point where animals are introduced during translocations, as well as how and why animals assort non-randomly following translocations.
 

Relevant publications: ​

Heckley, A.M., Lock, L.R., Becker, D. J. (2023) A meta-analysis exploring associations between habitat degradation and Neotropical bat virus prevalence and seroprevalence. Ecography. 

https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07041
 

Heckley, A.M., Becker, D. J. (2023) Tropical bat ectoparasitism in continuous versus fragmented forests: a gap analysis and preliminary meta-analysis. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9784.

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