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Kevin Healy
Department of Zoology School of Natural Sciences National University of Ireland Galway University Rd Galway Ireland

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Letter
Published: 27 February 2021 in Ecology Letters
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Life history strategies are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of organisms and are important for understanding extinction risk and responses to global change. Using global datasets and a multiple response modelling framework we show that trait‐climate interactions are associated with life history strategies for a diverse range of plant species at the global scale. Our modelling framework informs our understanding of trade‐offs and positive correlations between elements of life history after accounting for environmental context and evolutionary and trait‐based constraints. Interactions between plant traits and climatic context were needed to explain variation in age at maturity, distribution of mortality across the lifespan and generation times of species. Mean age at maturity and the distribution of mortality across plants’ lifespan were under evolutionary constraints. These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical expectation that climatic context is key to understanding trait to life history relationships globally.

ACS Style

Ruth Kelly; Kevin Healy; Madhur Anand; Maude E. A. Baudraz; Michael Bahn; Bruno E. L. Cerabolini; Johannes H. C. Cornelissen; John M. Dwyer; Andrew L. Jackson; Jens Kattge; Ülo Niinemets; Josep Penuelas; Simon Pierce; Roberto Salguero‐Gómez; Yvonne M. Buckley. Climatic and evolutionary contexts are required to infer plant life history strategies from functional traits at a global scale. Ecology Letters 2021, 24, 970 -983.

AMA Style

Ruth Kelly, Kevin Healy, Madhur Anand, Maude E. A. Baudraz, Michael Bahn, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen, John M. Dwyer, Andrew L. Jackson, Jens Kattge, Ülo Niinemets, Josep Penuelas, Simon Pierce, Roberto Salguero‐Gómez, Yvonne M. Buckley. Climatic and evolutionary contexts are required to infer plant life history strategies from functional traits at a global scale. Ecology Letters. 2021; 24 (5):970-983.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ruth Kelly; Kevin Healy; Madhur Anand; Maude E. A. Baudraz; Michael Bahn; Bruno E. L. Cerabolini; Johannes H. C. Cornelissen; John M. Dwyer; Andrew L. Jackson; Jens Kattge; Ülo Niinemets; Josep Penuelas; Simon Pierce; Roberto Salguero‐Gómez; Yvonne M. Buckley. 2021. "Climatic and evolutionary contexts are required to infer plant life history strategies from functional traits at a global scale." Ecology Letters 24, no. 5: 970-983.

Review article
Published: 01 July 2020 in Biology Letters
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Analyses of morphological disparity have been used to characterize and investigate the evolution of variation in the anatomy, function and ecology of organisms since the 1980s. While a diversity of methods have been employed, it is unclear whether they provide equivalent insights. Here, we review the most commonly used approaches for characterizing and analysing morphological disparity, all of which have associated limitations that, if ignored, can lead to misinterpretation. We propose best practice guidelines for disparity analyses, while noting that there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The available tools should always be used in the context of a specific biological question that will determine data and method selection at every stage of the analysis.

ACS Style

Thomas Guillerme†; Natalie Cooper†; Stephen L. Brusatte; Katie E. Davis; Andrew L. Jackson; Sylvain Gerber; Anjali Goswami; Kevin Healy; Melanie J. Hopkins; Marc E. H. Jones; Graeme T. Lloyd; Joseph E. O'reilly; Abi Pate; Mark N. Puttick; Emily J. Rayfield; Erin E. Saupe; Emma Sherratt; Graham J. Slater; Vera Weisbecker; Gavin H. Thomas; Philip C. J. Donoghue. Disparities in the analysis of morphological disparity. Biology Letters 2020, 16, 20200199 .

AMA Style

Thomas Guillerme†, Natalie Cooper†, Stephen L. Brusatte, Katie E. Davis, Andrew L. Jackson, Sylvain Gerber, Anjali Goswami, Kevin Healy, Melanie J. Hopkins, Marc E. H. Jones, Graeme T. Lloyd, Joseph E. O'reilly, Abi Pate, Mark N. Puttick, Emily J. Rayfield, Erin E. Saupe, Emma Sherratt, Graham J. Slater, Vera Weisbecker, Gavin H. Thomas, Philip C. J. Donoghue. Disparities in the analysis of morphological disparity. Biology Letters. 2020; 16 (7):20200199.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Guillerme†; Natalie Cooper†; Stephen L. Brusatte; Katie E. Davis; Andrew L. Jackson; Sylvain Gerber; Anjali Goswami; Kevin Healy; Melanie J. Hopkins; Marc E. H. Jones; Graeme T. Lloyd; Joseph E. O'reilly; Abi Pate; Mark N. Puttick; Emily J. Rayfield; Erin E. Saupe; Emma Sherratt; Graham J. Slater; Vera Weisbecker; Gavin H. Thomas; Philip C. J. Donoghue. 2020. "Disparities in the analysis of morphological disparity." Biology Letters 16, no. 7: 20200199.

Journal article
Published: 04 February 2020 in Nature Communications
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Zoos contribute substantial resources to in situ conservation projects in natural habitats using revenue from visitor attendance, as well as other sources. We use a global dataset of over 450 zoos to develop a model of how zoo composition and socio-economic factors directly and indirectly influence visitor attendance and in situ project activity. We find that zoos with many animals, large animals, high species richness (particularly of mammals), and which are dissimilar to other zoos achieve higher numbers of visitors and contribute to more in situ conservation projects. However, the model strongly supports a trade-off between number of animals and body mass indicating that alternative composition strategies, such as having many small animals, may also be effective. The evidence-base presented here can be used to help guide collection planning processes and increase the in situ contributions from zoos, helping to reduce global biodiversity loss.

ACS Style

Andrew Mooney; Dalia A. Conde; Kevin Healy; Yvonne M. Buckley. A system wide approach to managing zoo collections for visitor attendance and in situ conservation. Nature Communications 2020, 11, 1 -8.

AMA Style

Andrew Mooney, Dalia A. Conde, Kevin Healy, Yvonne M. Buckley. A system wide approach to managing zoo collections for visitor attendance and in situ conservation. Nature Communications. 2020; 11 (1):1-8.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrew Mooney; Dalia A. Conde; Kevin Healy; Yvonne M. Buckley. 2020. "A system wide approach to managing zoo collections for visitor attendance and in situ conservation." Nature Communications 11, no. 1: 1-8.

Journal article
Published: 23 January 2020 in Toxins
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Venoms are best known for their ability to incapacitate prey. In predatory groups, venom potency is predicted to reflect ecological and evolutionary drivers relating to diet. While venoms have been found to have prey-specific potencies, the role of diet breadth on venom potencies has yet to be tested at large macroecological scales. Here, using a comparative analysis of 100 snake species, we show that the evolution of prey-specific venom potencies is contingent on the breadth of a species’ diet. We find that while snake venom is more potent when tested on species closely related to natural prey items, we only find this prey-specific pattern in species with taxonomically narrow diets. While we find that the taxonomic diversity of a snakes’ diet mediates the prey specificity of its venom, the species richness of its diet was not found to affect these prey-specific potency patterns. This indicates that the physiological diversity of a species’ diet is an important driver of the evolution of generalist venom potencies. These findings suggest that the venoms of species with taxonomically diverse diets may be better suited to incapacitating novel prey species and hence play an important role for species within changing environments.

ACS Style

Keith Lyons; Michel M. Dugon; Kevin Healy. Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes. Toxins 2020, 12, 74 .

AMA Style

Keith Lyons, Michel M. Dugon, Kevin Healy. Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes. Toxins. 2020; 12 (2):74.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Keith Lyons; Michel M. Dugon; Kevin Healy. 2020. "Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes." Toxins 12, no. 2: 74.

Journal article
Published: 08 July 2019 in Nature Ecology & Evolution
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Animals exhibit an extraordinary diversity of life history strategies. These realized combinations of survival, development and reproduction are predicted to be constrained by physiological limitations and by trade-offs in resource allocation. However, our understanding of these patterns is restricted to a few taxonomic groups. Using demographic data from 121 species, ranging from humans to sponges, we test whether such trade-offs universally shape animal life history strategies. We show that, after accounting for body mass and phylogenetic relatedness, 71% of the variation in animal life history strategies can be explained by life history traits associated with the fast–slow continuum (pace of life) and with a second axis defined by the distribution of age-specific mortality hazards and the spread of reproduction. While we found that life history strategies are associated with metabolic rate and ecological modes of life, surprisingly similar life history strategies can be found across the phylogenetic and physiological diversity of animals.

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas H. G. Ezard; Owen Jones; Roberto Salguero-Gómez; Yvonne M. Buckley. Animal life history is shaped by the pace of life and the distribution of age-specific mortality and reproduction. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2019, 3, 1217 -1224.

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Thomas H. G. Ezard, Owen Jones, Roberto Salguero-Gómez, Yvonne M. Buckley. Animal life history is shaped by the pace of life and the distribution of age-specific mortality and reproduction. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2019; 3 (8):1217-1224.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas H. G. Ezard; Owen Jones; Roberto Salguero-Gómez; Yvonne M. Buckley. 2019. "Animal life history is shaped by the pace of life and the distribution of age-specific mortality and reproduction." Nature Ecology & Evolution 3, no. 8: 1217-1224.

Letter
Published: 07 January 2019 in Ecology Letters
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Snake venom is well known for its ability to incapacitate and kill prey. Yet, potency and the amount of venom available varies greatly across species, ranging from the seemingly harmless to those capable of killing vast numbers of potential prey. This variation is poorly understood, with comparative approaches confounded by the use of atypical prey species as models to measure venom potency. Here, we account for such confounding issues by incorporating the phylogenetic similarity between a snake's diet and the species used to measure its potency. In a comparative analysis of 102 species we show that snake venom potency is generally prey‐specific. We also show that venom yields are lower in species occupying three dimensional environments and increases with body size corresponding to metabolic rate, but faster than predicted from increases in prey size. These results underline the importance of physiological and environmental factors in the evolution of predator traits.

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Chris Carbone; Andrew L. Jackson. Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure. Ecology Letters 2019, 22, 527 -537.

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Chris Carbone, Andrew L. Jackson. Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure. Ecology Letters. 2019; 22 (3):527-537.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Chris Carbone; Andrew L. Jackson. 2019. "Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure." Ecology Letters 22, no. 3: 527-537.

Journal article
Published: 26 December 2017 in Ecography
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Stable isotope mixing models (SIMMs) are an important tool used to study species’ trophic ecology. These models are dependent on, and sensitive to, the choice of trophic discrimination factors (TDF) representing the offset in stable isotope delta values between a consumer and their food source when they are at equilibrium. Ideally, controlled feeding trials should be conducted to determine the appropriate TDF for each consumer, tissue type, food source, and isotope combination used in a study. In reality however, this is often not feasible nor practical. In the absence of species-specific information, many researchers either default to an average TDF value for the major taxonomic group of their consumer, or they choose the nearest phylogenetic neighbour for which a TDF is available. Here, we present the SIDER package for R, which uses a phylogenetic regression model based on a compiled dataset to impute (estimate) a TDF of a consumer. We apply information on the tissue type and feeding ecology of the consumer, all of which are known to affect TDFs, using Bayesian inference. Presently, our approach can estimate TDFs for two commonly used isotopes (nitrogen and carbon), for species of mammals and birds with or without previous TDF information. The estimated posterior probability provides both a mean and variance, reflecting the uncertainty of the estimate, and can be subsequently used in the current suite of SIMM software. SIDER allows users to place a greater degree of confidence on their choice of TDF and its associated uncertainty, thereby leading to more robust predictions about trophic relationships in cases where study-specific data from feeding trials is unavailable. The underlying database can be updated readily to incorporate more stable isotope tracers, replicates and taxonomic groups to further increase the confidence in dietary estimates from stable isotope mixing models, as this information becomes available. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Sean B. A. Kelly; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew Jackson. SIDER: an R package for predicting trophic discrimination factors of consumers based on their ecology and phylogenetic relatedness. Ecography 2017, 41, 1393 -1400.

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Thomas Guillerme, Sean B. A. Kelly, Richard Inger, Stuart Bearhop, Andrew Jackson. SIDER: an R package for predicting trophic discrimination factors of consumers based on their ecology and phylogenetic relatedness. Ecography. 2017; 41 (8):1393-1400.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Sean B. A. Kelly; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew Jackson. 2017. "SIDER: an R package for predicting trophic discrimination factors of consumers based on their ecology and phylogenetic relatedness." Ecography 41, no. 8: 1393-1400.

Preprint
Published: 17 April 2017
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1. Stable isotope analysis is a widely used tool for the reconstruction and interpretation of animal diets and trophic relationships. Analytical tools have improved the robustness of inferring the relative contribution of different prey sources to an animal’s diet by accounting for many of the sources of variation in isotopic data. One major source of uncertainty is Trophic Discrimination Factor (TDF), the change in isotopic signatures between consumers’ tissues and their food sources. This parameter can have a profound impact on model predictions, but often, it is not feasible to estimate a species’ TDF value and so researchers often use aggregated or taxon level estimates, an assumption that in turn has major implications for the interpretation of subsequent analyses. 2. We collected extensive carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) TDF data on mammals and birds from published literature. We then used a Bayesian linear modelling approach to determine if, and to what extent, variation in TDF values can be attributed to a species’ ecology, physiology, phylogenetic relationships and experimental variation. Finally, we developed a Bayesian imputation approach to estimate unknown TDF values and compared the accuracy of this tool using a series of cross-validation tests. 3. Our results show that, for birds and mammals, TDF values are influenced by phylogeny, tissue type sampled, diet of consumer, isotopic signature of food source, and the error associated with the measurement of TDF within a species. Furthermore, our cross-validation tests determined that, our tool can (i) produce accurate estimates of TDF values with a mean distance of 0.2 ‰ from observed TDF values, and (ii) provide an estimate of the precision associated with these estimates, with species presence in the data allowing for a reduced level of uncertainty. 4. By incorporating various sources of variation and reflecting the levels of uncertainty associated with TDF estimates our novel tool will contribute to more accurate and honest reconstructions and interpretations of animal diets and trophic interactions. This tool can be extended readily to include other taxa and sources of variation as data becomes available. To facilitate this, we provide a step-by-step guide and code for this tool: Discrimination Estimation in R (DEsiR)

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Seán B. A Kelly; Thomas Guillerme; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew L Jackson. Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R. 2017, 1 .

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Seán B. A Kelly, Thomas Guillerme, Richard Inger, Stuart Bearhop, Andrew L Jackson. Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R. . 2017; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Seán B. A Kelly; Thomas Guillerme; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew L Jackson. 2017. "Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 17 April 2017
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1. Stable isotope analysis is a widely used tool for the reconstruction and interpretation of animal diets and trophic relationships. Analytical tools have improved the robustness of inferring the relative contribution of different prey sources to an animal’s diet by accounting for many of the sources of variation in isotopic data. One major source of uncertainty is Trophic Discrimination Factor (TDF), the change in isotopic signatures between consumers’ tissues and their food sources. This parameter can have a profound impact on model predictions, but often, it is not feasible to estimate a species’ TDF value and so researchers often use aggregated or taxon level estimates, an assumption that in turn has major implications for the interpretation of subsequent analyses. 2. We collected extensive carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) TDF data on mammals and birds from published literature. We then used a Bayesian linear modelling approach to determine if, and to what extent, variation in TDF values can be attributed to a species’ ecology, physiology, phylogenetic relationships and experimental variation. Finally, we developed a Bayesian imputation approach to estimate unknown TDF values and compared the accuracy of this tool using a series of cross-validation tests. 3. Our results show that, for birds and mammals, TDF values are influenced by phylogeny, tissue type sampled, diet of consumer, isotopic signature of food source, and the error associated with the measurement of TDF within a species. Furthermore, our cross-validation tests determined that, our tool can (i) produce accurate estimates of TDF values with a mean distance of 0.2 ‰ from observed TDF values, and (ii) provide an estimate of the precision associated with these estimates, with species presence in the data allowing for a reduced level of uncertainty. 4. By incorporating various sources of variation and reflecting the levels of uncertainty associated with TDF estimates our novel tool will contribute to more accurate and honest reconstructions and interpretations of animal diets and trophic interactions. This tool can be extended readily to include other taxa and sources of variation as data becomes available. To facilitate this, we provide a step-by-step guide and code for this tool: Discrimination Estimation in R (DEsiR)

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Seán B.A Kelly; Thomas Guillerme; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew L Jackson. Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R. 2017, 1 .

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Seán B.A Kelly, Thomas Guillerme, Richard Inger, Stuart Bearhop, Andrew L Jackson. Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R. . 2017; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Seán B.A Kelly; Thomas Guillerme; Richard Inger; Stuart Bearhop; Andrew L Jackson. 2017. "Predicting trophic discrimination factor using Bayesian inference and phylogenetic, ecological and physiological data. DEsIR: Discrimination Estimation in R." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 05 December 2016 in Ecography
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Despite its prevalence, the importance of scavenging to carnivores is difficult to ascertain in modern day forms and impossible to study directly in extinct species. Yet, there are certain intrinsic and environmental features of a species that push it towards a scavenging lifestyle. These can be thought of as some of the principal parameters in optimal foraging theory namely, encounter rate and handling time. We use these components to highlight the morphologies and environments that would have been conducive to scavenging over geological time by focusing on the dominant vertebrate groups of the land, sea and air. The result is a synthesis on the natural history of scavenging. The features that make up our qualitative scale of scavenging can be applied to any given species and allow us to judge the likely importance of this foraging behaviour.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Adam Kane; Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Graeme D. Ruxton; Andrew L. Jackson. A recipe for scavenging in vertebrates - the natural history of a behaviour. Ecography 2016, 40, 324 -334.

AMA Style

Adam Kane, Kevin Healy, Thomas Guillerme, Graeme D. Ruxton, Andrew L. Jackson. A recipe for scavenging in vertebrates - the natural history of a behaviour. Ecography. 2016; 40 (2):324-334.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adam Kane; Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Graeme D. Ruxton; Andrew L. Jackson. 2016. "A recipe for scavenging in vertebrates - the natural history of a behaviour." Ecography 40, no. 2: 324-334.

Review and synthesis
Published: 19 July 2016 in Ecology Letters
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Human actions challenge nature in many ways. Ecological responses are ineluctably complex, demanding measures that describe them succinctly. Collectively, these measures encapsulate the overall ‘stability’ of the system. Many international bodies, including the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, broadly aspire to maintain or enhance ecological stability. Such bodies frequently use terms pertaining to stability that lack clear definition. Consequently, we cannot measure them and so they disconnect from a large body of theoretical and empirical understanding. We assess the scientific and policy literature and show that this disconnect is one consequence of an inconsistent and one‐dimensional approach that ecologists have taken to both disturbances and stability. This has led to confused communication of the nature of stability and the level of our insight into it. Disturbances and stability are multidimensional. Our understanding of them is not. We have a remarkably poor understanding of the impacts on stability of the characteristics that define many, perhaps all, of the most important elements of global change. We provide recommendations for theoreticians, empiricists and policymakers on how to better integrate the multidimensional nature of ecological stability into their research, policies and actions.

ACS Style

Ian Donohue; Helmut Hillebrand; Jose M. Montoya; Owen Petchey; Stuart L. Pimm; Mike Fowler; Kevin Healy; Andrew L. Jackson; Miguel Lurgi; Deirdre McClean; Nessa O'Connor; Eoin J. O'gorman; Qiang Yang. Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. Ecology Letters 2016, 19, 1172 -1185.

AMA Style

Ian Donohue, Helmut Hillebrand, Jose M. Montoya, Owen Petchey, Stuart L. Pimm, Mike Fowler, Kevin Healy, Andrew L. Jackson, Miguel Lurgi, Deirdre McClean, Nessa O'Connor, Eoin J. O'gorman, Qiang Yang. Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. Ecology Letters. 2016; 19 (9):1172-1185.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ian Donohue; Helmut Hillebrand; Jose M. Montoya; Owen Petchey; Stuart L. Pimm; Mike Fowler; Kevin Healy; Andrew L. Jackson; Miguel Lurgi; Deirdre McClean; Nessa O'Connor; Eoin J. O'gorman; Qiang Yang. 2016. "Navigating the complexity of ecological stability." Ecology Letters 19, no. 9: 1172-1185.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2016 in The American Naturalist
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Theropod dinosaurs dominated Earth’s terrestrial ecosystem as a diverse group of predators for more than 160 million years, yet little is known about their foraging ecology. Maintaining a balanced energy budget presented a major challenge for therapods, which ranged from the chicken-sized Microraptor up to the whale-sized Giganotosaurus, in the face of intense competition and the demands of ontogenetic growth. Facultative scavenging, a behavior present in almost all modern predators, may have been important in supplementing energetically expensive lifestyles. By using agent-based models based on the allometric relationship between size and foraging behaviors, we show that theropods between 27 and 1,044 kg would have gained a significant energetic advantage over individuals at both the small and large extremes of theropod body mass through their scavenging efficiency. These results were robust to rate of competition, primary productivity, and detection distance. Our models demonstrate the potential importance of facultative scavenging in theropods and the role of body size in defining its prevalence in Mesozoic terrestrial systems.

ACS Style

Adam Kane; Kevin Healy; Graeme Ruxton; Andrew Jackson. Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs. The American Naturalist 2016, 187, 706 -716.

AMA Style

Adam Kane, Kevin Healy, Graeme Ruxton, Andrew Jackson. Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs. The American Naturalist. 2016; 187 (6):706-716.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adam Kane; Kevin Healy; Graeme Ruxton; Andrew Jackson. 2016. "Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs." The American Naturalist 187, no. 6: 706-716.

Comment
Published: 07 May 2015 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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ACS Style

Kevin Healy. Eusociality but not fossoriality drives longevity in small mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2015, 282, 20142917 -20142917.

AMA Style

Kevin Healy. Eusociality but not fossoriality drives longevity in small mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2015; 282 (1806):20142917-20142917.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy. 2015. "Eusociality but not fossoriality drives longevity in small mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282, no. 1806: 20142917-20142917.

Conference paper
Published: 07 June 2014 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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Maximum lifespan in birds and mammals varies strongly with body mass such that large species tend to live longer than smaller species. However, many species live far longer than expected given their body mass. This may reflect interspecific variation in extrinsic mortality, as life-history theory predicts investment in long-term survival is under positive selection when extrinsic mortality is reduced. Here, we investigate how multiple ecological and mode-of-life traits that should reduce extrinsic mortality (including volancy (flight capability), activity period, foraging environment and fossoriality), simultaneously influence lifespan across endotherms. Using novel phylogenetic comparative analyses and to our knowledge, the most species analysed to date ( n = 1368), we show that, over and above the effect of body mass, the most important factor enabling longer lifespan is the ability to fly. Within volant species, lifespan depended upon when (day, night, dusk or dawn), but not where (in the air, in trees or on the ground), species are active. However, the opposite was true for non-volant species, where lifespan correlated positively with both arboreality and fossoriality. Our results highlight that when studying the molecular basis behind cellular processes such as those underlying lifespan, it is important to consider the ecological selection pressures that shaped them over evolutionary time.

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Sive Finlay; Adam Kane; Seán Kelly; Deirdre McClean; David Kelly; Ian Donohue; Andrew L. Jackson; Natalie Cooper. Ecology and mode-of-life explain lifespan variation in birds and mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2014, 281, 20140298 .

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Thomas Guillerme, Sive Finlay, Adam Kane, Seán Kelly, Deirdre McClean, David Kelly, Ian Donohue, Andrew L. Jackson, Natalie Cooper. Ecology and mode-of-life explain lifespan variation in birds and mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2014; 281 (1784):20140298.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Thomas Guillerme; Sive Finlay; Adam Kane; Seán Kelly; Deirdre McClean; David Kelly; Ian Donohue; Andrew L. Jackson; Natalie Cooper. 2014. "Ecology and mode-of-life explain lifespan variation in birds and mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1784: 20140298.

Journal article
Published: 31 October 2013 in Animal Behaviour
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Body size and metabolic rate both fundamentally constrain how species interact with their environment, and hence ultimately affect their niche. While many mechanisms leading to these constraints have been explored, their effects on the resolution at which temporal information is perceived have been largely overlooked. The visual system acts as a gateway to the dynamic environment and the relative resolution at which organisms are able to acquire and process visual information is likely to restrict their ability to interact with events around them. As both smaller size and higher metabolic rates should facilitate rapid behavioural responses, we hypothesized that these traits would favour perception of temporal change over finer timescales. Using critical flicker fusion frequency, the lowest frequency of flashing at which a flickering light source is perceived as constant, as a measure of the maximum rate of temporal information processing in the visual system, we carried out a phylogenetic comparative analysis of a wide range of vertebrates that supported this hypothesis. Our results have implications for the evolution of signalling systems and predator–prey interactions, and, combined with the strong influence that both body mass and metabolism have on a species' ecological niche, suggest that time perception may constitute an important and overlooked dimension of niche differentiation.

ACS Style

Kevin Healy; Luke McNally; Graeme D. Ruxton; Natalie Cooper; Andrew L. Jackson. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 2013, 86, 685 -696.

AMA Style

Kevin Healy, Luke McNally, Graeme D. Ruxton, Natalie Cooper, Andrew L. Jackson. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour. 2013; 86 (4):685-696.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin Healy; Luke McNally; Graeme D. Ruxton; Natalie Cooper; Andrew L. Jackson. 2013. "Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information." Animal Behaviour 86, no. 4: 685-696.

Journal article
Published: 18 February 2013 in Ecology Letters
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Ecological stability is touted as a complex and multifaceted concept, including components such as variability, resistance, resilience, persistence and robustness. Even though a complete appreciation of the effects of perturbations on ecosystems requires the simultaneous measurement of these multiple components of stability, most ecological research has focused on one or a few of those components analysed in isolation. Here, we present a new view of ecological stability that recognises explicitly the non-independence of components of stability. This provides an approach for simplifying the concept of stability. We illustrate the concept and approach using results from a field experiment, and show that the effective dimensionality of ecological stability is considerably lower than if the various components of stability were unrelated. However, strong perturbations can modify, and even decouple, relationships among individual components of stability. Thus, perturbations not only increase the dimensionality of stability but they can also alter the relationships among components of stability in different ways. Studies that focus on single forms of stability in isolation therefore risk underestimating significantly the potential of perturbations to destabilise ecosystems. In contrast, application of the multidimensional stability framework that we propose gives a far richer understanding of how communities respond to perturbations.

ACS Style

Ian Donohue; Owen Petchey; Jose M. Montoya; Andrew Jackson; Luke McNally; Mafalda Viana; Kevin Healy; Miguel Lurgi; Nessa O'Connor; Mark C. Emmerson. On the dimensionality of ecological stability. Ecology Letters 2013, 16, 421 -429.

AMA Style

Ian Donohue, Owen Petchey, Jose M. Montoya, Andrew Jackson, Luke McNally, Mafalda Viana, Kevin Healy, Miguel Lurgi, Nessa O'Connor, Mark C. Emmerson. On the dimensionality of ecological stability. Ecology Letters. 2013; 16 (4):421-429.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ian Donohue; Owen Petchey; Jose M. Montoya; Andrew Jackson; Luke McNally; Mafalda Viana; Kevin Healy; Miguel Lurgi; Nessa O'Connor; Mark C. Emmerson. 2013. "On the dimensionality of ecological stability." Ecology Letters 16, no. 4: 421-429.