Ben L. Phillips
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View article: Modelling the Effectiveness of Gene‐Edited Salmon at Sea Lice Control and the Use of Refugia to Mitigate Counter‐Adaptation
Modelling the Effectiveness of Gene‐Edited Salmon at Sea Lice Control and the Use of Refugia to Mitigate Counter‐Adaptation Open
Advances in gene‐editing technologies offer opportunities to improve disease management in aquaculture. Gene‐editing applications for farmed Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) include harnessing innate parasite resistance to protect against s…
View article: Boring beetles and super models: mapping the distribution of a new invader
Boring beetles and super models: mapping the distribution of a new invader Open
The impact of an invasive species is strongly influenced by the extent of its invaded range. Predicting the potential distribution of an invader is thus critical for informing decisions around surveillance, containment, and eradication. Su…
View article: The quick and the dead: Behavioral plasticity of anti‐predator responses in an Endangered mammal
The quick and the dead: Behavioral plasticity of anti‐predator responses in an Endangered mammal Open
Populations isolated from predation inside predator‐free havens often exhibit a reduction in anti‐predator traits. The loss of such traits has a critical bearing on strategic conservation management, and so it is important to understand th…
View article: Rapid geographic divergence in competitive ability of cane toad larvae ( <i>Rhinella marina</i> ) during a biological invasion
Rapid geographic divergence in competitive ability of cane toad larvae ( <i>Rhinella marina</i> ) during a biological invasion Open
Low population densities at the expanding edge of a biological invasion are predicted to reduce intraspecific competition such that invading organisms evolve to prioritize adaptations for rapid rates of population growth and dispersal over…
View article: Spatio-temporal variation in arthropod-plant interactions: A direct comparison of eDNA metabarcoding of tree crop flowers and digital video recordings
Spatio-temporal variation in arthropod-plant interactions: A direct comparison of eDNA metabarcoding of tree crop flowers and digital video recordings Open
Collating data about natural capital and the ecosystem services that underpin agricultural productivity, such as the activity of beneficial (e.g., pollinators) and antagonistic (e.g., plant pests) native and introduced arthropod taxa, is c…
View article: Does the development environment cause the pace of life to change in a rainforest lizard?
Does the development environment cause the pace of life to change in a rainforest lizard? Open
Life history theory emphasizes that finite resources result in allocation trade-offs among the competing interests of self-maintenance, growth, reproduction, and survival. Environmental conditions, particularly during development, can infl…
View article: Sustained predation pressure may prevent the loss of anti‐predator traits from havened populations
Sustained predation pressure may prevent the loss of anti‐predator traits from havened populations Open
Conservation havens free of invasive predators are increasingly relied upon for fauna conservation, although havened populations can lose anti‐predator traits, likely making them less suitable for life ‘beyond the fence’. Sustaining low le…
View article: Domain coverage and criteria overlap across digital health technology quality assessments: a systematic review
Domain coverage and criteria overlap across digital health technology quality assessments: a systematic review Open
Background: Digital health technologies (DHTs) have the potential to improve health outcomes and increase health system efficiency. However, to obtain these benefits, it is necessary to distinguish between high- and low-quality DHTs across…
View article: The evolution of a hobo snail
The evolution of a hobo snail Open
A recommendation of: Elodie Chapuis, Philippe Jarne, Patrice David Rapid life-history evolution reinforces competitive asymmetry between invasive and resident species https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.25.563987
View article: The hidden costs of resistance: Contrasting the energetics of successfully and unsuccessfully fighting infection
The hidden costs of resistance: Contrasting the energetics of successfully and unsuccessfully fighting infection Open
Exposure to a pathogen is predicted to lead to increased energy use as hosts attempt to activate a costly immune system and repair damaged tissue. To meet this demand, metabolic rates, which capture the rate at which a host can use, transf…
View article: What is the risk of overcollecting for translocation? An opportunistic assessment of a wingless grasshopper
What is the risk of overcollecting for translocation? An opportunistic assessment of a wingless grasshopper Open
Translocation is an increasingly used tool in conservation management, but there is a risk that source populations are overcollected. The risk depends critically on the detection probability and the source population size. We quantified th…
View article: Evolutionary predictions for a parasite metapopulation: Modelling salmon louse resistance to pest controls in aquaculture
Evolutionary predictions for a parasite metapopulation: Modelling salmon louse resistance to pest controls in aquaculture Open
Pests often evolve resistance to pest controls used in agriculture and aquaculture. The rate of pest adaptation is influenced by the type of control, the selective pressure it imposes, and the gene flow between farms. By understanding how …
View article: Optimizing targeted gene flow to maximize local genetic diversity: when and how to act under various scenarios of environmental change
Optimizing targeted gene flow to maximize local genetic diversity: when and how to act under various scenarios of environmental change Open
Targeted gene flow is an emerging conservation approach which involves introducing a cohort of individuals with particular traits to locations where they can produce a conservation benefit. This technique is being proposed to adapt recipie…
View article: Colony-level aggression escalates with the value of food resources
Colony-level aggression escalates with the value of food resources Open
Background Theory predicts that the level of escalation in animal contests is associated with the value of the contested resource. This fundamental prediction has been empirically confirmed by studies of dyadic contests but has not been te…
View article: Perverse outcomes from fencing fauna: Loss of antipredator traits in a havened mammal population
Perverse outcomes from fencing fauna: Loss of antipredator traits in a havened mammal population Open
Populations of threatened animals are increasingly preserved within predator-free havens, where populations tend to grow rapidly, resource competition increases, and traits relevant to avoiding predation may be selected against. We examine…
View article: A metapopulation model reveals connectivity-driven hotspots in treatment resistance evolution in a marine parasite
A metapopulation model reveals connectivity-driven hotspots in treatment resistance evolution in a marine parasite Open
In salmon aquaculture, the sustainable management of salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is limited by the adaptive capacity of the parasite. This is evident in the repeated evolution of pesticide resistance in the salmon louse populatio…
View article: Ethical Publishing: How Do We Get There?
Ethical Publishing: How Do We Get There? Open
The academic journal publishing model is deeply unethical: today, a few major, for-profit conglomerates control more than 50% of all articles in the natural sciences and social sciences, driving subscription and open-access publishing fees…
View article: Effects of developmental environment on animal personality in a tropical skink
Effects of developmental environment on animal personality in a tropical skink Open
Developmental environments play a significant role in shaping animal phenotype, including behavior. Within a species, individuals often differ in behavior in a consistent and repeatable way (i.e., demonstrate animal personality). This cons…
View article: Applying genetic technologies to combat infectious diseases in aquaculture
Applying genetic technologies to combat infectious diseases in aquaculture Open
Disease and parasitism cause major welfare, environmental and economic concerns for global aquaculture. In this review, we examine the status and potential of technologies that exploit genetic variation in host resistance to tackle this pr…
View article: Population genomics of a predatory mammal reveals patterns of decline and impacts of exposure to toxic toads
Population genomics of a predatory mammal reveals patterns of decline and impacts of exposure to toxic toads Open
Mammal declines across northern Australia are one of the major biodiversity loss events occurring globally. There has been no regional assessment of the implications of these species declines for genomic diversity. To address this, we cond…
View article: Slow and steady wins the race: Spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives
Slow and steady wins the race: Spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives Open
Gene drives that skew sex ratios offer a new management tool to suppress or eradicate pest populations. Early models and empirical work suggest that these suppression drives can completely eradicate well‐mixed populations, but models that …
View article: Ethical publishing: how do we get there?
Ethical publishing: how do we get there? Open
The scientific journal publishing model is deeply unethical: today, a few major for-profit conglomerates control more than 50% of all articles in the natural sciences and social sciences, driving subscription and open-access publishing fee…
View article: Ethical publishing: how do we get there?
Ethical publishing: how do we get there? Open
The scientific journal publishing model is deeply unethical: today, a few major for-profit conglomerates control more than 50% of all articles in the natural sciences and social sciences, driving subscription and open-access publishing fee…
View article: Slow and steady wins the race: spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives
Slow and steady wins the race: spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives Open
Gene drives that skew sex ratios offer a new management tool to suppress or eradicate pest populations. Early models and empirical work suggest that these suppression drives can completely eradicate well-mixed populations, but models that …