CIBER Team Members

Name:

Boris Baer (See CV)

Function:

CIBER Coordinator
Committee member Swiss Australian Academic Network

Project description:

I am interested how sexual reproduction operates in social systems, for example by studying the molecular interactions between competing ejaculates or between ejaculates and the female.

Expertise:

Sociobiology, Evolutionary Biology, Sexual selection, Sperm competition. Cryptic female choice Proteomics

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

 bcbaer[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Personal Website:

Click here

Name:

Holger Eubel

Function:

Researcher

Project description:

I am interested in the proteomic profiling of seminal and spermathecal fluid in honeybees. I also conduct experimental work to investigate the functioning of the respiratory chain proteins within the mitochondria of bee sperm.

Expertise:

Protein Biochemistry, Proteomics, Electrophoresis, Organelle Preparation

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

 heubel[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Name:

Leigh W. Simmons

Function:

Researcher

Project description:

My research focuses on how variation in reproductive success influences the evolution of behaviour, morphology, and physiology. I am particularly interested in life-history trade-offs between male fertility and immunity, and how female mating behaviour promotes fitness through mechanisms of sperm competition and selective sperm use.

Expertise:

Behavioural ecology, quantitative genetics, ecological immunology, sperm competition

Publications:

Publications

Contact me:

lsimmons[at]uwa.edu.au

Personal Website:

Click here

Name:

A. Harvey Millar

Function:

Researcher

Project description:

My research focuses on proteomics and the use of mass spectrometry to understand metabolic networks in a range of species. In CIBER I provide the background and experimental design for honeybee proteomic projects and work to increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that influence reproductive success and disease resistance.

Expertise:

Proteomics, mass spectrometry, functional genomics

Publications:

Publications

Contact me:

harvey.millar[at]uwa.edu.au

Personal Website:

Click here

Name:

John Davies

Function:

Honeybee Industry representative

Project description:

I coordinate the Western Australian Bee-breeding Program known as Better Bees that aims to maintain high quality bees for the Western Australian beekeeping industry. In an annual breeding program on Rottnest Island we ensure the successful continuation of our 24 lines of honey bees. Honeybees from these lineages are used for scientific experiments running at CIBER.

Expertise:

I am a commercial apiarist operating 800 honeybee colonies. I have 35 years of experience in bee breeding, industry knowledge and involvement

Contact me:

jcsbdavies[at]westnet.com.au

Name:

Tiffane Bates

Function:

Churchill fellow, Beeyard manager

Project description:

I want to find ways to prepare Australian honeybees for the eventual arrival of the Varroa mite. Furthermore, I am responsible for organizing the breeding and maintaining of the bees needed for the various research projects conducted. I help researchers with their experiments, for example by artificially inseminating experimental queens.

Expertise:

Varroa mite, Honeybee breeding, Artificial Insemination, Queen and drone rearing

Publications:


Contact me:

tiffbee[at]hotmail.com

Name:

Nicolas L. Taylor (See CV)

Function:

Researcher

Project description:

I study how plants acclimate to the extremes of temperature by adjusting their metabolism to survive. The temperatures at which plants grow vary as a result of global climate change and an understanding of how plant respiration responds to growth at different temperatures is vital to project the impact of climate change. Tools and techniques I developed for this project I now apply to bees.

Expertise:

Proteomics, mass spectrometry

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

ntaylor[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Personal Website:

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Name:

Veronica Poland

Function:

Postdoctoral Researcher

Project description:

I am interested in studying sexual selection in honey bees. I am using proteomic techniques to characterize honey bee sperm, examine the effect of ejaculates on queens and identify differences in male reproductive success.

Expertise:

Proteomics, sexual conflict, honey bee sperm

Publications:

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Contact me:

vpoland[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Name:

Michaela King

Function:

Postdoctoral Researcher

Project description:

I am interested in conservation and evolutionary biology. My current research focuses on the physiological and molecular interactions of reproductive components in honey bees and the mechanisms that allow social insect sperm to survive for years. To do this I study the effects of seminal fluid proteins on sperm survival.

Expertise:

Honey bee sperm viability, artificial insemination, functional genomics

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

mking[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Name:

Rodolfo Jaffé

Function:

Postdoctoral Researcher

Project description:

My research focuses in integrating pre- with postcopulatory sexual selection, determining how the mating success of honey bee males is related to the fertilization success of their sperm. By quantifying the genetic variation in different body and sperm traits, I want to provide guidelines for more effective bee breeding programs.

Expertise:

Evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, sexual selection, conservation biology

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

rodolfo.jaffe[at]cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Personal Website:

Click here

Name:

Rob Manning

Function:

Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food

Project description:

I am performing research to understand honeybee nutrition in order to improve beekeeping. I maintain close links to the Australian bee industry and I am involved in collaborative research between CIBER and the Department of Agriculture and Food on honeybee disease

Publications:

Click here

Expertise:

Artificial feeding, Bee keeping, hygienic behavior, pollination

Contact me:

rob.manning[at]agric.wa.gov.au

Name:

Susanne den Boer

Function:

Postdoctoral Researcher

Project description:

My interests are in evolutionary biology and social insect mating biology. I focus mainly on post-copulatory processes such as sperm competition and cryptic female choice, by studying the effects of male seminal fluid and queen spermathecal fluid on sperm survival.

Expertise:

Evolutionary biology, Sexual selection, Sperm competition, Cryptic female choice, Social insect biology

Publications:

Click here

Contact me:

spadenboer[at]bio.ku.dk

Personal Website:

Click here

Name:

Puspita Demitria

Function:

Honours student

Project description:

My research project focuses on the dynamics of sperm competition during the sperm storage process, which takes about 40 hours in honeybees. To do this I measure sperm viability over time to estimate the survival of sperm in the presence of seminal fluid from a competing male.

Expertise:

Sperm viability, fluorecence microscopy, sexual selection

Contact me:

demitp[at]student.uwa.edu.au

Name:

Lizzy Lowe

Function:

Honours student

Project description:

I study the immune system of honeybees, comparing immunocompetence between feral and managed bees in Western Asutralia.

Expertise:

Encapsulation response, Protein avtivity measureements

Contact me:

lizzylowe[at]iinet.net.au

Name:

Felicity Wood

Function:

BioGENEius Fellow

Project description:

I am interested in immunity and reproduction in honeybees. I run experiments that test whether the seminal fluid is able to protect sperm form microbial attacks. I successfully applied as a BioGENEius fellow and I am running my research as part of a global competition.

BioGENEius Website


For more information about the BioGEneius challenge, Click here

Contact me:

john_wood[at]optusnet.com.au

Name:

Markus Imhoof

Function:

Movie Director

Project description:

I am working on a documentary about honeybees. A crucial part of the movie aims to to provide fascinating visual insights into the life of a honeybee colony. I am currently developing the use of slow motion movie cameras for this purpose but I am facing the challenge of using honeybees as actors!

Expertise:

Screenplay, Dramaturgy, high speed and macro filming, digital postproduction

Previous films:

Click here

Contact me:

mail[at]markus-imhoof.ch

Personal Website:

Click here

Collaborating Partners