Recent publications
2024 & ONLINE EARLY
Pranter, R. & Feiner, N., Spatiotemporal distribution of neural crest cells in the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis. Developmental Dynamics 1-17
Feiner, N., Yang, W., Bunikis, I., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Adaptive introgression reveals the genetic basis of a sexually selected syndrome in wall lizards. Science Advances 10:14
Milocco, L. & Uller, T. Utilizing developmental dynamics for evolutionary prediction and control. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 121:14
Uller, T., Milocco, L., Isanta-Navarro, J., Cornwallis, C.K., & Feiner, N. Twenty Years of Developmental Plasticity and Evolution: On middle range theories and how to test them. Journal of Experimental Biology 227 (Suppl_1): jeb246375
2023
Milocco, L., & Uller, T. A data‐driven framework to model the organism–environment system. Evolution and Development, in press
Earley, T.S., Feiner, N., Alvarez, M.F., Coolon, J.D., & Sultan, S.E. The relative impact of parental and current environment on plant transcriptomes depends on type of stress and genotype. Proc B in press
Pettersen, A.K., Nord, A., While, G.M., & Uller, T. How do fluctuating temperatures alter the cost of development? Funct Ecol, in press
Pettersen, A.K., Feiner, N., Noble, D.W.A., While, G.M., Uller, T*. & Cornwallis, C.K*. Maternal behavioural thermoregulation facilitated evolutionary transitions from egg laying to live birth. Evolution Letters 2023:qrd031 *joint last author
Pettersen, A. K., Ruuskanen, S., Nord, A., Nilsson, J. F., Miñano, M. R., Fitzpatrick, L. J., While, G. M. and T. Uller. Population divergence in maternal investment and embryo energy use and allocation suggests adaptive responses to cool climates. Journal of Animal Ecology, in press
Milocco, L. & Uller, T. A data-driven framework to model the organism-environment system. Evolution and Development, in press
Uller, T. Agency, goal-orientation and evolutionary explanations. In P. Corning et al. (eds), Evolution ‘On Purpose’: Teleonomy in Living Systems, Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology, MIT Press, preprint
Uller, T. The epistemic functions of biological agency in evolutionary biology. Spontaneous Generations, in press
Gomez-Garrido, J., Cruz, F., Alioto, T.S., Feiner, N., Uller, T., Gut, M., Sanchez Escudero, I., Tavecchia, G., Rotger, A., Otalora Acecedo, K.E. & Baldo, L. Chromosome-level genome assembly of Lilford’s wall lizard Podarcis lilfordi (Gunther, 1874) from the Balearic Islands (Spain). DNA Research 30:dsad008
2022
Geneva, A. J., Park, S., Brock, D., . . . Feiner, N., . . . Losos, J. B. Chromosome-scale genome assembly of the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), an emerging model species. Communications Biology 5:1126
Zug, R. & Uller, T. Evolution and dysfunction of human cognitive and social traits: a transcriptional regulation perspective. Evolutionary Human Sciences 4:e43
Brun-Usan, M., Zimm, R. & Uller, T. Beyond genotype-phenotype maps: Toward a phenotype-centered perspective on evolution. BioEssays 44:2100225
Feiner, N., Radersma, R., Vasquez, L., Ringnér M., Nystedt, B., Raine, A., Tobi, E. W., Heijmans B. T. & Uller, T. Environmentally induced DNA methylation is inherited across generations in an aquatic keystone species. iScience 25:104303
Feiner, N., Brun-Usan, M., Andrade, P., Pranter, R., Park, S., Menke, D. B., Geneva, A. J. & Uller, T. A single locus regulates a female-limited color pattern polymorphism in a reptile. Science Advances 8:10
Yang, W., Feiner, N., Salvi, D., Laakkonen, H., Jablonski, D., Pinho, C., . . . Uller, T. Population genomics of wall lizards reflects the dynamic history of the Mediterranean Basin. Molecular Biology & Evolution 39:msab311
Ruiz Miñano, M., While, G.M., Yang, W., Burridge, C., Salvi, D. & Uller, T. Population genetic differentiation and genomic signatures of adaptation to climate in an abundant lizard. Heredity 128:271-278
Chevin, L-M., Leung, C., Le-Rouzic, A. & Uller, T. Using phenotypic plasticity to understand the structure and evolution of the genotype-phenotype map. Genetica 150:209-221
Hegg, A., Radersma, R. & Uller, T. Seasonal variation in the response to a toxin-producing cyanobacteria in Daphnia. Freshwater Biology 67:1035-1044
Oskyrko. O., Sos, T., Vacheva, E., Vlad, S.E., Cogălniceanu, D., Uller, T., Feiner, N., Carretero, M.A. Unravelling the origin of the common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in south-eastern Europe using mitochondrial evidence. Biodiversity Data Journal 10:e90337
Abalos, J., Pérez i de Lanuza, G., Bartolomé, A., Aubret, F., Uller, T. & Font, E. Viability, behaviour and colour inheritance in the offspring of matings between common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) colour morphs. Current Zoology 68:41-55
Bouffet-Halle, A., Yang, W., Gardner, M.G., Whiting, M., Wapstra, E., Uller, T. & While, G.M. Characterization and cross-amplification of sex-specific genetic markers in Australasian Egerniinae lizards and their implications for understanding the evolution of sex determination and social complexity. Australian Journal of Zoology 69(2):33-40
2021
MacLeod, K., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Viviparous mothers impose stronger glucocorticoid-mediated maternal stress effects on their offspring than do oviparous mothers. Ecology & Evolution 11, 17238– 17259
Brun-Usan, M., Rago, A., Thies, C., Uller, T., & Watson, R. A. 2021. Development and selective grain make plasticity ‘take the lead’ in adaptive evolution. BMC Ecol Evo 21:1-17
Noble, D.W.A., Senior, AM., Uller, T., & Schwanz, L.E. Heightened among-individual variation in life history but not morphology is related to developmental temperature in reptiles. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 34:1793-1802
Hegg, A., Radersma, R. & Uller, T. A field experiment reveals seasonal variation in the Daphnia gut microbiome. Oikos 130:2191-2201
Feiner, N., Jackson, I.S.C., Van der Cruyssen, E. & Uller, T. 2021. A highly conserved ontogenetic limb allometry and its evolutionary significance in the adaptive radiation of Anolis lizards. Proc R Soc Lond B 288:20210226
Yang, W., Feiner, N., Pinho, C., While, G.M., Kaliontzopoulou, A., Harris, D.J., Salvi, D. & Uller, T. 2021. Extensive introgression and mosaic genomes of Mediterranean endemic lizards. Nat Commun 12:2762
Ruiz Miñano, M., While, G.M., Yang, W., Burridge, C.P., Sacchi, R., Zuffi, M., Scali, R., Salvi, D., Uller, T. 2021. Climate shapes the geographic distribution and introgressive spread of colour ornamentation in common wall lizards. Am Nat 198:379-393
Feiner, N., Jackson, I.S.C., Stanley, E., & Uller, T. Evolution of the locomotor skeleton in Anolis lizards reflects the interplay between ecological opportunity and phylogenetic inertia. Nat Commun 12:1525
Feiner, N., Brun-Usan, M., Uller, T. Evolvability and evolutionary rescue. Evol Dev e12374
2020
Feiner, N., Jackson, I.S.C., Munch, K. L., Radersma, R., & Uller, T. Plasticity and evolutionary convergence in the locomotor skeleton of Greater Antillean Anolis lizards. eLife 9:e57468
Radersma, R., Noble, D.W.A., & Uller, T. Plasticity leaves a phenotypic signature during local adaptation. Evol Lett 4:360-370
Yang, W., Feiner, N., Laakkonen, H., Sacchi, R., Zuffi, M.A.L., Scali, S., While, G.M., Uller, T. Spatial variation in gene flow across a hybrid zone reveals causes of reproductive isolation and asymmetric introgression in wall lizards. Evolution 74:1289-1300
Brun-Usan, M., Thies, C., Watson, R.A. How to fit in: The learning principles of cell differentiation. PloS Comput Biol 16:e1006811
Feiner, N., de Souza-Lima, S., Jorge, F., Naem, S., Aubret, F., Uller, T. & Nadler S. Vertical transmission of a nematode from female lizards to the brains of their offspring. Am Nat 195:918-926
Feiner, N., Munch, K. L., Jackson, I.S.C., & Uller, T. Enhanced locomotor performance on familiar surfaces is uncoupled from morphological plasticity in Anolis lizards. J Exp Zool Part A, 2020: 1-11
Helanterä, H. & Uller, T. Different perspectives on non-genetic inheritance illustrate the versatile utility of the Price equation in evolutionary biology. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 375
Uller, T., Feiner, N., Radersma, R., Jackson, I.S.C. & Rago, A. Developmental plasticity and evolutionary explanations. Evol Dev 22:47-55
Jackson, I.S.C. Developmental bias in the fossil record. Evol Dev 22:88-102
2019
Feiner, N. Evolutionary lability in Hox cluster structure and gene expression in Anolis lizards. Evol Lett, 21:218-228
Feiner, N. & Wood, N.J. Lizards possess the most complete tetrapod Hox gene repertoire despite pervasive structural changes in Hox clusters. Evol Dev, 21: 218-228
Feiner, N., Motone, F., Meyer, A. & Kuraku, S. Asymmetric paralog evolution between the “cryptic” gene Bmp16 and its well-studied sister genes Bmp2 and Bmp4. Sci Rep, 9: 3136
Noble, D.W.A., Radersma, R. & Uller, T. Plastic responses to novel environments are biased towards phenotype dimensions with high additive genetic variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 116: 13452-13461
Uller, T., Laakkonen, H., Michaelides, S., While, G.M., Coulon, A. & Aubret, F. Genetic differentiation predicts body size divergence between island and mainland populations of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). Biol J Linnean Soc, 127: 771–786
Rago, A., Kouvaris, K., Uller, T. & Watson, R.A. How adaptive plasticity evolves when selected against. PLoS Comput Biol, 15: e1006260
Andrade, P., Pinho, C., Pérez I de Lanuza, G., Afonso, S., Brejcha, J., Rubin, C-J., Wallerman, O., Pereira, P., Sabatino, S.J., Bellati, A., Pellitteri-Rosa, D., Bosakova, Z., Bunikis, I., Carretero, M.A., Feiner, N., Marsik, P., Paupério, F., Salvi, D., Soler, L., While, G.M., Uller, T., Font, E., Andersson, L. & Carneiro, M. Regulatory changes in pterin and carotenoid genes underlie balanced color polymorphisms in the wall lizard. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 116: 5633-5642
Pettersen, A.K., White, C.R., Bryson‐Richardson, R.J. & Marshall, D.J. Linking life‐history theory and metabolic theory explains the offspring size‐temperature relationship. Ecol Lett, 22:518-526
2018
Michaelides, S., Hill, P., Laakkonen, H. & Uller, T. The origin of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Wales. Herpetol Bull, 146: 32-33
Tobi, E.W., van den Heuvel, J., Zwaan, B.J., Lumey, L.H., Heijmans, B.T. & Uller, T. Selective survival of embryos can explain DNA methylation signatures of adverse prenatal environments. Cell Rep, 25: 2660-2667
Radersma, R., Hegg, A., Noble, D.W.A., Uller, T. Timing of maternal exposure to toxic cyanobacteria and offspring fitness in Daphnia magna: Implications for the evolution of anticipatory maternal effects. Ecol Evol, 8: 12727-12736
Yang, W., While, G.M., Laakkonen, H., Sacchi, R., Zuffi, M.A.L., Scali, S., Salvi, D. & Uller, T. Genomic evidence for asymmetric introgression by sexual selection in the common wall lizard. Mol Ecol, 27: 4213-4224
Uller, T., Moczek, A.P., Watson, R.A., Brakefield, P.M. & Laland, K.N. Developmental Bias and Evolution: A Regulatory Network Perspective. Genetics, 209: 949-966
Noble, D.W.A., Stenhouse, V., Riley, J.L., Warner, D.A. While, G.M., Du, W-G., Uller, T. & Schwanz, L.E. A comprehensive database of thermal developmental plasticity in reptiles. Sci Data, 5: 180138
While, G.M., Noble, D.W.A., Uller, T., Warner, D.A., Riley, J.L., Du, W-G & Schwanz, L.E. Patterns of developmental plasticity in response to incubation temperature in reptiles. J Exp Zool Part A, 2018: 1-15
Feiner, N., Rago, A., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Developmental plasticity in reptiles: Insights from temperature‐dependent gene expression in wall lizard embryos. J Exp Zool Part A, 329: 351-361
Uller, T. & Helanterä, H. Niche construction and conceptual change in evolutionary biology. Br J Philos Sci: axx050
Feiner, N., Rago, A., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Signatures of selection in embryonic transcriptomes of lizards adapting in parallel to cool climate. Evolution, 72: 67-81
2017
Botterill-James, T., Halliwell, B., McKeown, S., Sillince, J. Uller, T., Wapstra, E. & While, G.M. Family aggression in a social lizard. Sci Rep 7:3502
Botterill-James, T., Sillince, J., Uller, T., Chapple, D.G., Gardner, M.G., Wapstra, E. & While, G.M. Experimental manipulation suggests effect of polyandry but not mate familiarity on within-pair aggression in the social skink, Liopholis whitii. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 71:71
Cordero, G.A., Andersson, B.A., Souchet, J., Micheli, G., Noble, D.W.A., Gangloff, E.J., Uller, T. & Aubret, F. Physiological plasticity in lizard embryos exposed to high altitude. J Exp Zool Part A 327:423-432
Halliwell, B., Uller, T., Holland, B.R. & While, G.M. Live bearing promotes the evolution of sociality in reptiles. Nat Comm, 8: 2030
Halliwell, B., Uller, T., Wapstra, E. & While, G.M. Resource distribution mediates social and mating behavior in a family living lizard. Behav Ecol 28:145-153
Halliwell, B., Uller, T., Chapple, D.G., Gardner, M.G., Wapstra, E. & While, G.M. Habitat saturation promotes delayed dispersal in a social reptile. Behav Ecol 2017 28:515-522
Kasper C., Vierbuchen M., Ernst U., Fischer S., Radersma R., Raulo A., Cunha-Saraiva F., Wu M., Mobley K., Taborsky B. Genetics and developmental biology of cooperation. Mol Ecol 26:4364-4377
MacGregor, H.E.A., Lewandowsky, R.A.M., d’Ettorre, P., Leroy, C., Davies, N.W., While, G.M. and Uller, T. Chemical communication, sexual selection, and introgression in wall lizards. Evolution 71:2327-2343
MacGregor, H.E.A., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Comparison of reproductive investment in native and non-native populations of lizards reveal sex differences in adaptive potential. Oikos 126:1564-1574
MacGregor, H.E.A., While, G.M., Barrett, J., Perez I de Lanuza, G., Carazo, P., Michaelides, S. & Uller, T. Experimental contact zones reveal causes and targets of sexual selection in hybridizing lizards. Funct Ecol 2017 31:742-752
Milligan N.D., Radersma R., Cole E.F., Sheldon B.C. To graze or gorge: consistency and flexibility of individual foraging tactics in tits. J Anim Ecol 86:826-836
Radersma R., Garroway C.J., Santure A.W., De Cauwer I., Farine D.R., Slate S., Sheldon B.C. Social and spatial effects on genetic variation between foraging flocks in a wild bird population. Mol Ecol 26:5807-5819
While, G.M. & Uller, T. Female reproductive investment in response to male phenotype in wall lizards and its implications for introgression. Biol J Linn Soc 121:876-882
2016
Botterill-James, T., Halliwell, B., Barnes, E., Uller, T., Wapstra, E. & While, G.M. Habitat Structure Influences Parent-Offspring Association in a Social Lizard. Front Ecol Evol 4:96
Crates, R.A., Firth, J.A., Farine, D.R., Garroway, C.J., Kidd, L.R., Aplin, L.M., Radersma, R., Milligan, N.D., Voelkl, B., Culina, A., Verhelst, B.L., Hinde, C.A., Sheldon, B.C. Individual variation in winter supplementary food consumption and its consequences for reproduction in wild birds. J Avian Biol 47:678-689
English, S., Fawcett, T.W., Higginson, A.D., Trimmer, P. & Uller, T. Adaptive use of information during growth can explain long-term effects of early-life experiences. Am Nat 187:620-632
English, S. & Uller, T. Does early-life diet affect lifespan? A meta-analysis across experimental studies. Biol Lett 12:20160291
English, S. & Uller, T. Nutrition, Epigenetics and Health: Evolutionary Perspectives. In Nutrition, Epigenetics and Health. (eds G. Burdge & K. Lillycrop), WorldPress
Feiner, N. Accumulation of transposable elements in Hox gene clusters during adaptive radiation of Anolis lizards. Proc R Soc Lond B 283:20161555
Heathcote, R., MacGregor, H., Sciberras, J., While, G.M., D’Ettorre, P. & Uller, T. Male behaviour drives assortative reproduction during the initial stage of secondary contact in lizards. J Evol Biol 29:1003-1015
Kuraku, S., Feiner, N., Keeley, S. & Yuichiro, H. Incorporating tree-thinking and evolutionary time scale into developmental biology. Dev Growth Differ 58:131–142
Lagisz, M., Blair, H., Kenyon, P., Uller, T., Raubenheimer, D. & Nakagawa, S. Little appetite for obesity: meta-analysis of the effects of maternal obesogenic diets on offspring food intake and body mass in rodents. Int J Obes 39:1669-78
Michaelides, S., While, G.M., Zajac, N., Aubret, F., Calsbeek, B., Sacchi, R., Zuffi, M.A.L. & Uller, T. Loss of genetic diversity and increased embryonic mortality in non-native lizards. Mol Ecol 25:4113–4125
Paredes, U., Radersma, R., Cannell, N., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Low incubation Temperature induces DNA hypo-methylation in lizard brains. J Exp Zool 325:390-395
Uller, T. External funding of doctoral education: Background and reflection. Högre Utbildning 6:65-75
Uller, T. & Helanterä, H. Heredity in evolutionary theory. In Challenges to Evolutionary Biology: Development and Heredity (eds. P. Huneman & D. Walsh), Oxford University Press, forthcoming. Download pdf here
van den Heuvel, J., English, S. & Uller, T. Disposable soma and the evolution of maternal effects on ageing. PLoS One 11:e0145544
2015
Aplin, L.M., Firth, J.A., Farine, D.R., Voelkl, B., Crates, R.A., Culina, A., Garroway, C.J., Hinde, C.A., Kidd, L.R., Psorakis, I., Milligan, N.D., Radersma, R., Verhelst, B.L., Sheldon, B.C. Consistent individual differences in the social phenotypes of wild great tits, Parus major. Anim Behav 108:117-127
Bregman, T.P., Lees, A.C., Seddon, N., MacGregor, H.E.A., Darski, B., Aleixo, A., Bonsall, M.B. & Tobias, J.A. Species interactions regulate the collapse of biodiversity and ecosystem function in tropical forest fragments. Ecology 96:2692-2704
Culina, A., Radersma, R. & Sheldon, B.C. Trading up: the fitness consequences of divorce in monogamous birds. Biol Rev 90:1015-1034
Cordero, G.A. & Quinteros, K. Skeletal remodeling suggests the turtle’s shell is not an evolutionary straitjacket. Biol Lett 11:20150022
English, S., Pen, I.R., Shea, N. & Uller, T. The information value of non-genetic inheritance in plants and insects. PLoS One 10:e0116996
Farine, D.R., Firth, J.A., Aplin, L.M., Crates, R.A., Culina, A., Garroway, C.J., Hinde, C.A., Kidd, L.R., Milligan, N.D., Psorakis, I., Radersma, R., Verhelst, B., Voelkl, B., Sheldon, B.C. The role of social and ecological processes in structuring animal populations: a case study from automated tracking of wild birds. R Soc Open Sci 2:150057
Heathcote, R.J.P, Dawson, D.A. & Uller, T. Characterisation of nine microsatellite loci of utility across lineages of the European wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Cons Genet Resources 7:85-87
Laakkonen, H.M., Strelkov P. & Väinölä R. Molecular lineage diversity in the nearly-cosmopolitan Hiatella (Mollusca, Bivalvia): assessing inter-oceanic relationships on multiple timescales. Zool Scripta 44:83-402
Laland, K.L., Uller, T, Feldman, M., Sterelny, K., Müller, G.B., Moczek, A., Jablonka, E. & Odling-Smee, J. The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, core assumptions, and predictions. Proc R Soc Lond B 282:20151019
Michaelides, S., Cornish, N., Griffiths, R. Groombridge, J., Zajac, N., Walters, G.J., Aubret, F., While, G.M. & Uller, T. Phylogeography and conservation genetics of the common wall lizard, Podacris muralis, on islands at its northern range limit. PLoS One 10:e0117113
Michaelides, S., While, G.M., Zajac, N. & Uller, T. Widespread primary, but geographically restricted secondary, human introductions of wall lizards, Podarcis muralis. Mol Ecol 24:2702-2717
Psorakis, I., Voelkl, B., Garroway, C.J., Radersma, R., Aplin, L.M., Crates, R.A., Culina, A., Farine, D.R., Firth, J.A., Hinde, C.A., Kidd, L.R., Milligan, N.D., Roberts, S.J., Verhelst, B. & Sheldon, B.C. Inferring social structure from temporal data. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 69:857-866
Radersma, R. & Sheldon, B.C. A new permutation technique to explore and control for spatial autocorrelation. Methods Ecol Evol 6:1026-1033
Radersma, R., Komdeur, J. & Tinbergen, J.M. Early morning fledging improves recruitment in Great Tits Parus major. Ibis 157:351-355
Sepil, I., Radersma, R., Santure. A.W., De Cauwer, I., Slate, J., Sheldon, B.C. No evidence for MHC class I based disassortative mating in a wild population of great tits. J Evol Biol 28:643-654
Svendsen, J.C., Tirsgaard, B., Cordero, G.A. & Steffensen, J.F. Intraspecific variation in aerobic and anaerobic locomotion: gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) do not exhibit a trade-off between maximum sustained swimming speed and minimum cost of transport. Front Physiol 6:1-12
Uller, T., English, S. & Pen, I. When is incomplete epigenetic resetting in germ cells favoured by natural selection? Proc R Soc Lond B 282: 20150682
Uller, T. & Helanterä, H. Towards an evolutionary developmental biology of cooperation? Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 48:267-271
Uller, T. & While, G.M. 2015. Evolutionary ecology of reproductive investment in lizards. In Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Lizards and Tuatara (eds. J.L. Rheubert, D.S. Siegel & S.E. Trauth), CRC Press
Waggoner, M. & Uller, T. Epigenetic determinism in science and society. New Genet Soc 34:177-195
Wen, G., Yang, W., Fu J. Population genetic structure and species status of Asiatic Toads (Bufo gargarizans) in Western China. Zool Sci 32: 427-434
While, G.M., Halliwell, B. & Uller, T. Evolution of complex social organisation in lizards. In Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Lizards and Tuatara (eds. J.L. Rheubert, D.S. Siegel & S.E. Trauth). CRC Press
While, G.M., Michaelides, S., Heathcote, R.J.P., MacGregor, H.E.A., Zajac, N., Beninde, J., Carazo, P., Pérez i de Lanuza, G., Sacchi, R., Zuffi, M.A.L., Horváthová, T., Fresnillo, B., Schulte, U., Veith, M., Hochkirch A. & Uller, T. Sexual selection drives asymmetric introgression in wall lizards. Ecol Lett 18:1366-1375
*While, G.M., Williamson, J., Prescott, G., Horvathova, T., Fresnillo, B., Beeton, N.J., Halliwell, B., Michaelides, S. & *Uller, T. Adaptive responses to cool climate promotes persistence of a non-native lizard. Proc R Soc Lond B 282:20142638
*equal contribution