UNSW Leaders in Science

Associate Professor Robert Brooks
Director, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre

Biological Sciences Building - Room 450D
Phone: +61 2 9385-2587 - Fax: +61 2 9385-1558 - Email: rob.brooks@unsw.edu.au

Career profilePublicationsResearchSupervision & teachingFunding

Publications

Summary of Publication Track Record

• 64 Peer-reviewed publications since 1994, including 59 journal articles, 3 book chapters and 2 peer-reviewed conference proceedings.
  
• 1173 citations (ISI Web of Science listed sources only).
  

• Hirsch's H = 18.

Refereed papers in scientific journals

59. Head, M., Lindholm, A.K. & Brooks, R. 2007. Operational sex ratio and density do not affect directional selection on male sexual ornaments and behaviour. Evolution. In press.

58. Bussière LF, Hunt J, Stölting KN, Jennions M, Brooks R.  In Press. Mate choice for genetic quality when environments vary: suggestions for empirical progress. Genetica. In press.

57. Hunt, J., Blows, M.W., Zajitschek, F., Jennions, M.D., & Brooks, R. Reconciling strong stabilizing selection with the maintenance of genetic variation in a natural population of black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus). Genetics 177: 875-880.

56. Monro, K., Poore, A.G.B., & Brooks, R. 2007. Multivariate selection shapes environment-dependent variation in the clonal morphology of a red seaweed. Evolutionary Ecology 21: 765-782.

55. Jennions, M.D., Drayton, J.M., Brooks, R. & Hunt, J. 2007. Do female black field crickets Teleogryllus commodus benefit from polyandry? Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 1469-1477.

54. Drayton, J.M., Hunt, J., Brooks, R. & Jennions, M.D. 2007. Sounds different: conflicting evidence for inbreeding depression in sexually selected traits in the cricket Teleogryllus commodus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 20: 1138-1147.

53. Zajitschek, F., Hunt, J., Zajitschek, S.R.K, Jennions, M.D. & Brooks, R. 2007. No intra-locus sexual conflict over reproductive fitness or ageing in field crickets. PLoS One 2: e155. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000155

52. Head, M. L., Hunt, J. & Brooks, R. 2006. Genetic association between male attractiveness and female differential allocation. Biology Letters 2:341-344.

51. Hunt, J., Jennions, M.D., Spyrou, N., & Brooks, R. 2006. Artificial selection on male longevity influences age-dependent reproductive effort in the black field cricket Teleogryllus commodus. American Naturalist 168:E72-E86.

50. Lindholm, A. K., Hunt, J. & Brooks, R.. 2006. Where do all the maternal effects go? Variation in offspring body size through ontogeny in the live-bearing fish Poecilia parae. Biology Letters 2:586-589.

49. Mariette, M., Kelley, J. L., Brooks, R., & Evans, J. P. 2006. The effects of inbreeding on male courtship behaviour and coloration in guppies. Ethology 112:807-814.

48. Postma, E., Griffith, S. C., & Brooks, R. 2006. Evolutionary genetics - Evolution of mate choice in the wild. Nature 444:E16-E16.

47. Zajitschek, S. R. K., Evans, J. P. & Brooks, R. 2006. Independent effects of familiarity and mating preferences for ornamental traits on mating decisions in guppies. Behavioral Ecology 17:911-916.

46. Kokko, H., Jennions, M.D. & Brooks. 2006. Unifying and testing models of sexual selection. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 37: 43-66.

45. Bentsen, C.L., Hunt, J., Jennions, M.D. & Brooks, R. 2006. Complex Multivariate Sexual Selection on Male Acoustic Signalling in a Wild Population of Teleogryllus commodus. The American Naturalist. E102-E116.

44. Bussière, L.F., Hunt, J., Jennions, M.D. & Brooks, R. 2006. Sexual conflict and cryptic female choice in the black field cricket Teleogryllus commodus. Evolution 60: 792-800.

43. Head, M.L. & Brooks, R. 2006. Sexual coercion and the opportunity for sexual selection in guppies. Animal Behaviour 71: 515-522.

42. Miller, L.K. & Brooks, R. 2005. Good male guppies come from good families: the effects of genotype, age and social environment on male ornamentation, mating behaviour and attractiveness. Evolution 59: 2414-2425

41. Lindholm, A.K., Breden, F., Alexander, HJ., Chan, W-K., Thakurta, S.G., & Brooks, R. 2005. Invasion success and genetic diversity of introduced populations of guppies Poecilia reticulata in Australia. Molecular Ecology 14: 3671-82.

40. Hunt, J., Brooks, R. & Jennions, M.D. 2005. Female mate choice as a condition dependent life-history trait. The American Naturalist 166: 79-92.

39. Brooks, R., Hunt, J., Blows, M.W., Smith, M.J., Bussière, L.F., & Jennions, M.D. 2005. Experimental evidence for multivariate stabilizing sexual selection. Evolution 59: 871-880.

38. Head, M.L., Hunt, J., Jennions, M.D., Brooks, R. 2005. The indirect benefits of mating with attractive males outweigh the direct costs. PLoS Biology 3: e33.

37. Savage, K., Hunt, J., Jennions, M.D., & Brooks, R. 2005.  Male attractiveness is positively associated with fighting ability but not confidence in the house cricket Acheta domesticus. Behavioural Ecology. 16: 196-200.

36. Hunt, J., Brooks, R., Jennions, M.D., Smith, M.J., Bentsen, C.L., Bussière, L.F. 2004. High quality male field crickets invest heavily in sexual display but die young. Nature. 432: 1024-1027.

35. Brooks, R., Bussière, L.F., Jennions, M.D. & Hunt, J. 2004. Sinister strategies succeed at the 2003 cricket world cup. Biology Letters. Proceeding of the Royal Society of London B 271:S64-S66.

34. Jennions, M.D., Hunt, J., Brooks, R. & Graham, R. 2004. No evidence for inbreeding avoidance through post-copulatory mechanisms in the black field cricket Teleogryllus commodus. Evolution 58: 2472-2477.

33. Hunt, J., Bussière, L.F., Jennions, M.D. & Brooks, R. 2004. What is genetic quality? Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 19: 329-333.

32. Hunt, J. & Brooks, R. 2004. The mother-in-law effect. Biology Letters. Proceeding of the Royal Society of London B. 271:S61-S63 .

31. Hall, M.; Lindholm, A.K.; Brooks, R. 2004. Direct selection on male attractiveness and female preference fails to produce a response. BMC Evolutionary Biology 4:1

30. Lindholm, A.K,, Brooks, R., & Breden, F. 2004. Extreme polymorphism in a Y-linked sexually selected trait. Heredity. 1-7.

29. Syriatowicz, A. & Brooks, R. 2004. Sexual responsiveness is condition-dependent in female guppies, but preference functions are not. BMC Ecology. 4:5

28. Kokko, H., Brooks, R., Jennions, M. & Morley, J. 2003. The evolution of mate choice and mating biases. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 270: 652-664.

27. Krützen, M., Sherwin, W.B., Connor, R.C., Barre, L.M., Van de Casteele, T., Mann, J. & Brooks, R. 2003. Contrasting evolutionary strategies within a population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 270: 497-502.

26. Blows, M.W., Brooks, R. & Kraft, P.G. 2003. Exploring complex fitness surfaces: multiple ornamentation and polymorphism in guppies. Evolution 57:622-630.

25. Kokko, H & Brooks, R. 2003. Sexy to die for? Sexual selection and the risk of extinction. Annales Zoologici Fennici 40: 207-219

24. Gamble, S., Lindholm, A., Endler, J.A. & Brooks, R. 2003. Environmental variation and the maintenance of polymorphism: The effect of ambient light spectrum on mating behaviour and sexual selection in guppies. Ecology Letters 6: 463-472.

23. McNamara, J., Houston, A.I., dos Santos, M.M., Kokko, H., & Brooks, R. 2003. Quantifying male attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Ser B. 270: 1925-1932.

22. Blows, M.W. & Brooks, R. 2003. Measuring non-linear selection. The American Naturalist. 162: 815-820.

21. Kokko, H., Brooks, R., McNamara, J. & Houston, A. 2002. The sexual selection continuum. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 269, 1331-1340.

20. Fox, S., Brooks, R., Lewis, M.J., & Johnson, C.N. 2002. Polymorphism, mate choice and sexual selection in the Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae). Australian Journal of Zoology. 50: 125-134.

19. Brooks, R. 2002. Variation in mate choice within guppy populations: multiple ornaments, population divergence and the maintenance of polymorphism. Genetica. 116: 343-358.

18. Brooks, R. & Endler, J.A. 2001. Direct and indirect selection and quantitative genetics of male traits in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) Evolution 55: 1002-1015.

17. Brooks, R. & Endler, J.A. 2001. Female guppies agree to differ: phenotypic and genetic variation in mate choice behaviour and the consequences for sexual selection. Evolution 55: 1644-1655.

16. Jennions, M.D. & Brooks, R. 2001. A sense of history. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16: 113-115.

15. Brooks, R. & Kemp, D.J. 2001. Can older males deliver the good genes? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16: 308-313.

14. Brooks, R. 2000. Negative genetic correlation between male sexual attractiveness and survival. Nature 406: 67-70.

13. Brooks, R. & Jennions, M.D. 1999. The dark side of sexual selection. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14: 336-337.

12. Alexander, G.J. & Brooks, R. 1999. Circannual rhythms of appetite and ecdysis in the Elapid snake, Hemachatus haemachatus, appear to be endogenous. Copeia 99: 146-152.

11. Brooks, R. & Caithness, N. 1999. Intersexual and intrasexual selection, sneak copulation and male ornamentation in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). South African Journal of Zoology 34: 48-52.

10. Brooks, R. 1999. Mate copying in guppies: females avoid the place where they saw courtship. Behaviour 136: 411-421.

9. Brooks, R. & Couldridge, V. 1999. Multiple sexual ornaments coevolve with multiple mating preferences. The American Naturalist 154: 37-45.

8. Brooks, R. 1998. The importance of mate copying and cultural inheritance of mating preferences. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13: 45-46.

7. Brooks, R. 1996. Melanin pigment as a visual signal amplifier in male guppies. Naturwissenschaften 83: 39-41.

6. Brooks, R. 1996. Copying and the repeatability of mate choice. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 39: 323-329.

5. Brooks, R. & Caithness, N. 1995. Does a male's attractiveness to a female depend on her previous experience? South African Journal of Science 91: 156-158.

4. Brooks, R. & Caithness, N. 1995. Female guppies use orange as a mate choice cue: a manipulative test. South African Journal of Zoology 30(4): 1-4.

3. Brooks, R. & Caithness, N. 1995. Female choice in a feral guppy population: are there multiple cues?  Animal Behaviour 50: 301-307.

2. Brooks, R. & Caithness, N. 1995. Manipulating a seemingly non-preferred ornament reveals a role in female choice. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Ser B. 261:7-10.

1. Brooks, R. C. & Owen-Smith, N. 1994. Plant defences against mammalian herbivores: Are juvenile Acacia more heavily defended than mature trees? Bothalia 24 (2): 211-215.

Chapters in books

3. Brooks, R.; Poore, A. & Bonser, S. 2004. Exploring the broader social context of a conceptually-rich science course: a collaborative learning program. UNSW Compendium of Good Practice in Teaching and Learning.

2. Brooks, R. 2003. Variation in mate choice within guppy populations: multiple ornaments, population divergence and the maintenance of polymorphism. In Etges, W. & Noor, M. (ed.) The Genetics of Premating Isolation. Kluwer.

1. Brooks, R. & Osberg, D.C. 1997. Biological classification. In Osberg, D. (ed) College of Science: Biology Skills  pp 15 - 19 Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg.

Peer-reviewed conference proceedings

2. Brooks, R., Rollins, L.A., & Spyrou, N. 2006. Genetic architecture of sexually selected traits - lessons from guppies. 8^th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production. August 13-18, 2006. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.

1. McAlpine, I., Scoufis, M., & Brooks, R. (2003). An application of online technologies to support group learning in a Bioscience course. In D. Lassener. & C. McNaught (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2003 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, (Hawaii, June 24-28). (pp. 1598-1604). Norfolk, VA: AACE.

Invited book reviews

Sex, Color, and Mate Choice in Guppies (Princeton University Press, 1997) by Anne E. Houde. Reviewed at the invitation of American Zoologist.

Sexual Conflict (Princeton University Press, 2005) by Göran Arnqvist and Locke Rowe. Reviewed at the invitation of Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Invited presentations

Gordon Conference on Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics. Newport, R.I. USA. July 2007.

Catalysis meeting on developing Poeciliid genomic tools. National Evolutionary Synthesis Centre, Durham, N.C. USA. May 2007

Genetic architecture of sexually selected traits - lessons from guppies. 8th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Animal Production. Belo Horizonte, Brazil, August 2006.

The genetic basis of inbreeding depression. 2nd European Conference on Poeciliid Fishes (plenary talk), Trondheim, Norway, December 2005.

The genetic conflict between beauty and age. UNSW-Asia research workshop. Singapore, March 2005.

The evolution of attractiveness: insights from fitness surfaces. Australian Association for the Advancement of Science: Frontiers in Science Conference. Melbourne, April 2005.

Condition-dependent sexual advertisement: high quality males live fast and die young. XIXth International Congress of Zoology (symposium talk), Beijing, China, August 2004.

Mate choice in multiple dimensions: the evolution of attractiveness and attraction in guppies. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Easter meeting (Plenary Talk, accepting the society's 2003 Outstanding New Researcher Award), Leeds, April 2003.

Choosing a mate: are there universal standards of attractiveness?  Australian Science Festival, Canberra August 2002.

The importance of within-population variation in mate choice. American Society of Naturalists (symposium talk), Banff, Canada, July 2002.      

Young scientists and popular science communication. Australian Science Communicators conference, Sydney, October 2001.

Female guppies agree to differ. Fresh Science, Melbourne, August 2001.

Why are male guppies so polymorphic? Sexual Selection Workshop. Canberra, October 2001.

And spoken papers at thirteen other international and twelve local conferences, plus >40 papers as non-presenting author.

Other publications and media work

Brooks. R. 1998. Mate copying and cultural inheritance - Reply from R. Brooks. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13 (6): 240-241

Pizzari, T. et al. (23 authors) 2006. Debating sexual selection and mating strategies. Science 312:690 (Correspondence).

Rob Brooks has conducted over eighty television, radio and print media interviews for Australian, European, North American and Japanese media in the last five years. He has published popular scientific articles and book reviews in The Sunday Independent (Johannesburg). He co-wrote and presented a 12 minute television segment on reproduction and mate choice for the SABC program 50/50, and has contributed to several television documentaries (Sex in the Bush, Totally Wild etc) for Australian television.