Professor of Evolutionary Biology
Fellow of Sidney Sussex College
Rebecca Kilner is accepting applications for PhD students.
Biography:
I've spent my academic career based at the Zoology Department in Cambridge, though during that time I've held visiting fellowships at the Australian National University and Cornell University, when I travelled there for fieldwork. After finishing my PhD, I was a Junior Research Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge and then was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship followed by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. In 2004, I was appointed to a University Lectureship, which I took up in 2007. I was promoted to Reader in 2009 and to Professor in 2013. In 2008 and 2010 I was on maternity leave.
Research Themes
Research Group
- Behavioural Ecology Group:
- Professor of Evolutionary Biology
Research Interests
current post-doc and PhD positions within the group are advertised on our research website,
and on Twitter @BuryingBeetle
Our research investigates how social evolution generates biodiversity. We're specifically interested in how parental behaviour contributes to the evolutionary process through its effects on genetic and phenotypic diversity; through the way in which parents act as agents of natural selection; and through the diverse ways in which parents might even promote speciation.
This is important because evolutionary biology can play a key role in addressing conservation problems. It can potentially predict which species will flexibly adapt in a changing world, for example, as well as how rapidly evolutionary change can arise and whether the loss of a single species can precipitate a collapse in local biodiversity.
Our current research focuses mainly on burying beetles, though we continue to study bird species as well.
Our main collaborators are Dr Naomi Langmore (Australian National University), Dr Sheena Cotter (University of Lincoln), Dr Cassie Stoddard (Harvard), and Dr Martin Welch (Dept of Biochemistry, Cambridge).
Collaborators
Key Publications
Kilner, R. M., Boncoraglio, G., Henshaw, J. M., Jarrett, B.J.M., de Gasperin, O. & Kokko, H. (2015). Parental effects alter the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait. eLife DOI: 10.7554/eLife.07340
Feeney, W. E., Medina, I., Somveille, M., Heinsohn, R., Hall, M. L., Mulder, R. A., Stein. J. A., Kilner, R.M. & Langmore, N. E. (2013) Brood parasitism and the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds. Science 342: 1506-1508
Cotter, S. C., Topham, E., Price, A. J. P. & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Fitness costs associated with mounting a social immune response. Ecology Letters 13: 1114-1123
Hinde, C. A., Johnstone, R. A & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Parent-offspring conflict and coadaptation. Science 327: 1373-1376
Russell, A. F., Langmore, N. E., Cockburn, A., Astheimer, L. B. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Reduced egg investment can conceal helper effects in cooperatively breeding birds. Science 317:941-944
Other Publications
2015
71. De Gasperin, O. & Kilner, R. M. (2015). Interspecific interactions change the outcome of sexual conflict over pre-hatching parental investment in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Ecology and Evolution in press (DOI to come)
70. Kilner, R. M., Boncoraglio, G., Henshaw, J. M., Jarrett, B.J.M., de Gasperin, O. & Kokko, H. 2015. Parental effects alter the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait. eLife DOI: 10.7554/eLife.07340
69. De Gasperin, O. & Kilner, R. M. (2015). Friend or foe: interspecific interactions and conflicts of interest within the family. Ecological Entomology DOI: 10.1111/een.12259
68. De Gasperin, O., Duarte, A. L. & Kilner, R. M. (2015). Interspecific interactions explain variation in the duration of paternal care in the burying beetle. Animal Behaviour 109:199-207.
67. Attisano, A. & Kilner, R. M. 2015. Parental effects and flight behaviour in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides Animal Behaviour 108: 91-100.
66. Mayani-Parás, F., Kilner, R. M., Stoddard, M. C., Rodríguez, C. & Drummond, H. (2015) Behaviorally Induced Camouflage: A New Mechanism of Avian Egg Protection American Naturalist http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/682579
65. Schrader, M., Jarrett, B. J. M & Kilner, R. M. (2015) Using experimental evolution to study adaptations for life within the family. American Naturalist 85: 610-619
64. Schrader, M., Jarrett, B. J. M & Kilner, R. M. Parental care masks a density-dependent shift from mutually beneficial to competitive sibling interactions in burying beetle broods. Evolution 69:1077-1084
2014
63. Feeney, W. E., Stoddard, M. C., Kilner, R. M. & Langmore, N. E. “Jack-of-all-trades” egg mimicry in the brood parasitic Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo? Behavioral Ecology 25:1365-1373
62. Stoddard, M. C., Kilner, R. M., & Town, C. 2014 Pattern recognition algorithm reveals how birds evolve individual egg pattern signatures. Nature Communications 5:4117
61. Walker, L. K., Ewen, J. G. & Kilner, R. M. 2014 Sexually selected dichromatism in the hihi Notiomystis cincta: multiple colours for multiple receivers. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 27:1522-1535
60. Walker, L. K., Thorogood, R., Raubenheimer, D., Kilner, R. M. & Ewen J. G. 2014 Foraging for carotenoids: do colorful male hihi target carotenoid-rich foods in the wild? Behavioral Ecology 25:1048-1057
2013
59. Walker, L. K., Armstrong, D. P., Brekke, P., Chauvenet, A. L. M., Kilner, R. M. & Ewen, J. G. (2013) Giving hihi a helping hand: identifying appropriate rearing diet in food supplemented populations of an endangered bird. Animal Conservation 16:538-545
58. Feeney, W. E., Medina, I., Somveille, M., Heinsohn, R., Hall, M. L., Mulder, R. A., Stein. J. A., Kilner, R.M. & Langmore, N. E. (2013) Brood parasitism and the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds. Science 342: 1506-1508
57. Stoddard, M. C. & Kilner, R. M. (2013) The past, present and future of Cuckoos versus Reed Warblers. Animal Behaviour 85: 693-699
56. Walker, L. K., Stevens, M., Karadas, F., Kilner, R. M. & Ewen, J. G. 2013 A window on the past: male ornamental plumage reveals the quality of their early life environment. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280:20122852
55. Cotter, S. C., Littlefair, J. E., Grantham, P. J. & Kilner, R. M. (2013) A direct physiological trade-off between personal and social immunity. Journal of Animal Ecology 82: 846-853
2012
54. Stoddard, M. C., Fayet, A. L., Kilner, R. M. & Hinde, C. A. (2012) Egg speckling patterns do not advertise offspring quality or influence male provisioning. PLoS One 7:e40211
53. Boncoraglio, G. & Kilner, R. M. (2012) Female burying beetles benefit from male desertion: sexual conflict and counter-adaptation over parental investment. PLoS One 7:e31713
2011
52. Stoddard, M. C., Marshall, K. & Kilner, R. M. (2011) Imperfectly camouflaged avian eggs: artefact or adaptation? Avian Biology Research 4:196-213 (invited review for themed edition)
51. Johnstone, R. A. & Kilner, R. M. (2011) New labels for old whines Behavioral Ecology 22:918-919
50. Kilner, R. M. & Langmore, N. E. (2011) Cuckoos versus hosts in insects and birds: adaptations, counter-adaptations and outcomes. Biological Reviews 86:836-852
49. Thorogood, R., Ewen, J. G. & Kilner, R. M. (2011) Sense and sensitivity: responsiveness to offspring signals varies with the parents' potential to breed again Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:2628-2645
48. Langmore, N. E., Stevens, M., Maurer, G., Heinsohn, R., Hall. M. L., Peters, A. & Kilner, R. M. (2011) Visual mimicry of host nestlings by cuckoos. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:2455-2463
47. Cotter, S. C., Ward, R. S. J. & Kilner, R. M. (2011) Age-specific reproductive investment in female burying beetles: independent effects of state and risk of death. Functional Ecology 25:652-660
2010
46. Cotter, S. C., Topham, E., Price, A. J. P. & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Fitness costs associated with mounting a social immune response. Ecology Letters 13: 1114-1123
45. Cotter, S. C. & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Personal immunity versus social immunity. Behavioral Ecology 21: 663-668
44. Hoffman, J. I., Munro, K., Kilner, R. M. & Amos, W. (2010) High rates of infidelity in the Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa suggest that testis size may be a better correlate of extra-pair paternity than sexual dimorphism. Ibis 152:378-385
43. Hinde, C. A., Johnstone, R. A & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Parent-offspring conflict and coadaptation. Science 327: 1373-1376
42. Langmore, N. E. & Kilner, R. M. (2010) The coevolutionary arms race between Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoos and superb fairy-wrens Emu 110: 32-38 (invited review for Anniversary Edition)
41. Kilner, R. (2010) Learn to beat an identity cheat. Nature 463:165-167
40. Cotter, S. C. & Kilner, R. M. (2010) Sexual division of antibacterial resource defence in breeding burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:35-43
2009
39. Ward, R. S. J., Cotter, S. C. & Kilner, R. M. (2009) Residual reproductive value predicts brood desertion in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Behavioral Ecology 20:1274-1281
38. Langmore, N. E., Stevens, M., Maurer, G. & Kilner, R. M. (2009) Are dark cuckoo eggs cryptic in host nests? Animal Behaviour 78:461-468
37. Langmore, N. E., Cockburn, A., Russell, A. F. & Kilner, R. M. (2009) Flexible cuckoo chick rejection rules in the superb fairy-wren. Behavioral Ecology 20:978-984
36. Hinde C.A., Buchanan, K. L. & Kilner, R. M. (2009) Prenatal environmental effects match offspring begging to parental provisioning. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London Series B 276:2787-2794
35. Langmore, N. E. & Kilner, R. M. (2009) Why do Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo Chalcites basalis eggs mimic those of their hosts? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63:1127-1131
2008
34. Thorogood, R., Kilner, R. M., F. Karadaş, F. & Ewen, J. G. (2008) Spectral mouth colour of nestlings changes with carotenoid availability Functional Ecology 22: 1044-1051
33. Kilner, R.M & Hinde, C. A. (2008) Information warfare and parent-offspring conflict. Advances in the Study of Behavior 38: 283-336
32. Langmore, N. E., Maurer, G., Adcock, A. J. & Kilner R. M. (2008) Socially acquired host-specific mimicry and the evolution of host races in Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites basalis Evolution 62: 1689-1699
31. Broom, M., Ruxton, G. D., & Kilner R. M. (2008) Host life history strategies and the evolution of chick-killing by brood parasitic offspring. Behavioral Ecology 19:22-34
30. Russell, A. F., Langmore, N. E., Gardner, J.A. & Kilner, R. M. (2008) Maternal investment tactics in superb fairy-wrens. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London Series B 275:29-36
2007
29. Buchanan, K. L., Goldsmith, A. R., Hinde, C. A., Griffith, S. C., & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Does testosterone mediate the trade-off between nestling begging and growth in the canary (Serinus canaria)? Hormones and Behavior 52:664-671
28. Langmore, N. E. & Kilner, R. M. (2007). Breeding site and host selection by Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoos Chalcites basalis Animal Behaviour 74:995-1004
27. Langmore, N. E, Adcock, G. J. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) The spatial organization and mating system of Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoos Chalcites basalis. Animal Behaviour74:403-412
26. Adcock, G. J., Langmore, N. E. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Polymorphic microsatellite loci for studies of bronze cuckoo species (Genus Chalcites: Aves). Molecular Ecology Notes 7:678-680
25. Russell, A. F., Langmore, N. E., Cockburn, A., Astheimer, L. B. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Reduced egg investment can conceal helper effects in cooperatively breeding birds. Science 317:941-944
24. Hauber, M. E. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Co-evolution, communication and host chick mimicry in parasitic finches: who mimics whom? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61:497-504
23. Hinde, C. A. & Kilner, R. M. (2007) Negotiations within the family over the supply of parental care. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London Series B 274: 53-61.
2006
22. Kilner, R. M. (2006) The evolution of egg colour and patterning in birds. Biological Reviews 81: 383-406.
2005
21. Madden, J. R., Kilner, R. M., & Davies, N. B. (2005) Nestling responses to adult food and alarm calls I Species specific responses in two cowbird hosts Animal Behaviour70: 619-627.
20. Madden, J. R., Kilner, R. M., & Davies, N. B. (2005) Nestling responses to adult food and alarm calls II: Cowbirds and red-winged blackbirds raised by Eastern phoebe hosts Animal Behaviour70:629-637.
19. Adcock, G. J., Langmore, N. E., Mulder, R. A. & Kilner, R. M. (2005) Microsatellite loci for population and behavioural studies of Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites basalis: Aves). Molecular Ecology Notes 5:619-621.
18. Langmore, N. E., Kilner, R. M., Butchart, S. H. M., Maurer, G., Davies, N. B., Cockburn A., Macgregor N.A., Peters A., Magrath M. J. L., Dowling, D. K. (2005) The evolution of egg rejection by cuckoo hosts in Australia and Europe. Behavioral Ecology 16:686-692.
2004
17. Kilner, R. M., Madden, J. R., Hauber, M. E. (2004) Brood parasitic cowbirds use host young to procure food. Science305:877-879
2003
16. Hunt, S., Kilner, R. M, Langmore, N. E., & Bennett, A.T.D (2003) Conspicuous, ultraviolet-rich mouth colours in begging chicks. Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B 270:S25-S28
15. Langmore, N. E., Hunt, S. & Kilner, R. M. (2003) Escalation of a co-evolutionary arms race through host rejection of brood parasitic young Nature 422:157-160
14. Kilner, R. M. (2003) How selfish is a cowbird nestling? Animal Behaviour66:569-576
13. Butchart, S. H. M, Kilner, R. M., Fuisz, T & Davies, N. B. (2003) Differences in the nestling begging calls of hosts and host-races of the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. Animal Behaviour 65: 345-354
2002
12. Kilner, R. M. (2002) Sex differences in canary (Serinus canaria) provisioning rules. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 52: 400-407
2001
11. Kilner, R. M. (2001) A growth cost of begging in captive canary chicks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 98:11394-11383
1999
10. Kilner, R. M. & Davies, N. B. (1999) How selfish is a cuckoo chick? Animal Behaviour 58:797-808
9. Kilner, R. M. (1999) Family conflicts and the evolution of nestling mouth colour. Behaviour 136:779-804
8. Kilner, R. M., Noble, D. G. & Davies, N. B. (1999) How should cuckoo chicks signal in different host nests? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14:322
7. Kilner, R. M., Noble, D. G. & Davies, N. B. (1999) Signals of need in parent-offspring communication and their exploitation by the cuckoo. Nature 397:667-672
1998
6. Kilner, R. M. & Davies, N. B. (1998) Nestling mouth colour: ecological correlates of a begging signal. Animal Behaviour 56:705-712
5. Kilner, R. (1998). Primary and secondary sex ratio manipulation by zebra finches. Animal Behaviour 56: 155-164
4. Davies, N. B., Kilner, R. M. & Noble, D. G. (1998). Nestling cuckoos, Cuculus canorus, exploit hosts with begging calls that mimic a brood. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 265: 673-678
1997
3. Kilner, R. (1997) Mouth colour is a reliable signal of need in begging canary nestlings Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 264: 963-968
2. Kilner, R. & Johnstone, R. A. (1997) Begging the question: are offspring solicitation behaviours signals of need? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 11-15
1995
1. Kilner, R. (1995) When do canary parents respond to nestling signals of need? Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 260: 343-348
BOOK CHAPTERS
Kilner, R. M. & Hinde, C. A. (2012) Parent-Offspring Conflict. In: The Evolution of Parental Care edited by N. Royle, P. T. Smiseth & M. Kölliker. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Spottiswoode, C. N., Kilner, R. M. & Davies, N. B. (2012) An enemy in the nest: adaptations and counter-adaptations in brood parasitic birds and their hosts. In: The Evolution of Parental Care edited by N. Royle, P. T. Smiseth & M. Kölliker. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Kilner, R. M. (2006) Function and Evolution of Color in Young Birds. In Bird Coloration edited by G. Hill & K. McGraw (pp 201 – 232). Harvard University Press: London.
Kilner, R.M. (2002) The evolution of complex begging displays. In The Evolution of Nestling Begging: Competition, Cooperation and Communication (J. Wright and M. L. Leonard eds.) Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Kilner, R. M. (2000) Multiple nestling begging signals: reed warbler chicks and cuckoo tricks. In: Adaptive Significance of Signalling and Signal Design in Animal Communication (Y. Espmark ed.). Tapir Press, Trondheim, Norway
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Kilner, R. M. & Drummond H. (2007) Parent-offspring conflict in avian families. Journal of Ornithology 148:S241-S246
Kilner, R. M. (2006) Response to Grim: Further costs of virulence for brood parasitic young. Ornithological Science 5:243-247
Kilner, R. M. (2005) The evolution of virulence in brood parasites. Ornithological Science 4:55-64.