What’s my reproduction number? Life history strategies: an interdisciplinary perspective

Reproduction is essential to the survival of the species, and we can observe different life history strategies for growth, reproduction and survival across the tree of life. These strategies are often interconnected, with positive, neutral or negative effects on other organisms and populations. This can be observed at the macroscale – for example, in food chains – or at the microscale, as in the case of infectious pathogens exploiting the resources of their hosts.

In this forum, we will open the discussion with the question: what is my reproductive number? We will examine how mathematicians and biologists use reproductive numbers to model population dynamics and identify the constraints that limit population growth. We will explore biological trade-offs in energy allocation among growth, maintenance, and reproduction, and consider examples in which humans have intentionally altered populations through biological control.

In the second part, we will explore what “success” means for different organisms from an evolutionary perspective. We will discuss why some forms of life evolved complex multicellular structures, and how social organisation can enhance the reproductive success and survival of certain animal species.

15:00 Arrival for welcome tea/coffee

15:15 Introduction 

15:20 Session 1: What does success look like?

Flash talks

Chair: Alice Truszczynska (Gurdon Institute)

• All your eggs in one basket: yolk, extra-embryonic tissue and reproductive trade-offs
  Josephine Blagrove (PDN)
• Physiological investment through socially transferred material
  Dr Adria LeBoeuf (Zoology)
• From cancer to parasite: adapting to a new lifestyle
  Clara Gyhrs (Zoology)

Interdisciplinary dialogue

• Dr Mark Dyble (Archaeology) (Chair)
• Professor Rufus Johnstone (Zoology)
• Dr Sarah Robinson (Sainsbury Laboratory)

16:30 Break 

16:50 Session 2: What’s my reproduction number?

Flash talks

Chair: Nina Valenbreder (Veterinary Medicine)

• Characterizing the cytomegalovirus infection response in human placental macrophages
  Isabel Marchand-Casas (Pathology)
• Transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils: transmission dynamics and life history strategies
  Sophia Belkhir (Veterinary Medicine)
• A face full of baby mussels: exploring freshwater bivalve reproduction 
  Dan Cossey (Zoology)

Interdisciplinary dialogue

• Professor Romola Davenport (Geography) (Chair)
• Professor Frank Jiggins (Genetics)
• Dr Olivier Restif (Veterinary Medicine)

18:00 Drinks and networking reception 

 

The event will bring these ideas together through an interdisciplinary dialogue led by Cambridge-based researchers, with the audience actively involved in the conversation.

This event is co-organised by Cambridge Reproduction and Cambridge Infectious Diseases.

The image used in our advertising materials is a medical illustration of drug-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium bacteria. Illustrator: Jennifer Oosthuizen. Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library (public domain).