S.-J. Sun

Competition among host-specific lineages of Poecilochirus carabi mites influences the extent of co-adaptation with their Nicrophorus vespilloides burying beetle hosts

The paper investigates how competition among mite lineages affects co-adaptation between Nicrophorus vespilloides beetles and their Poecilochirus carabi mites in different woodlands.

Temperature modifies trait-mediated infection outcomes in a Daphnia-fungal parasite system

The paper investigates how temperature affects host-parasite interactions in a Daphnia-fungal system, finding that higher temperatures alter host traits and infection outcomes.

Selection on the joint actions of pairs leads to divergent adaptation and coadaptation of care-giving parents during pre-hatching care

The paper investigates how joint nest preparation behaviors evolve in burying beetles under different care regimes, finding that males adapt first and females coadapt secondarily.

Increased academic performance and prolonged career duration among Taiwanese academic faculty in ecology and evolutionary biology

The paper analyzes academic performance and career duration of 145 Taiwanese ecology and evolutionary biology faculty over 34 years, finding increased performance and prolonged career duration, with performance drops for later recruits and domestic PhD holders post-promotion.

Antagonistic Effects of Intraspecific Cooperation and Interspecific Competition on Thermal Performance

This study models how interspecific competition narrows thermal performance curves and shows that intraspecific cooperation can counteract this effect in beetles.

Rapid, ultra-local adaptation facilitated by phenotypic plasticity

The paper shows that phenotypic plasticity and genetic accommodation drive rapid adaptive divergence in burying beetles despite gene flow between populations.

Mutualistic interactions with phoretic mites Poecilochirus carabi expand the realised thermal niche of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides

This study shows that phoretic mites expand the thermal niche of burying beetles by reducing competition with blowflies, allowing beetles to reproduce across a wider temperature range.

Competition within species determines the value of a mutualism between species

The paper shows that social interactions within a species determine whether interspecies interactions are mutualistic or parasitic.

A Chemically-triggered Transition from Conflict to Cooperation in Burying Beetles

This study shows that interspecific competition with blowflies triggers cooperation in burying beetles through a chemical cue, dimethyl disulfide.