Dr. Shelley Adamo
My research focuses on two main areas:
1. the interactions between immune responses and behaviour in insects
As in vertebrates, invertebrate immune systems and nervous systems interact. My students and I study the how and why of these interactions. Most of our studies focus on the cricket Gryllus texensis.
For example, we have found that 'stress' (e.g. flying or fighting) induces a decline in disease resistance in crickets. We are now examining how stress induces immunosuppression. We are also exploring the possible adaptive functions of this response.
We are also interested in how parasites are able to manipulate host behaviour. In some cases, the parasite alters host behaviour indirectly, by changing the interactions between the host's immune system and its nervous system. We are studying how a parasitic wasp suppresses feeding in its host, the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta.
We use a variety techniques during these studies including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrophysiology, enzyme and protein studies and video analysis.
2. cephalopod behavioural physiology
Cephalopods are the only invertebrates with a vertebrate-like brain. Does it function much like our own? How has the cephalopod's molluscan heritage influenced its behavioural biology? We work with the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis to study these questions. The lab has a variety of equipment available for cuttlefish studies including an ultrasound machine and video equipment. We maintain animals in the Aquatron marine facility.
Both of these projects are funded by NSERC.
Please contact Dr. Adamo if you have any questions about these studies.
Recent Publications
Adamo SA , Fidler T and Forestell C (in press) Illness-induced anorexia and its possible function in the caterpillar Manduca sexta . Brain, Behavior and Immunity
Shoemaker KL and Adamo SA (2006) Adult female crickets Gryllus texensis maintain reproductive output after repeated immune challenges. Physiological Entomology . preprint available
Shoemaker KL, Parsons NM and Adamo SA (2006) Egg-laying behaviour following infection in the cricket Gryllus texensis . Canadian Journal of Zoology , 84: 412-418.
Adamo SA (2006) Comparative Psychoneuroimmunology: Evidence from the insects. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews , 5: 128-140.
Adamo SA and Parsons NM (2006) The emergency life-history stage and immunity in the cricket Gryllus texensis . Animal Behaviour , 72: 235-244.
Adamo SA , Ehgoetz K, Sangster C and Whitehorne I. (2006) Signaling to the enemy? Body pattern expression and its plasticity during hunting in the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda). Biological Bulletin , 210: 192-200.
King AJ and Adamo SA (2006) The ventilatory, cardiac, and behavioural responses of resting cuttlefish ( Sepia officinalis Linnaeus) to sudden visual stimuli. Journal of Experimental Biology . 209: 1101-1111.
Palmer ME, Calvé R, and Adamo SA (2006) Response of female cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda) to mirrors and conspecifics: evidence for signaling in female cuttlefish. Animal Cognition . 9: 151- 155.
Shoemaker KL, Parsons NM, and Adamo SA (2006) Mating enhances parasite resistance in the cricket, Gryllus texensis . Animal Behaviour , 71: 371-380
Adamo SA (2005) Parasitic suppression of feeding in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta : parallels with feeding depression after an immune challenge. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 60: 185-197
Adamo SA and Spiteri R (2005) Female choice for male immunocompetence - when is it worth it? Behavioral Ecology , 16: 871-879.
King AJ, Henderson SM, Schmidt MH, Cole AG, and Adamo SA (2005). Using ultrasound to understand vascular and mantle contributions to venous return in the cephalopod Sepia officinalis Linnaeus. Journal of Experimental Biology . 208: 2071-2082.
Thomas F, Adamo SA and Moore J. (2005) Parasitic manipulation: where are we and where should we go? Behavioral Processes 68 : 185-199
Cole PD and Adamo SA (2005). Cuttlefish ( Sepia officinalis : Cephalopoda) hunting behavior and associative learning. Animal Cognition 8 : 27-30
Adamo SA (2004) How should behavioural ecologists interpret measurements of immunity? Animal Behaviour . 68 : 1443-1449.
Adamo SA (2004) Estimating disease resistance in insects: phenoloxidase and lysozyme-like activity and disease resistance in the cricket Gryllus texensis . Journal of Insect Physiology 50 : 209-216.
King AJ, Hanlon RH and Adamo SA (2003) Squid egg mops provide sensory cues for increased agonistic behaviour between male squid ( Loligo pealei ). Animal Behaviour 66 : 49-58.
Adamo SA (2002) Modulating the modulators: parasites, neuromodulators and host behavioral change. Brain, Behavior and Evolution . 60 : 370-377.
O'Dor RK, Adamo S , Aitken JP, Andrade Y, Finn J, Hanlon RT and Jackson GD (2002) Currents as environmental constraints on the behavior, energetics and distribution of squid and cuttlefish. Bulletin of Marine Science . 71 : 601-617.
Adamo SA , Jensen M and Yonger M. (2001) Changes in lifetime immunocompetence in male and female Gryllus texensis (formerly Gryllus integer ): evidence for trade-offs between immunity and reproduction. Animal Behaviour . 62 : 417-425
Adamo SA and Shoemaker KL (2000) The effects of parasitism on the octopaminergic system of Manduca sexta : a possible mechanism underlying host behavioural change. Canadian Journal of Zoology . 78 : 1580-1587.
Adamo SA , Brown WM, King AJ, Mather J, Mather L, Shoemaker KL, and Wood J. (2000) Agonistic and reproductive behaviours of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis in a semi-natural environment. Journal of Molluscan Studies . 66 : 417-419.