Our research team

The Cells, Organisms and Molecular Genetics team here at the University of Nottingham’s School of Life Sciences is a diverse, collaborative group of researchers. We’re academics, postdoctoral research fellows, research technicians and postgraduate students, all working together to break new ground and make a real impact on the world around us.

Image of Andrew MacColl

Andrew MacColl

Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Contact

workRoom B111 Life Sciences
University Park
Nottingham
NG7 2RD
UK
work0115 9513410
andrew.maccoll@nottingham.ac.uk
http://ecology.nottingham.ac.uk/AndrewMacColl/index.php

Biography

B.Sc. Ecological Science, University of Edinburgh, 1990. Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, 1998. Research assistant, University of Cambridge 1990 -1994. Postdoctoral research assistant, University of Edinburgh, 1999. Postdoctoral research assistant, University of Sheffield, 2000 - 2003. Royal Society Travelling Fellow, University of British Columbia, Canada, 2004. NERC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Nottingham, 2005 - 2008. Lecturer, University of Nottingham, 2005 - 2013. Associate Professor, University of Nottingham, 2013 - 2019. Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, 2019 - present.

Expertise Summary

Population ecology of vertebrates.

Ecology of freshwater fish, especially stickleback.

Fish parasitology.

Fieldwork.

Population genomics.

Teaching Summary

I teach a second year residential 'Biodiversity Field Course' which goes to the area around Dovedale in the English Peak District each September. Students learn basic ecological surveying and… read more

Research Summary

Selected Publications

SIEPIELSKI, ADAM M., MORRISSEY, MICHAEL B., BUORO, MATHIEU, CARLSON, STEPHANIE M., CARUSO, CHRISTINA M., CLEGG, SONYA M., COULSON, TIM, DIBATTISTA, JOSEPH, GOTANDA, KIYOKO M., FRANCIS, CLINTON D., HEREFORD, JOE, KINGSOLVER, JOEL G., AUGUSTINE, KATE E., KRUUK, LOESKE E. B., MARTIN, RYAN A., SHELDON, BEN C., SLETVOLD, NINA, SVENSSON, ERIK I., WADE, MICHAEL J. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. Precipitation drives global variation in natural selection SCIENCE. 355(6328), 959-+
MAGALHAES IS, D'AGOSTINO D, HOHENLOHE PA and MACCOLL AD, 2016. The ecology of an adaptive radiation of three-spined stickleback from North Uist, Scotland. Molecular ecology. 25(17), 4319-36
ROBERTSON, SHAUN, BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2016. Measuring the immune system of the three-spined stickleback - investigating natural variation by quantifying immune expression in the laboratory and the wild MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES. 16(3), 701-713
EL NAGAR A and MACCOLL AD, 2016. Parasites contribute to ecologically dependent postmating isolation in the adaptive radiation of three-spined stickleback. Proceedings. Biological sciences. 283(1836),

View all publications

I also teach a third year 'Evolutionary Ecology' course in the autumn term. The content focuses on how evolution is driven by the ecology of organisms, especially interactions within and between species (competition, mutualism, predation, parasitism).

Current Research

The main theme of our research is to understand the role of ecology in driving natural selection and how this can produce the divergent evolution between populations that accumulates into speciation. Our approach is based on the integration of theory, observation and experiment. We are interested in the relative importance of different selective agents in directing evolution. In general little is known about whether evolution is driven mainly by the abiotic environment or by ecological interactions such as competition, predation and parasitism. Classical ecology has focussed on the part played by competition between organisms in determining individual success (and hence evolution). Other ecological interactions have received less attention. Parasitism in particular has been poorly studied as a driver of evolution in host populations. Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are a good model species because they are common, widely distributed and easy to keep in the lab. A great deal is known about their natural history and genetics (their genome has been sequenced). They are particularly interesting because they exhibit a great deal of phenotypic and genetic diversity between populations. We have worked on stickleback in many global locations, including Alaska, British Columbia and Iceland, but we focus in particular on an adaptive radiation of stickleback in lochs on the Scottish island of North Uist. The fish exhibit striking variation between populations within a very small area, largely as a result of underlying differences in water chemistry and associated ecology.

DEAN, LAURA L., DUNSTAN, HANNAH R., REDDISH, AMELIA and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2021. Courtship behavior, nesting microhabitat, and assortative mating in sympatric stickleback species pairs ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION. 11(4), 1741-1755
MAGALHAES, IS, WHITING, JR, D'AGOSTINO, D, HOHENLOHE, PA, MAHMUD, M, BELL, MA, SKULASON, S and MACCOLL, ADC, 2021. Intercontinental genomic parallelism in multiple three-spined stickleback adaptive radiations NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 5, 251-261
WHITING, JR, MAHMUD, M, BRADLEY, JE and MACCOLL, ADC, 2020. Prior exposure to long-day photoperiods alters immune responses and increases susceptibility to parasitic infection in stickleback PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 287, 20201017
XIE, K.T. ET AL., 2019. DNA fragility in the parallel evolution of pelvic reduction in stickleback fish Science. 363, 81-84
HAENEL, Q. ET AL., 2019. Predictable genome‐wide sorting of standing genetic variation during parallel adaptation to basic versus acidic environments in stickleback fish Evolution Letters. 28-42
DEAN, L.L. ET AL., 2019. Internal embryonic development in a non-copulatory, egg-laying teleost, the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Scientific Reports. 9, 2395
GOERTZ, SARAH, DE MENEZES, ALEXANDRE B, BIRTLES, RICHARD J, FENN, JONATHAN, LOWE, ANN E, MACCOLL, ANDREW D C, POULIN, BENOIT, YOUNG, STUART, BRADLEY, JANETTE E and TAYLOR, CHRISTOPHER H, 2019. Geographical location influences the composition of the gut microbiota in wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) at a fine spatial scale. PloS one. 14(9), e0222501
SINGKAM, A.R and MACCOLL, A.D.C, 2019. Resources are more important than predation in driving the size at maturation of freshwater threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) Evolutionary Ecology Research. 20(1-3), 265-298
TAYLOR, CHRISTOPHER H., YOUNG, STUART, FENN, JONATHAN, LAMB, ANGELA L., LOWE, ANN E., POULIN, BENOIT, MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C. and BRADLEY, JANETTE E., 2019. Immune state is associated with natural dietary variation in wild mice Mus musculus domesticus FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY. 33(8), 1425-1435
DEAN LL, MAGALHAES IS, FOOTE A, D'AGOSTINO D, MCGOWAN S and MACCOLL ADC, 2019. Admixture between ancient lineages, selection, and the formation of sympatric stickleback species-pairs. Molecular biology and evolution. 36(11), 2481-2497
WHITING JR, MAGALHAES IS, SINGKAM AR, ROBERTSON S, D'AGOSTINO D, BRADLEY JE and MACCOLL ADC, 2018. A genetics-based approach confirms immune associations with life history across multiple populations of an aquatic vertebrate (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Molecular ecology. 27(15), 3174-3191
SIEPIELSKI, ADAM M, MORRISSEY, MICHAEL B, BUORO, MATHIEU, CARLSON, STEPHANIE M, CARUSO, CHRISTINA M, CLEGG, SONYA M, COULSON, TIM, DIBATTISTA, JOSEPH, GOTANDA, KIYOKO M, FRANCIS, CLINTON D, HEREFORD, JOE, KINGSOLVER, JOEL G, AUGUSTINE, KATE E, KRUUK, LOESKE E B, MARTIN, RYAN A, SHELDON, BEN C, SLETVOLD, NINA, SVENSSON, ERIK I, WADE, MICHAEL J and MACCOLL, ANDREW D C, 2018. Response to Comment on "Precipitation drives global variation in natural selection". Science (New York, N.Y.). 359(6374),
SINGKAM, A.R and MACCOLL, A.D.C, 2018. Otolith development in wild populations of stickleback: Jones & Hynes method does not apply to most populations Journal of Fish Biology. 93(2), 272-281
HEWARD, C.J, HOODLESS, A.N, CONWAY, G.J, FULLER, R.J and MACCOLL, A.D.C, 2018. Habitat correlates of Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola abundance in a declining resident population Journal of Ornithology. 159(4), 955-965
SIEPIELSKI, ADAM M., MORRISSEY, MICHAEL B., BUORO, MATHIEU, CARLSON, STEPHANIE M., CARUSO, CHRISTINA M., CLEGG, SONYA M., COULSON, TIM, DIBATTISTA, JOSEPH, GOTANDA, KIYOKO M., FRANCIS, CLINTON D., HEREFORD, JOE, KINGSOLVER, JOEL G., AUGUSTINE, KATE E., KRUUK, LOESKE E. B., MARTIN, RYAN A., SHELDON, BEN C., SLETVOLD, NINA, SVENSSON, ERIK I., WADE, MICHAEL J. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. Precipitation drives global variation in natural selection SCIENCE. 355(6328), 959-+
ROBERTSON, SHAUN, BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. Eda haplotypes in three-spined stickleback are associated with variation in immune gene expression SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 7,
YOUNG, REBECCA E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback PARASITOLOGY. 144(4), 436-449
ROBERTSON, SHAUN, BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. No evidence of local adaptation of immune responses to Gyrodactylus in three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY. 60, 275-281
CARUSO, CM, MARTIN, RA, SLETVOLD, N, MORRISSEY, MB, WADE, MJ, AUGUSTINE, KE, CARLSON, SM, SIEPIELSKI, AM, MACCOLL ADC and KINGSOLVER, JG, 2017. What Are the Environmental Determinants of Phenotypic Selection? A Meta-analysis of Experimental Studies American Naturalist. 190(3), 363-376
MAHMUD, MUAYAD A., BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2017. Abiotic environmental variation drives virulence evolution in a fish host-parasite geographic mosaic FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY. 31(11), 2138-2146
ROBERTSON, SHAUN, BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2016. Measuring the immune system of the three-spined stickleback - investigating natural variation by quantifying immune expression in the laboratory and the wild MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES. 16(3), 701-713
RAHN AK, EßER E, REHER S, IHLOW F, MACCOLL AD and BAKKER TC, 2016. Distribution of common stickleback parasites on North Uist, Scotland, in relation to ecology and host traits. Zoology (Jena, Germany). 119(4), 395-402
MAGALHAES IS, D'AGOSTINO D, HOHENLOHE PA and MACCOLL AD, 2016. The ecology of an adaptive radiation of three-spined stickleback from North Uist, Scotland. Molecular ecology. 25(17), 4319-36
RAHN AK, KRASSMANN J, TSOBANIDIS K, MACCOLL AD and BAKKER TC, 2016. Strong neutral genetic differentiation in a host, but not in its parasite. Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases. 44, 261-71
EL NAGAR A and MACCOLL AD, 2016. Parasites contribute to ecologically dependent postmating isolation in the adaptive radiation of three-spined stickleback. Proceedings. Biological sciences. 283(1836),
ROBERTSON, SHAUN, BRADLEY, JANETTE E. and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2016. Parallelism and divergence in immune responses: a comparison of expression levels in two lakes EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY RESEARCH. 17(2), 263-278
WILFRED, PAULO and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2016. Status of wildlife at trophy hunting sites in the Ugalla Game Reserve of Western Tanzania TROPICAL CONSERVATION SCIENCE. 9(3),
WILFRED, PAULO and MACCOLL, ANDREW, 2015. LOCAL PERSPECTIVES ON FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EXTENT OF WILDLIFE POACHING FOR BUSHMEAT IN A GAME RESERVE, WESTERN TANZANIA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSERVATION SCIENCE. 6(1), 99-110
ROBERTSON S, BRADLEY JE and MACCOLL AD, 2015. Measuring the immune system of the three-spined stickleback - investigating natural variation by quantifying immune expression in the laboratory and the wild. Molecular ecology resources. 16(3), 701-13
MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., FEU, CHRISTOPHER R. and WAIN, STEPHEN P., 2014. Significant effects of season and bird age on use of coppice woodland by songbirds IBIS. 156(3), 561-575
WILFRED, PAULO and MACCOLL, ANDREW, 2014. The pattern of poaching signs in Ugalla Game Reserve, western Tanzania AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY. 52(4), 543-551
WILFRED, P and MACCOLL, A, 2014. Legal subsistence hunting trends in the Ugalla ecosystem of western Tanzania EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH. 60(2), 371-376
MACCOLL AD and AUCOTT B, 2014. Inappropriate analysis does not reveal the ecological causes of evolution of stickleback armour: a critique of Spence et al. 2013. Ecology and evolution. 4(18), 3509-13
MACCOLL, A.D.C., STEVENSON, I.R. and RICHARDSON, D.S., 2013. Melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R) variation is not associated with parasite burdens in a neotropical bird, the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. (In Press.)
MACCOLL, A.D.C., EL NAGAR, A. and DE ROIJ, J., 2013. The evolutionary ecology of dwarfism in three-spined sticklebacks Journal of Animal Ecology. 82(3), 642-652
DE ROIJ, JOB and MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2012. Consistent differences in macroparasite community composition among populations of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. PARASITOLOGY. 139(11), 1478-1491
MACCOLL, ANDREW D. C., 2012. The story of O: reply to Moya-Larano TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 27(3), 140-140
DE ROIJ, J., HARRIS, P.D. and MACCOLL, D.C., 2011. Divergent resistance to a monogenean flatworm among three-spined stickleback populations Functional Ecology. 25(1), 217-226
MACCOLL, A.D.C., 2011. The ecological causes of evolution Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 26(10), 514-522
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and CHAPMAN, S.J., 2011. A benthic predatory fish does not cause selection on armour traits in three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Gasterosteiformes: Gasterosteidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 104, 877-885.
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and CHAPMAN, S.M., 2010. Parasites can cause selection against migrants following dispersal between environments Functional Ecology. 24(4), 847-856
MACCOLL, A.D.C., 2009. Parasite burdens differ between sympatric three-spined stickleback species Ecography. 32(1), 153-160
MACCOLL, A.D.C., 2009. Parasites may contribute to 'magic trait' evolution in the adaptive radiation of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Gasterosteiformes: Gasterosteidae) Biological Journal Of The Linnean Society. 96(2), 425-433
PIERTNEY, S.B., LAMBIN, X., MACCOLL, A.D.C., LOCK, K., BACON, P.J., DALLAS, J.F., LECKIE, F., MOUGEOT, F., RACEY, P.A., REDPATH, S. and MOSS, R., 2008. Temporal changes in kin structure through a population cycle in a territorial bird, the red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus Molecular Ecology. 17(10), 2544-2551
RUCKSTUHL, K.E., MANICA, A., MACCOLL, A.D.C., PILKINGTON, J.G. and CLUTTON-BROCK, T.H., 2006. The effects of castration, sex ratio and population density on social segregation and habitat use in Soay sheep Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 59(5), 694-703
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and HATCHWELL, B.J., 2004. Determinants of lifetime fitness in a cooperative breeder, the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus Journal of Animal Ecology. 73(6), 1137-1148
HATCHWELL, B.J., RUSSELL, A.F., MACCOLL, A.D.C., ROSS, D.J., FOWLIE, M.K. and MCGOWAN, A., 2004. Helpers increase long-term but not short-term productivity in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits Behavioral Ecology. 15(1), 1-10
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and HATCHWELL, B.J., 2003. Heritability of parental effort in a passerine bird Evolution. 57(9), 2191-2195
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and STEVENSON, I.R., 2003. Stasis in the morph ratio cline in the bananaquit on Grenada, West Indies Condor. 105(4), 821-824
MACCOLL, ADC and HATCHWELL, BJ, 2003. Sharing of caring: nestling provisioning behaviour of long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus, parents and helpers ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR. 66, 955-964
MACCOLL, A.D.C. and HATCHWELL, B.J., 2002. Temporal variation in fitness payoffs promotes cooperative breeding in long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus American Naturalist. 160(2), 186-194
MACCOLL, A. D. C., PIERTNEY, S. B., MOSS, R. and LAMBIN, X., 2000. Spatial arrangement of kin affects recruitment success in young male red grouse Oikos. VOL 90(PART 2), 261-270
PIERTNEY, S. B., MACCOLL, A. D.C, BACON, P. J., RACEY, P. A., LAMBIN, X. and DALLAS, J. F., 2000. Matrilineal Genetic Structure and Female-Mediated Gene Flow in Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus): An Analysis Using Mitochondrial DNA Evolution. VOL 54(PART 1), 279-289
PIERTNEY, S. B., MACCOLL, A. D. C., LAMBIN, X., MOSS, R. and DALLAS, J. F., 1999. Spatial distribution of genetic relatedness in a moorland population of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. VOL 68(NUMBER 1/2), 317-331
CLUTTON-BROCK, T. H., MACCOLL, A., CHADWICK, P., GAYNOR, D., KANSKY, R. and SKINNER, J. D., 1999. Reproduction and survival of suricates (Suricata suricatta) in the southern Kalahari AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY. VOL 37(NUMBER 1), 69-80
COLTMAN, D.W., SMITH, J.A., BANCROFT, D.R., PILKINGTON, J., MACCOLL, A.D.C., CLUTTON-BROCK,T.H. and PEMBERTON, J.M., 1999. Density-Dependent Variation in Lifetime Breeding Success and Natural and Sexual Selection in Soay Rams. American Naturalist. 154(6), 730-746
PIERTNEY, S. B., MACCOLL, A. D. C., BACON, P. J. and DALLAS, J. F., 1998. Local genetic structure in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus): evidence from microsatellite DNA markers Molecular Ecology. VOL 7(NUMBER 12), 1645-1654
CLUTTON-BROCK, TH, GAYNOR, D, KANSKY, R, MACCOLL, ADC, MCILRATH, G, CHADWICK, P, BROTHERTON, PNM, O'RIAIN, JM, MANSER, M and SKINNER, JD, 1998. Costs of cooperative behaviour in suricates (Suricata suricatta) PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 265(1392), 185-190
CLUTTON-BROCK, T. H., ILLIUS, A. W., WILSON, K., GRENFELL, B. T., MACCOLL, A. D. C. and ALBON, S. D., 1997. Stability and instability in ungulate populations: an empirical analysis American Naturalist. VOL 149(NUMBER 2), 195-219
CLUTTON-BROCK, T. H., STEVENSON, I. R., MARROW, P., MACCOLL, A. D., HOUSTON, A. I. and MCNAMARA, J. M., 1996. Population fluctuations, reproductive costs and life-history tactics in female Soay sheep Journal of Animal Ecology. VOL 65(NUMBER 6), 675-689
BANCROFT, D. R., PEMBERTON, J. M., ALBON, S. D., ROBERTSON, A., MACCOLL, A.D.C., SMITH, J.A., STEVENSON, I.R. and CLUTTON-BROCK, T.H, 1995. Molecular genetic variation and individual survival during population crashes of an unmanaged ungulate population Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. VOL 347(ISSUE 1321), 263
CLUTTON-BROCK,T.H., PRICE,O.F. and MACCOLL,A.D.C., 1992. Mate retention, harassment, and the evolution of ungulate leks Behavioral Ecology. 3(3), 234-242