Research
Pre and postnatal conditions & longevity
One of my main research lines focuses on investigating which factors affect pre (embryonic) and postnatal telomere length and dynamics, both important sentinels of cell senescence, and how they can influence postnatal life-history trajectories.
Some key papers:
Noguera, J.C. 2021.Heterogenous effects of father and mother age on offspring development. Behavioral Ecology (2021) 32, 349-358 .
Noguera, J.C., Velando, A. 2019 Reduced telomere length in embryos exposed to predator cues. Journal of Experimental Biology 222: 24
Noguera et al. 2018. Experimental demonstration that offspring fathered by old males have shorter telomeres and reduced lifespans. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 285:20180268
Oxidative stress & life histories
I am also very interested in the potential role of oxidative stress in mediating life-history trade-offs, animal signalling and sperm senescence. To study all these questions, I normally combine laboratory and field studies, mostly using birds as animal models
Some key papers:
Noguera et al. 2010. On the oxidative cost of begging: Antioxidants enhance vocalizations in gull chicks. Behavioral Ecology 21:479-484
Noguera et al. 2011. Thrifty development: early-life diet restriction reduces oxidative damage during later growth. Functional Ecology. 25 : 1114-1153.
Noguera et al. 2012. Pre-fledgling oxidative damage predicts recruitment in a long-lived bird. Biology Letters 8: 61-63
Social information & phenotypic development
One of my more recent research lines focuses on understanding how the social environment where an organism develops can affect and shape its phenotype and life trajectory. For instance, I am currently investigating the physiological basis and consequences of social transmission of emotional states in wild animal populations.
Some key papers:
Noguera et al. 2017. Family-transmitted stress in a wild bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 114:6794–6799
Noguera JC. and Velando, A. 2019 Bird embryos perceive vibratory cues of predation risk from clutch mates. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3, 1225–1232 .
Noguera, J.C., Velando, A. 2020 Gull chicks grow faster but lose telomeres when prenatal cues mismatch the real presence of sibling competitors. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 287, 20200242.
Sperm competition, sexual behaviour & longevity
With the support of the Animal Ecology Group, I have recently settled the ‘The Cricket Lab’. In this new animal unit, I have started to investigate the mechanisms involved in pre- and post-meiotic sperm senescence in field crickets, as well as different aspects of how sexual selection and sexual conflict can shape the evolution of somatic and germline ageing. Additionally, I am very interested in many different topics within the evolutionary ecology of sexual behaviour and behavioural ecology in general.
Some key papers:
Noguera, J.C. 2023. Male reproductive strategies are influenced by the maternal sociosexual environment . Animal Behavior, 203: 115-122.
Noguera, J.C. 2022. Sperm oxidative status varies with the level of sperm competition and affects male reproductive success. Animal Behavior, 189:83-89
Noguera, J.C. 2019. Crickets increase sexual signalling and sperm protection but live shorter in the presence of rivals. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 32:49-57.
