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What we do?
What we do?
Fundamentally, we are interested in how organisms respond and adapt to changing environments.
Our work is highly integrative. We combine theory, modelling and meta-analysis with experimentation to understand and predict how and why populations are able to adapt (or not) to changing environments.
Our work focuses on the impacts of diverse environmental stressors, from extreme heat to novel anthropogenic stressors (e.g., pesticides, plastics), and how they interact across an individuals life cycle to affect physiology, growth, fitness and ultimately population growth and adaptive evolution.
Our study systems are diverse, but generally focus on lizards, insects, fish and amphibians.
Below we detail some of the major (more recent) research themes in our group.
Predicting the effects of extreme heat on organisms
Predicting the effects of extreme heat on organisms
Extreme heat is becoming an increasing challenge to organisms. Heatwaves are set to increase with climate change and organisms are expected to be exposed to conditions that threaten physiological function and fitness. We use microclimate / biophysical models to predict temperature exposure and combine these approaches with thermal load sensitivity and dynamic energy budget theory to predict the impacts of extreme heat on organisms across life. We are also doing experiments and meta-analyses to better understand how thermal tolerance can be adjusted to protect against extreme heat.
Noble et al. 2025. A systems modelling approach to predict biological responses to extreme heat. EcoEvoRxiv
Arnold et al. 2025. A framework for modelling thermal load sensitivity across life. Global Change Biology, 31 (7) e70315.
Pottier et al. 2022. Developmental plasticity in thermal tolerance. Ontogenetic variation, persistence, and future directions. Ecology Letters, 25, 2245-2268
Urban et al. 2024. When and how can we predict adaptive responses to climate change? Evolution Letters, 8(1), 172-187.
How different early developmental environments interact to impact physiology and life history
How different early developmental environments interact to impact physiology and life history
Metabolic processes are an essential and universal feature of life; they provide all the available energy organisms have to invest in growth, reproduction and survival. We explore how early developmental experiences impact physiology and metabolic function using targeted experimental manipulations of early life stages in ectotherms combined with large-scale meta-analytic and comparative approaches. We explore how physiological changes brought about by developmental responses cascade to affect life-history and fitness – insights that are critical to ascertain the long-term consequences of such changes.
Noble et al. 2018. Developmental temperatures and phenotypic plasticity in reptiles: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biological Reviews, 93, 72-79.
Koch et al. 2021. Integrating mitochondrial aerobic metabolism into ecology and evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 36 (4) 321-332.
Kar et al. 2022. Impact of developmental temperatures on thermal plasticity and repeatability in metabolic rate. Evolutionary Ecology, 36 (2), 199-216.
Crino et al. 2022. From eggs to adulthood: sustained effects of early developmental temperature and corticosterone exposure on physiology and body size in an Australian lizard. Journal of Experimental Biology, 227 (24), jeb249234.
Relative role of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive genetic evolution to population divergence
Relative role of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive genetic evolution to population divergence
Understanding the relative role of phenotypic plasticity in the adaptive process is crucial in an era of unprecedented environmental change. Plasticity is thought to allow populations to cope in the face of environmental change and may 'buy' time for genetic adaption to occur. We have been exploring whether plasticity might facilitate or impede adaptation using meta-analyses and reciprocol transplant experiments.
Noble et al. 2019. Plastic responses to novel environments are biased towards phenotype dimensions with high additive genetic variation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), 116, 13452-13461.
Radsmera et al. 2020. Plasticity leaves a phenotypic signature during local adaptation. Evolution Letters, 4, 360-370.
Whiting et al. 2022. Invasive chameleons released from predation display more conspicuous colors. Science Advances, 8 (19) eabn2414.
Noble et al. 2025. Limited plasticity but increased variance in physiological rates across ectotherm populations under climate change. Functional Ecology, 39 (5), 1141-1317.
Developing new statistical approaches and software for meta-analysis and experimental data
Developing new statistical approaches and software for meta-analysis and experimental data
The biological questions we address often demand new methods and approaches to address and overcome the challenges of complex biological data. As such, we develop new statistical approaches, effect sizes and software to help address the need for robust statistical inference and improved prediction. We often borrow from methods in other disparate research fields to help address new problems.
Noble et al. 2019. Plastic responses to novel environments are biased towards phenotype dimensions with high additive genetic variation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), 116, 13452-13461.
Noble et al. 2022. Meta-analytic approaches and effect sizes to account for 'nuisance heterogeneity' in comparative physiology. Journal of Experimental Biology, 225, jeb243225.
Pottier et al. 2024. New horizons for comparative studies and meta-analyses. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 39 (5), 435-445.
Nakagawa et al. 2023. orchaRd 2.0: An R package for visualising meta-analyses with orchard plots. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14 (8), 2003-2010.
Nakagawa et al. 2022. Methods for testing publication bias in ecological and evolutionary meta-analyses. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 4-21.
O'Dea, Noble & Nakagawa. 2022. Unifying individual differences in personality, predictability, and plasticity: a practical guide. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 278-293.
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