Dr Penelope Watt
School of Biosciences
Senior Lecturer in Zoology
+44 114 222 0076
Full contact details
School of Biosciences
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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I am a behavioural ecologist working on personality traits, the genetic basis of behaviour and the impact of stress on behaviour, including transgenerational effects and potential epigenetic mechanisms, in fish. We also work on earthworm behaviour, distribution and health with the view to improve soil quality.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Mating effort and female receptivity: how do male guppies decide when to invest in sex?. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 64(10), 1665-1672.
- Inbreeding level does not induce female discrimination between sibs and unrelated males in guppies. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 64(10), 1601-1607.
- Male mate-searching strategies and female cues: how do male guppies find receptive females?. ANIM BEHAV, 79(6), 1191-1197.
- Female guppies Poecilia reticulata prefer males that can learn fast. J FISH BIOL, 75(6), 1323-1330.
- Do male guppies distinguish virgin females from recently mated ones?. ANIM BEHAV, 77(2), 425-431.
- Do 3-D predators attack the margins of 2-D selfish herds?. BEHAV ECOL, 19(1), 74-78.
All publications
Journal articles
- Maternal chronic ethanol exposure decreases stress responses in zebrafish offspring. Biomolecules, 12(8).
- Brief exposures to conspecific-derived alarm substance are sufficient to induce paternal intergenerational effects in zebrafish. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 105(6), 741-751.
- The physiological cost of colour change: evidence, implications and mitigations. Journal of Experimental Biology, 225(10).
- Soil quality regeneration by grass-clover leys in arable rotations compared to permanent grassland: Effects on wheat yield and resilience to drought and flooding. Soil and Tillage Research, 212.
- Premature birth stunts early growth and is a possible driver of stress‐induced maternal effects in the guppy
Poecilia reticulata. Journal of Fish Biology, 96(2), 506-515.
- 1.4 Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 is essential for normal hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis function. ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology, 15. View this article in WRRO
- Long-term effects of the periconception period on embryo epigenetic profile and phenotype: The role of stress and how this effect is mediated. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1014(Periconception in Physiology and Medicine), 117-135. View this article in WRRO
- Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 is essential for normal hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis function. Human Molecular Genetics, 26(11), 1992-2005. View this article in WRRO
- Effect of hunger level and time of day on boldness and aggression in the zebrafishDanio rerio. Journal of Fish Biology, 86(6), 1852-1859.
- Disassortative mating for boldness decreases reproductive success in the guppy. Behavioral Ecology, 24(6), 1320-1326.
- Heritability of boldness and aggressiveness in the zebrafish.. Behav Genet, 43(2), 161-167.
- Aggression and sex differences in lateralization in the zebrafish. Animal Behaviour.
- The effect of variation in boldness and aggressiveness on the reproductive success of zebrafish. Animal Behaviour, 83(1), 41-46.
- Small Subordinate Male Advantage in the Zebrafish. Ethology, 117(11), 1003-1008.
- Mating effort and female receptivity: how do male guppies decide when to invest in sex?. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 64(10), 1665-1672.
- Inbreeding level does not induce female discrimination between sibs and unrelated males in guppies. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 64(10), 1601-1607.
- Male mate-searching strategies and female cues: how do male guppies find receptive females?. ANIM BEHAV, 79(6), 1191-1197.
- Male mate-searching strategies and female cues: How do male guppies find receptive females?. Animal Behaviour, 79(6), 1191-1197.
- Female guppies Poecilia reticulata prefer males that can learn fast. J FISH BIOL, 75(6), 1323-1330.
- Do male guppies distinguish virgin females from recently mated ones?. ANIM BEHAV, 77(2), 425-431.
- Do 3-D predators attack the margins of 2-D selfish herds?. BEHAV ECOL, 19(1), 74-78.
- Strategic egg allocation in the zebra fish, Danio rerio. BEHAV ECOL, 18(5), 905-909.
- Phenotypic correlates of spermatozoon quality in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. BEHAV ECOL, 18(1), 47-52.
- Female association preferences based on olfactory cues in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 55(4), 363-369.
- Female preferences based on olfactory cues in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Journal of Fish Biology, 63(s1), 258-258.
- Enrichment Increases Aggression in Zebrafish. Fishes, 4(1), 22-22.
- Paternal effects in a wild‐type zebrafish implicate a role of sperm‐derived small RNAs. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
Preprints
- Mating effort and female receptivity: how do male guppies decide when to invest in sex?. BEHAV ECOL SOCIOBIOL, 64(10), 1665-1672.
- Research group
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Current graduate students
- 2016 - Joseph Llanos. Earthworm distribution and population dynamics. PhD.
- 2017 - Wafa Abudayah. Anxiety as a personality trait in zebrafish. PhD.
- 2018 - Charlotte Redfern. Telomeres and stress in zebrafish. Masters.
- 2018 - Joel Kelly. Transgenerational stress & gene expression in zebrafish. MRes.
- 2018 - Stephanie Faulkner. Lateralisation and aggression in fish. MRes.
- 2018 - Chloe Mcloughlin. Earthworm behaviour and immunity. Masters.
Recent graduate students
- 2012-15 Helen Eachus. Behavioural and endocrine analysis of stress responses and the roles of epigenetic mechanisms in developmental plasticity of stress phenotypes in zebrafish. PhD.
- 2014-18 James Ord. Parental stress and its effects on the offspring of guppies and zebrafish. PhD.
- 2016-17 Juliet Kitson. Maternal chronic ethanol exposure influences social and anxiety-like behaviours in zebrafish offspring. Masters.
- 2016-17 Poppy Craig. The effects of sex, drug naivety and the bold-shy continuum on anxiety of adult zebrafish during ethanol withdrawal. Masters.
- 2017-18 Betsy Stanhope. Transgenerational effects of stress on anxious and aggressive behaviours in the zebrafish. Masters.
- 2017-18 Grace Holland. The effect of tetracycline on the health of Lumbricus terrestris. Masters.
+ 8 other PhD students that successfully defended their thesis. 10+ masters students.
- Grants
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- 2015 EpiStressNet: A biosocial systems approach to understanding the epigenetic embedding of social stress responses (co-investigator). ESRC/BBSRC (£249, 704).
- Teaching activities
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I am L1 and Senior Tutor, the Disability Liaison Officer and Head of Exams in APS. I was awarded APS Teacher of the Year in 2010.
In L2, I teach APS272 (Animal Diversity) and APS226 (Animal Diversity Practicals). As a zoologist, I have a real passion for animals and I hope to put this across in teaching.
In L3, I supervise projects (APS345) in behavioural ecology. I have an interest in science education in primary and secondary schools, which stems from being a school governor and being involved in science outreach, and I supervise students taking the Undergraduate Ambassador Scheme (APS340).
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Member of the University Discipline, Appeals and Faculty Student Review Committees
- External Examiner, University of Nottingham (Zoology) (from Oct 2017)
- Member of Inner International Assessment Board, Irish Research Council, Dublin (March 2017, 2019)
- Invited seminar, Merton College Biology Society, University of Oxford (Feb 2017) APS Christmastime Lecture (Dec 2016)
- ASAB Easter 2014 Conference organizer, April 2014, University of Sheffield
- Member of the Field Studies Council Executive Committee (from 2011-17)
- Member of the Field Studies Council Education Committee (from 2011-17) & Chair (2016-17)
- Invited speaker: Fishing for Clues – the mystery of the zebrafish revealed. LASA (2011)