D. P. Godinho

Spider mites collectively avoid plants with cadmium irrespective of their frequency or the presence of competitors

The paper shows that spider mites collectively avoid cadmium-contaminated plants regardless of contamination frequency or competitor presence, but individual mites do not show such preference.

Evolution in response to an abiotic stress shapes species coexistence

The paper shows that evolution in a stressful environment allows two spider mite species to coexist, but evolution of one species in isolation leads to exclusion.

Limits to the adaptation of herbivorous spider mites to metal accumulation in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments

This study tests whether herbivorous spider mites adapt to cadmium-accumulating plants in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments, finding no adaptation and low genetic variation in measured traits.

Virulence constrains transmission even in the absence of a genetic trade-off

The study shows that virulence and parasite fitness have a hump-shaped relationship when transmission is not possible, but a positive correlation when transmission occurs, indicating environmental and genetic influences depending on transmission timing.

Creating outbred and inbred populations of haplodiploid mites to measure adaptive responses in the lab

The paper describes methods to create outbred and inbred haplodiploid spider mite populations for studying adaptive responses and heritability.

Wolbachia both aids and hampers the performance of spider mites on different host plants

This study examines how Wolbachia infection affects spider mite performance on different host plants, finding both positive and negative impacts on life-history traits.