U. K. Steiner

Rapid growth and the evolution of complete metamorphosis in insects

This study investigates why holometabolous insects evolved a pupal stage, finding that rapid growth and a trade-off between growth and differentiation favor this life history under high mortality.

Declining old pole physiology gradually enhances gene expression asymmetry in bacteria

The paper shows that aging in bacterial mother cells leads to declining gene expression in old poles, increasing phenotypic heterogeneity across generations.

Structured demographic buffering: A framework to explore the environment drivers and demographic mechanisms underlying demographic buffering

The paper introduces a framework to quantify the effects of environmental factors, population structure, and demographic rates on demographic buffering in plant species.

Demographic Consequences of Damage Dynamics in Single-Cell Ageing

This paper develops a stochastic damage model to explain demographic ageing patterns in single-cell systems, showing non-exponential mortality scaling in E. coli.

Adaptive and neutral processes that select on life course diversification

The paper analyzes structured population models across taxa to explore how selective forces act on non-genetic, non-environmental life course variation, finding it is neither clearly neutral nor selected for or against.

Single-cell phenotypic characteristics of phenotypic resistance under recurring antibiotic exposure in Escherichia coli

This study identifies novel phenotypic characteristics of antibiotic-resistant E. coli single cells under recurring antibiotic exposure, showing reduced growth rates and survival advantages for intermediate growers.

Hurricane-induced demographic changes in a nonhuman primate population

This study examines hurricane impacts on a nonhuman primate population using 45 years of demographic data, finding demographic buffering despite reduced fertility.

Ecological drivers of jellyfish blooms – the complex life history of a ‘well-known’ medusa (Aurelia aurita)

This study models the life history of Aurelia aurita to show that food availability and climate change drive jellyfish blooms by altering population structure and intensity.

Drivers of diversity in individual life courses: Sensitivity of the population entropy of a Markov chain

The paper quantifies how stage transitions in life courses contribute to diversity using Markov chain entropy and shows these transitions are not correlated with population growth.

Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity for Life History and Less Fitness-Related Traits

The paper tests the hypothesis that traits closer to fitness are less plastic by analyzing 213 studies and finds no correlation between trait plasticity and fitness relevance.

Demographic variability and heterogeneity among individuals within and among clonal bacteria strains

The paper quantifies genetic and dynamic stochastic variability in lifespan and reproduction among clonal E. coli strains using microfluidic experiments.

Drivers of diversification in individual life courses

The paper quantifies life course heterogeneity in a primate population and shows that density does not influence entropy or generating moments of heterogeneity, suggesting stage transitions drive variability.