Publications

Journal Articles

Knapwerth, L., Schneider, J. & Burke, N. W., (2026) Springbok mantis females cannibalise males to resist mating young. In review.

Burke, N. W., Knapwerth, L., & Schneider, J. (2026) Extra-genital wounding by males delays female remating in the sexually cannibalistic springbok mantis. Royal Society Open Science. In press.

Knapwerth, L. & Burke, N. W. (2025). Luring cannibal: dishonest sexual signalling in the springbok mantis. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.70115.

Wilner, D., Bonduriansky, R. & Burke, N. W. (2025). Sexual conflict as a constraint on asexual reproduction: an empirical review. Biological Reviews. doi: 10.1111/brv.70064

Boldbaatar, J., Pollo, P., Wilner, D., Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2025). Reproductive transitions and sperm utilisation in a facultatively parthenogenetic stick insect. Ecology & Evolution 15: DOI:10.1002/ece3.71766.

Burke, N. W. & Knapwerth, L. (2025). Strategic deployment of secondary defences in the springbok mantis (Miomantis caffra). Ethology e13573. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.13573.

Wilner, D., Boldbaatar, J., Miller, S., Burke, N. W., & Bonduriansky, R. (2025). Can sexual conflict drive transitions to asexuality? Female resistance to fertilization in a facultatively parthenogenetic insect. Evolution 79(4), 525-540.

Boldbaatar, J., Vasconcelos, A. C., Burke, N. W., & Bonduriansky, R. (2024). Could adult or juvenile dispersal shape geographical parthenogenesis? Evidence from the facultatively parthenogenetic phasmid Megacrania batesii. Evolutionary Ecology 1-19.

Burke, N. W. (2024). Sexual cannibalism as a female resistance trait: a new hypothesis. Evolution 78: 612-623.

Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2024). Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis. Functional Ecology 38: 449-464.

Miller, S. M., Stuart, K. C., Burke, N. W., Rollins, L. A. & Bonduriansky, R. (2024). Genotypic and phenotypic consequences of local transitions between sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction in the wild. The American Naturalist 203: 000-000.

Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2023). Should females cannibalise with or without mating in the facultatively parthenogenetic Springbok mantis? Animal Behaviour 197: 113-121.

Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2023). Costs and benefits of polyandry in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 36: 412-423.

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2022). Sexually but not parthenogenetically produced females benefit from sexual reproduction in a stick insect. Functional Ecology 36(8): 2001-2014.

Pollo, P., Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2021). Effects of male and female personality on sexual cannibalism in the Springbok mantis. Animal Behaviour 182: 1-7.

Burke, N. W., Nakagawa, S. & Bonduriansky, R. (2021). Sexual conflict mediated by ecological sex differences can generate diverse patterns of transgenerational plasticity. BioRxiv.

Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2021). Male coercion and female injury in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. Biology Letters 16: 0200811.

Burke, N. W. & Holwell, G. (2021). Increased male mating success in the presence of prey and rivals in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. Behavioral Ecology arab022, https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab022

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2019). The paradox of obligate sex: the roles of sexual conflict and mate scarcity in transitions to obligate and facultative asexuality. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 32(11): 1230-1241.

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2019). Exposure to juvenile males during development suppresses female capacity for parthenogenesis in a stick insect. Animal Behaviour 154: 85-94.

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2018). The geography of sex: sexual conflict, environmental gradients, and local loss of sex in facultatively parthenogenetic animals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 373: 20170422.

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2018). The fitness effects of delayed switching to sex in a facultatively asexual stick insect. Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3895.

Burke, N. W. & Bonduriansky, R. (2017). Sexual conflict, facultative asexuality, and the true paradox of sex. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 32: 646-652.

Burke, N. W. (2016). The short end of the stick: cloning and costly sex in the spiny leaf insect. Wildlife Australia 53: 28-31.

Burke, N. W., Crean, A. J. & Bonduriansky, R. (2015). The role of sexual conflict in the evolution of facultative parthenogenesis: a study on the spiny leaf stick insect. Animal Behaviour 101: 117-127.

Science Outreach

I Came for Science. 2025. Podcast interview. “Episode 18: Y is a crooked letter: Acurious scientist’s deep dive into asexuality, sexual cannibalism and dealing with criticism”. April 11. https://open.spotify.com/show/4UIAmKo5zHS7FS5CjNkicN

Burke, N. W. 2022. Lotteries are the fairest route to prejudice-free hiring. Times Higher Education. Web. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/lotteries-are-fairest-route-prejudice-free-hiring.

Crean, A. J, Burke, N. W, and Bonduriansky, R. 2015. If you could clone yourself, would you still have sex? The Conversation. Web. http://theconversation.com/if-you-could-clone-yourself-would-you-still-have-sex-37514.

Burke, N. W. (Director). 2015, March 31. Escaping the sex trap: can female resistance promote the loss of sex? https://vimeo.com/123792957.