3rd floor, Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK

Email: w.wuster@bangor.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1248 382301

Web: ResearchGate; GoogleScholar 

Personal webpage

  • PhD: Systematics of Asian cobras
    University of Aberdeen, 1990

Programme Organiser:

  • BSc and MZool in Zoology with Herpetology

Module Organiser:

  • BSX-2031 - Arizona Fieldcourse
  • BSX-2028 - Introduction to Herpetology
  • BSX-3158 - Advances in Herpetology

Module Contributor

  • BNS-1002 - Organismal Diversity
  • DNS-1003 - Ecology & Evolution
  • BSX-1028 - Tutorials Yr. 1
  • BSX-2107 - Invertebrates
  • BSX-2021 - BioScience Skills
  • BSX-2022 - Vertebrate Biology
  • BSX-3070 - Dissertation in Biological Sciences
  • BSM-4000 - Masters Research Project

My research interests span a wide range of topics in evolution, systematics and ecology, using primarily snakes as a model system. Current and recent topics have included the evolution of venom composition and its selective drivers, the origin of snake venom systems, species delimitation in snake species complexes, the evolution of warning signals and mimicry systems, biogeography, phylogeography and ecology.

I am interested in supervising postgraduate students in a range of topics in herpetology and toxinology, in particular:

  • Conservation genomics of European vipers
  • Evolution and ecology of venoms
  • Snake systematics, taxonomy and phylogeny
  • Snake ecology

Please drop me a line if you are interested and want to explore possibilities. 

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

  • PublishedAncient habitat shifts and organismal diversification are decoupled in the African viper genus Bitis (Serpentes: Viperidae)
    Barlow, A., Wüster, W., Kelly, C. M. R., Branch, W., Phelps, T. & Tolley, K. A., 1 Jun 2019, In: Journal of Biogeography. 46, 6, p. 1234-1248 15 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • PublishedConfirmation of Naja oxiana in Himachal Pradesh, India
    Santra, V., Owens, J. B., Graham, S., Wüster, W., Kuttalam, S. R., Bharti, O., Selvan, M., Mukherjee, N. & Malhotra, A., 1 Dec 2019, In: Herpetological Bulletin. 150, p. 26-28
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • PublishedDeconstructing compassionate conservation
    Hayward, M. W., Callen, A., Allen, B. L., Ballard, G., Broekhuis, F., Bugir, C., Clarke, R. H., Clulow, J., Clulow, S., Daltry, J. C., Davies-Mostert, H. T., Fleming, P. J. S., Griffin, A. S., Howell, L. G., Kerley, G. I. H., Klop-Toker, K., Legge, S., Major, T., Meyer, N., Montgomery, R. A., Moseby, K., Parker, D. M., Périquet, S., Read, J., Scanlon, R., Seeto, R., Shuttleworth, C., Somers, M. J., Tamessar, C. T., Tuft, K., Upton, R., Valenzuela-Molina, M., Wayne, A., Witt, R. R. & Wuster, W., Aug 2019, In: Conservation Biology. 33, 4, p. 760-768
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • PublishedWhen one phenotype is not enough: divergent evolutionary trajectories govern venom variation in a widespread rattlesnake species
    Zancolli, G., Calvete, J. J., Cardwell, M. D., Greene, H. W., Hayes, W. K., Hegarty, M. J., Herrmann, H-W., Holycross, A. T., Lannutti, D. I., Mulley, J. F., Sanz, L., Travis, Z. D., Whorley, J. R., Wuster, C. E. & Wuster, W., 13 Mar 2019, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286, 1898, p. 20182735
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

2017

2016

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2022

  • Why is snake venom composition so variable?

    Abstract

    Venomous snakebites kill over 100,000 people annually worldwide, and permanently disable many more. One of the key obstacles to the treatment of snakebites is the extreme variation in venom composition, even between loosely related species and within species. In this presentation, I will explore the evidence for different potential selection pressures acting on venom composition, primarily for the functions of foraging and defence. A considerable number of studies has provided evidence for the role of selection for diet as a major driver of venom evolution across a variety of groups. In contrast, evidence for selection for a defensive role is limited and patchy, with a few notable exceptions. Our ability to understand the selective pressures affecting venom composition is hindered by a remarkable paucity of data on the natural history of venom and venom use by snakes in the wild. Citizen science contributions, especially chance observations of interactions between snakes and their prey and predators, are key to expanding our understanding of the ecological context of venom evolution.

    15 Sep 2022

    Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)

2017

  • Why is snake venom composition so variable

    7 Dec 2017

    Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
  • Drivers and mechanisms of variation in snake venom composition

    Variation in venom composition is ubiquitous among snakes at all levels, from temporal variation within individuals to differences between major clades. Much recent research has tried to understand both the extrinsic drivers of this variation (e.g., natural selection, phylogeny) and the underlying genetic mechanisms.

    A growing body of research has identified natural selection for optimization of venom to diet as an important driver of venom evolution, resulting in patterns of variation incongruent with taxonomic or phylogenetic affinities. The evolution of venom resistance in some prey species leads to the possibility of predator-prey arms races between snakes and their prey. However, while pairwise relationships between snakes and particular prey have received much attention, this is not the case for the role of venoms in complex food webs involving both snake prey and snake predators. Selection for a defensive function of venom has been postulated in some cases, but surveys of snakebitten patients do not reveal the pattern of early severe pain predicted by this hypothesis, including in species with cytotoxic venom activity.

    At the genetic level, -omics technologies are providing unparalleled insights into the genetic mechanisms and processes underlying venom composition. Different genome-level and postgenomic processes control venom composition in different species: whereas genome-level presence or absence of toxin genes underlies most compositional variation in some rattlesnakes, post-genomic mechanisms play a much greater role in at least some Old World vipers, but generalisations are not yet justified by the available evidence.

    Despite much progress, many knowledge gaps remain. More “genome to fang tip” studies of the genetic mechanisms underlying venom composition are required to detect general patterns. However, while –omics technologies promise to reveal the mechanisms of snake venom evolution, we remain critically short of rigorous natural history data on snakes and their interactions with prey and predators alike; hindering our understanding the role of venom in snake biology.

    30 Nov 2017 – 3 Dec 2017

    Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
  • Keynote Presentation: Natural History and Genetic Basis of Venom Evolution

    26 Jul 2017

    Links:

    Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Invited talk (Contributor)
  • Keynote address: Patterns, drivers and genetics of venom variation in snakes

    Invited keynote address, expenses paid

    12 May 2017

    Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Invited talk (Member)
  • Keynote presentation: From taxonomy and natural history to -omics and back again: Patterns, drivers and genetics of venom variation in snakes

    Invited keynote presentation, expenses paid

    26 Jan 2017

    Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Invited talk (Speaker)