From 2007 to 2010, he was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Rickard Shine's lab at Sydney University in Australia.His major research interests are thermal adaptation in reptiles.Dr. DU was recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Fund (2015) , and selected in the "100-Talent Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2011). He was the chief scientist of (1) Major International (Regional) Joint Research Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China, “Latitudinal variation in the response of lizards to climate warming: behavioral and physiological mechanisms and population dynamic prediction”; (2) National key R & D plan “The ecological and adaptive strategies of endangered animals”.

Work Experience

2010-present: Professor, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2007-2010: Post-doc research follow, The University of Sydney

1998-2006: Lecturer and Professor in Ecology, Hangzhou Normal University

1994-1997: Assistant professor of Biology, Zhejiang Normal University

We are interested in understanding the ecological and evolutionary responses of reptiles to climate change

As ecotherms, reptiles are highly dependent on the ambient climatic condition and hence, are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Reptiles thus provide excellent model systems for studying the response of animals to climate change. We identify the plastic and evolutionary responses of reptiles to temperature change using manipulation experiments and genetic analysis, and predict the impact of climate warming on reptiles using ecological modeling like the biophysical model and foraging energetic model. Our work will have critical implications and foresight for basic ecological questions on species survival and distribution and, the conservation of reptile biodiversity.

(1)Li, S.R., Hao, X., Wang, Y., Sun, B.J. Bi, J. H., Zhang, Y.P., Janzen, F.J. Du, W.G*. Female lizards choose warm, moist nests that improve embryonic survivorship and offspring fitness. Functional Ecology, 2018,32(2):416-423.

(2)Wang, Y., Li, S.R., Zeng, Z.G, Liang, L. & Du, W.G*. Maternal food availability affects offspring performance and survival in a viviparous lizard. Functional Ecology, 2017, 31(10):1950-1956.

(3)Sun B. J., Li T, Mu Y, McGlashan J. K, Georges A, Shine R, Du, W.G*. Thyroid hormone modulates offspring sex ratio in a turtle with temperature-dependent sex determination. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2016, 283(1841): 20161206.

(4) Du, W.G* and Shine, R. The behavioral and physiological strategies of bird and reptile embryos in response to unpredictable variation in nest temperature. Biological Reviews, 2015, 90(1): 19-30.

(5)Zeng, Z. G. Bi, J. H., Li, S. L., Chen, S. Y., Pike, D. A., Gao, Y. and Du, W.G*. Effects of habitat alteration on lizard community and food web structure in a desert steppe ecosystem. Biological Conservation, 2014, 179: 86-92.

(6)Gao, J., Zhang W., Dang W., Mou, Yi., Gao, Y. Sun, B. J., Du, W.G*. Heat shock protein expression enhances heat tolerance of reptile embryos. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2014, 281(1791): 20141135.

(7)Sun, B.J., Wang, T.T. Pike, D.A. Liang, L. and Du, W.G*. Embryonic oxygen enhances learning ability in hatchling lizards, Eremias argus (Lacertidae). Frontiers in Zoology, 2014, 11: 21.

(8)Li, T., Zhao, B. Zhou, Y.K. Hu, R. and Du, W.G*. Thermoregulatory behavior is widespread in the embryos of reptiles and birds. American Naturalist, 2014, 183(3): 445-451.

(9)Zhao, B., Li, T., Shine, R., and Du, W.G*. Turtle embryos move to optimal thermal environments within the egg. Biology Letters, 2013, 9(4): 20130337.

(10) Du, W.G*, Zhao, B. Chen, Y. and Shine, R. Behavioral thermoregulation by turtle embryos. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011, 108(23): 9513-9515.