Female-limited Polymorphisms in Hummingbirds
For my PhD I am studying the evolutionary function of ornamentation in females by observing natural variation in coloration of female hummingbirds. There are over 300 species of hummingbirds, and many of these species have unique evolutionary patterns -- ornamented females, drab females, and some with both types in the same species. I am testing various hypotheses to try and understand the causes and consequences of this diversity.
Information Use and Mating Decisions
Getting access to a mate or mates can be a cruicial aspect of increasing an individual's fitness. Doing so can involve different strategies, but choosing the correct strategy requires prudent information gathering. One source of useful information is the social environment. I am using the Gryllus texensis (Texas field cricket) to see whether juvenile crickets use information about those around them to make mating decisions when they become adults.
Previous Research
Animals attempting to attract the opposite sex often need to produce conspicuous signals so they can be found. These same broadcasted signals can be exploited by third parties, such as predators. In collaboration with the Rachel Page lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, I studied the interaction between katydids of Panama and four bat species that "eavesdrop" on their prey.
During my undergraduate I studied flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) in Dan Bolnick's lab at the University of Texas -- Austin. Due to their short generation times, we were able to watch evolution and adaption happening in the lab. I studied how adaptation to different food types may or may not lead to reproductive isolation.
During my undergraduate I studied flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) in Dan Bolnick's lab at the University of Texas -- Austin. Due to their short generation times, we were able to watch evolution and adaption happening in the lab. I studied how adaptation to different food types may or may not lead to reproductive isolation.
