Research overview
I use Tinbergen's framework to understand the proximate (mechanistic) and ultimate (evolutionary) causes of elaborate traits in animals.
My work integrates perspectives and methodologies across the fields of sensory ecology, animal behavior, physiology, and phylogenomics.
Ongoing Projects
The eco-evolutionary drivers of elaborate traits
Elaborate traits - traits that are complex, conspicuous derivations of pre-existing structures in a recent ancestor - evolve via intense selective pressure, often overpowering ecological constraints.
We are currently testing the biotic drivers and abiotic constraints on the evolution of iridescence in nymphalid butterflies.
Previously, I used long-tailed Saturniidae moths as a model system to experimentally test how natural and sexual selection can shape these tails. We also recently completed a macroevolutionary analysis to assess the environmental constraints inhibiting further elaboration of this trait.
The evolutionary principles underlying facultative vs. obligate signaling
Some anti-predator traits are constantly deployed (such as warning coloration), while others are deployed only when an animal is under attack.
Currently, I am investigating the role of iridescent butterfly wings as an an anti-predator illusion that becomes apparent once the butterfly takes flight.
In collaboration with a team at STRI, led by Dr. Ummat Somjee, we are also investigating the role of large, conspicuous flags of the matador bug as an anti-predator signal.
Understanding how climate change will alter elaborate trait function
Climate change will have many effects on our biological systems. One impact may be on inter-species interactions that are mediated by particular traits whose development is sensitive to environmental conditions.
I am studying the effect of thermal environment on several elaborate anti-predator traits.
