We examine how reciprocal effects of ecological and social factors influence reproductive tactics, life history decisions, physiological performance, and sexual selection. One recent focus is exploring how these processes shape divergence in phenotypic traits related to mating in geographically separated populations, and how these may be related to invasiveness. Our work includes laboratory and field studies of invertebrates, and our primary study organisms are the black widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) and their relatives. |
New Paper: Juvenile Experience with Male Cues Triggers Cryptic Choice Mechanisms in Adult Female Redback Spiders![]() Juvenile females were held in experimental cages that allowed them to experience cues and signals produced by other spiders. As adults, female mating behaviour shifted if they had experienced cues from males, but not from other females. Andrade et al 2021. Insects |
Recent Publications |
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