ANIMAL COMMUNICATION, BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY & ICHTHYOLOGY

 

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Research Interests: Sexual selection, reproductive isolation, and animal communication

My research integrates molecular and behavioral approaches to address questions of sexual selection, speciation and hybridization, and geographic variation.  For my dissertation, I examined the evolution of sexual traits and mating preferences in a swordtail fish, Xiphophorus birchmanni.  This research focused on how factors such as competition for mates, resource availability, and environmental conditions influence mate choice.  One study in particular, showed that recent hybridization between X. birchmanni and its sympatric congener, X. malinche, is facilitated by subtle disruptions to the signaling environment.  As a postdoctoral fellow, I am using molecular techniques to investigate (1) mating asymmetries within the swordtail hybrid zone, (2) multiple origins of the hybrid zone, and (3) the phylogeography of the X. birchmanni species complex.

a. Pure wild-caught X. birchmanni and X. malinche.
b. Hybrid individuals collected from the Río Calnali in 2003.