people

People

Laila Yunes-Jiménez, undergraduate thesis
(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
lailongo@hotmail.com

Thesis project: Why females sing more than males: an analysis of female song in the elaborate monomorphic streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus).
Read more: (English version) (Spanish version)

Diego Hernández-Muciño, undergraduate thesis
(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
elphago@gmail.com

Thesis project: Sexual differences in territorial defense in the elaborate monomorphic streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus).
Read more: (English version) (Spanish version)

Jennyfer Femat-Rodriguez, master’s thesis
(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
jenfemat@gmail.com

Master's project: Female territoriality at the nest in the streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus).
Read more: (English version) (Spanish version)

América P. García-Muñoz, undergraduate thesis
(Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos)
amyb_bsb@hotmail.com

Thesis project: Motmot leaf-display: male and female agonistic signaling with inedible props during territorial defense in the russet-crowned motmot (Momotus mexicanus).
Read more: (English version) (Spanish version)

PAST STUDENTS FROM MEXICAN UNIVERSITIES

Troy Murphy

Assistant Professor, Trinity University
tmurphy@trinity.edu

Research focus: Evolution of communication signals and behaviors in birds, with an emphasis on understanding the evolution and adaptive significance of female ornamentation.

TRINITY UNIVERSITY STUDENT RESEARCHERS

Please contact me if you are interested in joining the lab.

Tiffany Pham

is studying what is invisible to us: the ultraviolet reflectance given off by tail feathers of the Turquoise-browed Motmot. She is testing whether there is a link between tail coloration and physiological condition-- as males and females may have evolved to use coloration to signal their quality as a potential mate. Tiffany is also studying circulating testosterone levels in goldfinches. She is testing whether female bill-coloration, which is known to function as a signal of dominance, positively relates to testosterone, a hormone that mediates aggressive behavior.

Natasha Kopecky

is studying whether male mate-choice in fish is influenced by the degree of local male-male competition. She is testing whether male betta fish are more likely to exhibit mate choice, or exhibit more intense mate choice, when a male detects a same-sex competitor near a set of females. Males are not often expected to exhibit mate choice because the cost of lost mating opportunities is dramatic; however, if a male perceives that a competitor may inseminate a female before he does, he may benefit by quickly choosing the mate of greater reproductive value so as to exclude the competitor from mating with her.

Gus (G.R.) Hoff

is interested in the phenomenon that bettas change color quickly. He is testing whether female bettas exhibit mate preference based on the degree of within-individual color change in males. He hypothesizes that females will benefit by assessing the color of a male over a many-day period, as males that are in poor health will be unlikely to maintain high-levels of coloration for sustained periods. Gus will use two ipad displays to manipulate the color of video recorded males— and will then present videos of two different males to a focal female so that she can choose between them.

Rick Simpson

is studying a fascinating geographical pattern of sexual dimorphism in birds: temperate species tend to be highly sexually dichromatic —with ornamented males and drab females— whereas tropical species tend to be ornamented in both males and females. He hypothesizes that although tropical females use ornamentation to signal dominance during territorial defense, that these benefits are reduced in temperate zones where females do not generally defend territories. Rick is interested in understanding the selective forces that favor the reduction in female ornamentation in temperate birds (from ornamented ancestors). He hypothesizes that the distance a species migrates is negatively related to the degree of female ornamentation— because those species that migrate farther should experience greater risk of of being seen by predators.

PAST STUDENTS FROM TRINITY UNIVERSITY

Lucy Cevallos

is studying how dynamic signals are used in communication during mate-choice. She is studying American goldfinch bill color, which changes in dramatically over a few hours. Such dynamic signals have the potential to signal short term condition, and can be used by potential mates to assess how well an individual in buffering current stressors (i.e., infection). Dynamic signals can also be evaluated over the long term, and receivers can better asses overall quality of a potential mate by monitoring how bill color changes over time. To test whether receivers do this, Lucy first tested whether female mate-choice was based on an immediate snapshot assessment of potential mates-- and she found no evidence of this. She is now testing whether females pay attention to fluctuations in male bill color over three days (in captivity), and whether females base mate-choice on the ability of a male to maintain a colorful bill over this period.

Aparna Gomes

is interested in the evolution of female ornamentation. She is testing two alternative hypotheses for why females express elaborate colors: 1) because females gain adaptive benefits from signaling with coloration, or 2) because females express coloration non-adaptively, as a a result of genetic correlation with the males (i.e., as a by-product of sharing most of their genome with the males). Aparna is trying to separate these alternatives by focusing on the fact that carotenoid-based colors (yellows-reds) are more expensive to use as ornaments than are structural colors (blues-greens). Using comparative methods, she is looking at species in which males express both carotenoid and structural colors, and she is testing whether the females of these species are less likely to express the costly carotenoid based colors.

Jordan West

is studying whether female bettas (fighting fish) evaluate the competitive ability of a same-sex conspecific based on the competitor’s success in previous aggressive-contests. Joe is testing whether female fish eavesdrop on aggressive interactions to determine whether competitors are winners ‘dominant’ or losers ‘submissive’. Using female betta fighting fish, Joe is testing whether an eavesdropping female will then base foraging decisions on whether a ‘dominant’ or ‘submissive’ competitor is guarding a food resource.

Phil Queller

is interested in testosterone and its influence on signal evolution. Phil joined the lab to assist with data collection for Tiffany’s project.

Soon he will develop his own project. Check back later....

Lindsey Breier

is interested in betta fish interactions. Lindsey joined the lab to assist with data collection for Tasha’s project.

Soon she will develop her own project. Check back later....