Speaker: Dr. Clint Kelly (Universié du Québec à Montréal)
Where: L-GE 110 | When: 1:15 pm “Sexual Selection and Phenotypic Diversity Within and Between the Sexes In the Wellington Tree Weta” Abstract: Sexual selection is arguably nature’s most powerful evolutionary process in that it overcomes natural selection in males and females to produce incredible phenotypic diversity within and between the sexes and across taxa in remarkably short periods. There are few better examples in nature of intense sexual selection shaping male morphology and behaviour than the Wellington tree weta (Hemideina crassidens). The Wellington tree weta exhibits strong sexual dimorphism with males possessing tremendously enlarged jaws relative to females. This species also exhibits extraordinary variation among males in phenotype, a hallmark of alternative mating strategies. My research seeks to identify the proximate and ultimate causes of this tremendous phenotypic variation with specific attention given to how the observed phenotypic variation is maintained in the wild, how the environment mediates sexual selection on male phenotype, and how investment in sexually-selected traits trades off against other fitness-related traits like immunity. Photo By: Michael Chung Comments are closed.
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