| Research & Teaching | Publications |

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many traits are expressed in both sexes, but subject to different selection pressures ('sex-specific selection'). In particular, some male traits are subject to sexual selection, while the homologous female traits are not. Sex-specific selection generates an evolutionary tug-of-war that drives the divergence of male and female morphology, behaviour and life history, resulting in sexual dimorphism. I use both theoretical and empirical approaches to understand the workings of sex-specific selection (particularly sexual selection), and its consequences for the evolution of genetic systems and phenotypes. I am particularly interested in mechanisms that modify mendelian systems of inheritance, in the effects of environment and individual condition on trait expression within and across generations, and in the evolution of body shape (allometry).

 

 

 

 

The evolution of ageing represents a fundamental puzzle within evolutionary biology. Although we know that the expression of ageing is affected by environmental factors, much of our knowledge of ageing comes from captive populations maintained in environments that are very different from those in which they evolved. Thus, we know little about how ageing is expressed in wild populations exposed to a multitude of mortality risks and stresses. Equally little is known about sources of variation in ageing among individuals, and the effects of ageing on sexual selection. I pursue both lab- and field-based research on these questions, focusing on several species of flies.