I have had the pleasure of being involved in a number of research initiatives from heathland conservation in the UK to parenting behaviour in frogs in Central America. Here are a few:
Investigating sensory drive in Poecilia reticulata: How does long term exposure to different light environments affect male colour sexual traits, visual opsin expression and female preferences?
Investigating trait co-option in artificially selected populations of Poecilia reticulata: Artificial selection on colour-based foraging behaviour has resulted in a significant response to selection and divergence in male colour traits but how has this influenced other sexually selected behaviours?
Quantifying sexual selection in the dock beetle, Gastrophysa viridula: This project used the green dock beetle to quantify differences in sexual selection between males and females over time. Although selection is usually treated as being constant over time we found differences in the strength of selection over time. We also discovered differences in the strength of selection between males and females. Collaborators: Dave Hosken & John Hunt, University of Exeter
Parenting behaviour in Leptodactylus insularum: This project investigated the ecology and reproductive behaviour of a Central American frog, Leptodactylus insularum. The project involved capture-recapture of tagged individuals and tadpoles to monitor population sizes, tracking of schooling tadpoles and monitoring predation events. For more information see http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1670/13-214. Collaborator: Kristiina Hurme, University of Connecticut Photo credit: K. Hurme
Ground beetles as biodiversity indicators for use in heathland management:
UK heathlands are an important habitat for a number of species. In order to be maintained heathlands need extensive management and the effect of this on UK biodiversity is unknown. This project studied the usefulness of ground beetles as biodiversity markers for heathland management in the UK. Collaborator: Graham Holloway, Reading University