People
Sara
M. Lewis, Principal Investigator
The Lewis laboratory is interested in a broad range of
questions in evolutionary ecology, and our research is aimed at
understanding how selection acts in natural populations. This work
combines field and laboratory experiments, and uses a variety of
model organisms including insects, fish, and marine invertebrates.
One major research focus concerns the key evolutionary process of
sexual selection, based on differences among individuals in their
mating and/or paternity success. We are particularly interested in
how variation in sex ratio, population density, and parental
investment patterns determines both courtship behaviors and post-copulatory
behaviors. This work includes studies that have explored:
- Mechanisms of sperm precedence
- Nuptial gift evolution
- Ecological context of sexual selection
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