Team

In my project, I make use of evidence synthesis (systematic review & meta-analysis) to understand phenotypic variation within and between species. My project is part of the DFG funded Collaborative Research Centre SFB-TRR 212 (more information here).

Research Interests

• Evidence synthesis
• Reaction norms
• Phenotypic variation
• Open Science

In my project, I aim to understand shared traits in male and female crickets. Specifically, I will use experiments to (1) examine whether female choosiness and responsiveness are affected by perceived male population density; (2) study if population density affects female and male behaviour with respect to a shared trait such as sperm transfer during copulation, and whether both sexes can influence sperm transfer and storage.

Research Interests

• Mate choice
• Evidence synthesis
• Shared traits
• Open Science

Sexual selection, or nonrandom mating, is an important factor for evolution. In most animal species, females choose the mating partners (female choice) with the help of different criteria. However, mating with multiple males may lead to other selection processes inside the female body. Among the most widely-spread processes of such kind are sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Cryptic female choice means the ability of females to decide which sperm (for example, of male A, B or C) will be preferentially used to fertilize the eggs. In my project, I investigate cryptic female choice in the field grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus using different mating experiments and genetic analyses of offspring. The main focus lies on the possible influence of male attractiveness and the influence of  relatedness between males and females.

Research Interests

• Sexual selection
• Vryptic female choice
• Population genetics
• Different modes of reproduction in animals (e.g. parthenogenesis)

Variation in environmental factors is particularly important for natural populations since it can have both direct and indirect (i.e., through maternal effects) impacts on individuals, thus affecting their fitness. I am interested in understanding how individuals cope with environmental changes by studying the interaction of glucocorticoids, oxidative stress and telomere dynamics in a wild population of great tits (Parus major). I use both observational and experimental methods to determine how environmental conditions affect the mother’s physiology, and how this condition affect offspring phenotype.  

Research Interests

• Birds
• Hormones
• Eco-physiology

The question of my research project regards to adaptive conformance to social niches and its proximate mechanisms. Although Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are known to be monogamous and conduct bipaternal care, extra-pair copulation occurs occasionally. Hence, male individuals face a trade-off securing fertilisations versus parental investment in response to the extent of sexual competition. In our project, we want to investigate how individual variation in sexual competition generates individual variation, and covariation, in both competitive traits and parenting behaviour. Therefore, I use an experimental setup consisting two conditions that vary in sperm competition risk (SCR), i.e. the presence/absence of an ejaculate rival. For my project, I investigate the plasticity of the behavioural phenotype in pre-and postcopulatory competitiveness and male parental care in response to SCR by using behavioural observations as well as endocrinological measurements (subproject A). This work is strongly connected to subproject B, which evaluates ejaculate traits and transcriptomic mechanisms in the model system.

Research Interests

• Sexual selection
• Social niche conformance
• Phenotypic adjustment
• Sexual competition
• Male parental care