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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Males And Females Evolve Riskier Traits In Populations With Eavesdropping Parasitoids, Oliver M. Beckers, William E. Wagner
Males And Females Evolve Riskier Traits In Populations With Eavesdropping Parasitoids, Oliver M. Beckers, William E. Wagner
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Predation and/or parasitism often limits the evolution of conspicuous male traits and female preferences because conspicuous traits can attract predators or parasites and it is costly for females to associate with males that attract predators or parasites. As a result, males and females in high-risk populations are expected to evolve safer mating behaviors compared to individuals from low-risk populations. We tested this antagonistic selection hypothesis in the field cricket Gryllus lineaticeps. Males produce chirped songs, and both female crickets and the eavesdropping parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea prefer faster chirp rates. The flies attack the field crickets late in the …
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals, William Gearty, Craig R. Mcclain, Jonathan Payne
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals, William Gearty, Craig R. Mcclain, Jonathan Payne
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Four extant lineages of mammals have invaded and diversified in the water: Sirenia, Cetacea, Pinnipedia, and Lutrinae. Most of these aquatic clades are larger bodied, on average, than their closest land-dwelling relatives, but the extent to which potential ecological, biomechanical, and physiological controls contributed to this pattern remains untested quantitatively. Here, we use previously published data on the body masses of 3,859 living and 2,999 fossil mammal species to examine the evolutionary trajectories of body size in aquatic mammals through both comparative phylogenetic analysis and examination of the fossil record. Both methods indicate that the evolution of an aquatic lifestyle …
Convergent Body Size Evolution Of Crocodyliformes Upon Entering The Aquatic Realm, William Gearty, Jonathan Payne
Convergent Body Size Evolution Of Crocodyliformes Upon Entering The Aquatic Realm, William Gearty, Jonathan Payne
School of Biological Sciences: Posters and Presentations
Twenty-four species of crocodile populate the globe today, but this richness represents a minute fraction of the diversity and disparity of Crocodyliformes since their origin early in the Triassic. Across this clade, three major diversification events into the aquatic realm have occurred. Aquatic and terrestrial habitats impose differing selective pressures on body size. However, previous research on this topic in Crocodyliformes remains qualitative in nature. In this study, our goal was to quantify the influence of habitat (terrestrial versus aquatic) on the evolution of body size in Crocodyliformes. We find a history of repeated body size increase and convergence following …