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Associate Professor, Centre for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Western Australia

I am interested in sexual selection, and in particular on how episodes of pre- and post-mating selection interact to influence male reproductive fitness. I am also interested in how human-induced environmental change impacts on these sexually selected processes (e.g. mating behaviour, sperm competition and their interactions). My group and I use a range of study systems, including guppies, various marine invertebrates and even the odd frog to focus on these and the following key topics:

- Quantitative genetics of sexually selected traits
- Testing the evolvability of populations impacted by environmental change
- Sexual selection on male genitalia
- Identifying sources of genetic variance in competitive fertilization success
- Reproductive senescence, sperm ageing and sexual selection
- Reproductive ecology of broadcast spawning marine invertebrates

My professional activities include serving on the editorial boards at Proceedings of the Royal Society London B, Journal of Ethology, and previously Animal Behaviour

Experience

  • –present
    Associate Professor, Centre for Evolutionary Biology, University of Western Australia
  • 2006–2010
    QEII Fellow, Australian Research Council
  • 2003–2006
    Australian Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian Research Council
  • 2001–2003
    Marie Curie Independent Research Fellow, European Union

Education

  • 2001 
    University of St Andrews, PhD Evolutionary Biology
  • 1997 
    University of Liverpool, BSc Marine Biology

Research Areas

  • Evolutionary Biology (0603)
  • Behavioural Ecology (060201)

Honours

- European Union Research Fellowship
- ARC Postdoctoral and QEII Fellowship
- Outstanding Young Investigator Award 2007 (Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour )