M. Aaron Owen, PhD

As a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary biologist, I am primarily interested in the ways sexual selection has shaped the traits and behaviors animals use in the 

endeavor to reproduce. Over the past decade I have attempted to shed light on several questions using such model systems as parasitoid wasps (Spalangia endius), zebrafish (Danio rerio), and, most recently, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus):

 

- How does a change in ecology affect the maintenance and evolution of male traits, female preferences, and their interaction? (PhD)

 

- How does a male trait arise in a population before it becomes the object of female choice? (Master's)

 

- What changes in locomotion contribue to sexual inhibition? (Undergraduate)