I am broadly interested in the behavioral and sensory ecology of arthropods of all types, especially in how these apply in the context of mating. I’m curious about how signals are sent through and perceived from the environment, how different sensory modes interact during communication, and how these cues impact subjects’ decisions and behaviors. In the past I have completed projects on the auditory, vibrational, visual, and olfactory senses in ants, butterflies, and crickets. I’m also interested in morphology, and I’ve studied morphological systems of ants, termites, crickets, and short-tailed whip scorpions.

Current Projects

My current work explores the functional role that vibration plays in the mating system of the nursery web spider Pisaura mirabilis, which is additionally complicated by a nuptial gift-giving behavior during courtship. I am specifically interested in how effectively the vibrational signals of males confer fitness information to the females, and whether or not these signals will vary based on the quality of the male’s nuptial gift. See here for more details on the project.