About: morrism

Website

http://www.biosci.ohiou.edu/faculty/morris/

Profile

Behavioral Ecology My research interests are in sexual selection, the evolution of alternative mating strategies, and the evolution of communication in aggressive interactions. Currently in my lab we are examining the evolution of a sexually selected signal (vertical bars) and the mating behaviors associated with this signal in swordtail and platyfishes (Xiphophorus). Mating is one of the most important selection events driving the evolution of diversity. We examine the role that female mating preferences and the aggressive interactions between males play in the evolution of diverse behaviors, morphologies and new species. The fishes we study are found in small, freshwater streams in Mexico. We observe behavior in the field as well as the laboratory. In addition, we use molecular techniques to examine gene flow, conduct paternity analyses and estimate phlogenetic relationships among populations and species. The phylogenetic trees we construct allow us to examine the evolution of behaviors and morphology across species, and test hypotheses about the evolution of female preferences and male-male aggressive behaviors, as well as the evolution of these species.