Dissertation Research: Interactions Between Primary and Secondary Sexual Characters in the Tortoise Beetle Acromis sparsa

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This project entails a program of research and education that focuses on the development and evolution of different types of exaggerated morphologies in animals. In male insects, exoskeletal weapons influence their ability to acquire mates, whereas genitalia influence their ability to successfully fertilize these acquired mates. To date, male weapons and genitalia have been studied separately. However, this approach may be inadequate because weapons and genitalia are likely to interact, and jointly affect male reproductive success. The goal of this project is to integrate the fields of development, behavior and evolution to reveal the nature of the interactions between these different morphologies and to determine the combined factors that affect reproductive success on whole organisms. This objective will be addressed with a series of experiments that determine the relative importance of weapons and genitalia in the reproductive success of males of the beetle Acromis sparsa. Broader Impacts: This study will also train undergraduate students in insect behavior and experimental design. Students will be encouraged to develop their own questions and complete their own research publications. Finally, this research will be disseminated to non-academic communities through lectures for groups such as eco-tourism guides and high school students.