Mechanisms, function, and evolution of avian visual signals

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Visual signals produced by the colour and patterning of animals' fur, feathers, scales, or skin offer a complex and diverse framework within which to study evolutionary biology. The central objective of my research program is to use animal visual signals as a model system for investigating the influence of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of adaptive traits in animals. Over the next five years, my research team will specifically focus on understanding the connections between mechanisms, development, function, and evolution of visual signals in birds. In particular, my students and I will test novel hypotheses relating to the mechanisms, function, and evolution of iridescent plumage, the influence of female choice and male social organization on plumage colouration in a lek-mating bird, and the interaction between natural and sexual selection on the evolution of female plumage colouration. We will test these hypotheses using innovative approaches and state-of-the-art technologies. Our studies will cover a range of scales from intraspecific studies of temperate and tropical birds to broad comparative analyses involving multiple species. This research will enrich our understanding of fundamental principles in evolutionary ecology while providing significant advances in the field of animal communication. My research program will emphasize the training of a large group of graduate students, undergraduate students, research technicians, and postdoctoral fellows in a broad array of innovative research methodologies, providing them with technical expertise that will prepare them for careers in the sciences in Canada.