Sexual selection, post-copulatory selection and host-parasite interactions in mammals

性选择是一个进化过程，它是同性成员之间争夺配偶的结果，或者是两性中的一个或两个做出择偶行为的结果。性选择可以影响交配前后的行为、形态和生理特征。我的研究项目试图从生殖投资、寄生虫和免疫系统以及压力的背景下理解性别选择对哺乳动物的影响。我们的研究考察了Mustelidae(包括黄鼠狼、水貂和水獭在内的哺乳动物群体)与生殖相关的特征，并将这些特征与身体大小联系起来，以了解性选择在生殖特征进化中的重要性。我们还在安大略省的阿尔冈昆公园研究了几种哺乳动物(红松鼠、北方飞鼠、东部花栗鼠)，在那里我们提出了一些问题，比如：压力和对免疫系统的投资是如何影响健康和健身的？为什么男性通常比女性更容易被寄生？为了回答这些问题，我们从这些哺乳动物的种群中收集数据和样本，并在实验室中使用尖端技术(例如DNA测序、显微镜、血液学、内分泌学)。我们的研究项目的结果将被用来发展进化生态学的理论和经验框架。此外，人类活动会增加野生动物的压力，导致保护问题。了解压力是如何通过免疫系统影响繁殖和生存的，可以为野生动物保护提供重要的见解。

Sexual selection is an evolutionary process that is the result of competition among members of the same sex for mates, or the result of mate choice behaviour made by one or both of the sexes. Sexual selection can influence behavioural, morphological, and physiological traits before and after copulation. My research program seeks to understand the consequences of sexual selection for mammals in the context of reproductive investment, parasites and the immune system, and stress. Our research examines traits associated with reproduction in the Mustelidae (the group of mammals that includes weasels, mink, and otters) and relates these traits to body size in order to understand how important sexual selection is in the evolution of reproductive traits. We also study several mammal species (red squirrels, northern flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks) in Algonquin Park, Ontario, where we ask questions such as: How do stress and investment in the immune system affect health and fitness? Why are males typically more heavily parasitized than females? To answer these questions we collect data and samples from populations of these mammals and use cutting edge techniques in the lab (e.g. DNA sequencing, microscopy, hematology, endocrinology). The results from our research program will be used to develop the theoretical and empirical framework of evolutionary ecology. In addition, human activities can increase stress in wildlife, leading to conservation problems. Understanding how stress affects reproduction and survival via the immune system can provide important insights in wildlife conservation.