ABOUT ME
I was born in (then West) Germany, and moved to the United States at age 7. I grew up on Long Island, NY, before attending college at Cornell University. I then moved to California to get my PhD at theUniversity of California at Berkeley. While attending Berkeley, I did field research in Kenya, studying the mating behavior of the Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (Euplectes macrourus). Since graduating, I have taught at a number of institutions, including Humboldt State University, The University of California at Davis, Allegheny College, Fordham University, and Bluegrass Community & Technical College before coming to Arizona in 2006. I have also worked in the Laboratory of Dr. Charles Fox (first at Fordham University's Louis Calder Center, and then at theUniversity of Kentucky), studying reproductive strategies in two species of seed beetle.
My hobbies include hiking, bird-watching, nature photography and science fiction.
I have a number of galleries of my nature photography
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MY RESEARCH
My research interests concern the function and evolution of social behavior--especially as it pertains to reproductive strategies. This includes mating systems, social systems, parental investment, sexual selection, sexual dimorphism, communication, and coloration. I have worked primarily with birds and insects.
 
My most recent research was with two species of seed beetles (Family Bruchidae), the cowpea weavil, Callosobruchus maculatus, (above left) and a desert seed beetle, Stator limbatus (above right). I investigated the roles of male-male competition, sperm competition and female choice in the evolution of male body size, ejaculate size and sexual dimorphism (males are larger than females in S. limbatus while the reverse is true for C. maculatus) and female reproductive strategies such as mate choice, multiple mating, and egg size decisions.
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My dissertation research was a field project—at the Kakamega National Reserve, Western Kenya—studying mating behavior, mate choice, and the functions of male plumage in the yellow-shouldered widowbird, Euplectes macrourus.
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For a more detailed description of my research, click here.
Click here for a complete list of my publications.
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