Research
Research
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General Statement
General Statement
I am broadly interested in how reproductive phenotypes and outcomes emerge from interactions among behavior, physiology, and the social environment. In collaboration with the Amboseli Baboon Research Project, my dissertation uses empirical data on a free-living population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus x P. anubis) in southern Kenya. I also utilize agent-based simulations as a theoretical tool. Lastly, I champion the use of non-invasive methods of data collection.
Photo Credit: Courtney Fitzpatrick
Current Research
Project 1 : Copulation frequency does not predict the probability of conception.
Female baboons often copulate repeatedly across several ovarian cycles before conceiving, raising the question of why frequent mating does not reliably result in conception. One possibility is sperm limitation: intense mating competition may deplete male sperm reserves, making conception more likely for females that copulate more frequently. Using long-term behavioral and reproductive data from the Amboseli baboons, we tested this hypothesis by examining variation in female copulation rates and their relationship with conception. We found that copulation rates did not differ between conceptive and non-conceptive cycles, providing little support for sperm limitation and raising new questions about the function of repeated, non-conceptive mating. Project 1 : Copulation frequency does not predict the probability of conception.
Project 2: Causes and consequences of sperm limitation: Insights from an agent-based simulation.
Project 2: Causes and consequences of sperm limitation: Insights from an agent-based simulation.
The results of my first dissertation chapter led me to ask a broader question: under what conditions should sperm limitation emerge in the first place? To address this question, I am developing an agent-based model that links individual variation in male sperm production and recovery with mating behavior and the social environment. Using this theoretical framework, I explore how these interacting processes shape the quantity and distribution of effective sperm received by females in polygynandrous mating systems. Ultimately, this work asks when more copulation actually means more sperm—and when physiological constraints on males produce diminishing reproductive returns for females.
Project 3 : Early-life exposure to adult males predicts juvenile survival in free-living baboons.
In social species, experiences early in life can have lasting consequences for health, behavior, and survival. While the importance of maternal, paternal, and allomaternal care is well established in primates, infants also regularly interact with adult males that are not their fathers. Using behavioral and demographic data from the Amboseli baboons, we asked whether this broader male social environment predicts juvenile survival. We found that greater exposure to adult males during infancy was associated with substantially lower mortality risk: a one standard deviation increase in male exposure corresponded to an approximately 50% reduction in mortality risk. These findings highlight the broader social environment as a potentially important and understudied dimension of primate early life. Project 3 : Early-life exposure to adult males predicts juvenile survival in free-living baboons.
Undergraduate Research
My first research experience investigated the neurogenomic profiles underlying 'sex-role reversal' in northern jacanas (Jacana spinosa), a species in which females compete for mates while males provide most parental care. My primary contribution focused on developing the methods needed to study gene expression in the brains of this non-model species. I helped develop a brain atlas to identify regions associated with social behavior and gained experience with cryostat brain sectioning, micropunching, and RNA extraction. This work provided the methodological foundation for subsequent RNA-seq analyses examining how neural gene expression differs between females and males across reproductive contexts. I conducted this work in the lab of Kim Rosvall under the mentorship of Sara Lipshutz at Indiana University.
Because invasive approaches to data collection can cause harm to free-living animals, I prefer to use non-invasive methods when possible. For my undergraduate honors research, I investigated whether parallel laser photogrammetry—a non-invasive technique that uses lasers projected onto photographs as a scale—could reliably measure relatively small anatomical structures. I developed and applied this approach to measure testes size in free-ranging mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. We found that the method produced highly repeatable measurements, detected substantial variation among individuals, and yielded estimates consistent with previous measurements collected by hand. This project demonstrated the potential of photogrammetry as a non-invasive tool for studying reproductive morphology in wild animals. I completed this work in the lab of Michael Wasserman at Indiana University.
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