In this dissertation, I present the results from three studies: (1) a phylogeny of Tenebrionoidea (Coleoptera) inferred from a seven-gene dataset derived from PCR and Sanger sequencing; (2) a phylogeny of Tenebrionidae, the largest family in Tenebrionoidea, inferred from a four-gene dataset also derived from PCR and Sanger sequencing; (3)...
Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, have endangered and threatened populations globally, but several populations show signs of population recovery. In Hawaii, nesting female green turtles have increased 5.7% year⁻¹ since 1973, but wide fluctuations in census counts of nesting females make recovery diagnosis difficult. For effective management planning, it is...
Parasitic infections and immune challenges can affect host reproductive fitness and, ultimately, the evolution of host populations in a myriad of ways. The fitness implications of parasitic infections range from increased host mortality to subtle changes in reproductive investment. From alterations of behaviors, sexual signaling, and competitive ability to changes...
Postcopulatory sexual selection—sperm competition and cryptic female choice—has become a major area of research over the past 40 years. Within this field there are many outstanding questions at every level of analysis, from proximate to ultimate. The fitness consequences for both sexes in the period after copulation and before fertilization...
A wide range of environmental and physiological factors influence the type and extent of sexual dimorphism found in animals. Influential factors include variable climate, competition for resources and mates, mate choice, and parental investment. In addition, some investigators attribute differences in body size to physiological factors influenced by genetic and...
Pheromones are chemical cues produced by organisms that affect the behavior and/or physiology of conspecifics. The orchestration of reproductive behaviors in many animals depends on the expression of sex pheromones. In insects, intraspecific variation in sex pheromone expression is commonly observed and often influences social interactions between individuals. To what...
Sexual selection can influence the mating system of an organism through multiple mechanisms. These mechanisms result in variation in reproductive success among individuals, and include scramble competition, endurance rivalries, contests, mate choice and cryptic choice, and sperm competition. Understanding the mating system of a species requires the identification of which...
Darwin devised the evolutionary theory of sexual selection to account for the manifold extravagances of courtship behaviors and displays. Mating interactions represent a major evolutionary process driving the elaboration, vibrancy, and peculiarity of these courtship traits. For my dissertation research, I strived to elucidate the dynamics that constitute the complex...
Many marine fish populations are severely declining due to over-fishing, loss of both juvenile and adult habitats, and accelerating environmental degradation. Fisheries management and the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) and other conservation tools are currently hindered by large gaps in knowledge about larval dispersal and its subsequent effects...
Many species have complex life cycles in which a dispersive larval stage is
followed by a relatively sedentary adult stage. For such species, reproductive output
is often high and large variation in survivorship throughout early life-history phases
(eggs and larvae) can lead to dramatic fluctuations in recruitment which may in...