Biological Sciences Colloquium: Kane Stratman

Kane Stratman, PhD Candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at UWM, will present a talk entitled, “Decoding the Rules of a Treefrog’s Mating Game (and How to Win if You Happen to Be One.”

The abstract is as follows:

Mate choice plays a key role in the evolution of elaborate, conspicuous, and often energetically costly signals. Modeling sexual selection in any signaler-chooser mating system is a complicated task on two fronts; we confront variation in both i) the strategies of signalers and ii) in how choosers assess them. As selection on mating behaviors emerges from the relationship between these sources of variation, it is essential that they be measured in detail. I investigate the evolution of the highly energetic mating call of the Eastern Gray Treefrog by applying a combination of population and individual-level methodologies to several distinct aspects of mate choice. I quantify 1) which features of the male advertisement are most relevant to female mating decisions in the wild, 2) how call composition interacts with spatial dynamics to mediate choice, and 3) how the multidimensionality of female call preferences operates. These measures of female choice are then contextualized in acoustic surveys of the male chorus, illustrating the selection dynamics behind this expensive mating display. This research also underscores the utility of experimental designs that capture variation at the level of the individual; the level at which mate choice operates in nature.

The presentation will take place in Lapham Hall S160 at 4:00 PM, preceded by an informal reception from 3:45 – 4:00 PM.