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Tel: +44 (0)
1223 767 130 Position held:
PhD student (supervisor: Rebecca
Kilner) |
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| Research | ||
| During
my PhD I will address questions regarding how social conflict/cooperation
within species is influenced by interactions with second species.
I will be working with the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides
(family Silphidae). Burying beetles bury the carcasses of small
vertebrates and use them as food resource for their larvae. Both parents
prepare and bury the carcass, and parental investment greatly influences
larvae growth and survival. Females remain in the nest until larval
development is almost complete, while males leave the brood between
one and several days before the female does. Burying beetles have
a close association with phoretic mites. Beetles transport mites to
carcasses, where mites complete their life cycle. The next generation
of mites disperse with the beetles to another carcass. Although several
authors have been studying the ecology and behaviour of burying beetles,
few of them have included phoretic mites in their research, and the
scarce literature of mites and beetles has shown mixed results. Therefore,
I will investigate the effect that phoretic mites may have upon the
reproductive output and lifespan of the male and female beetles, and
whether phoresy influences social interactions in the burying beetle
Nicrophorus vespilloides. Prior to Cambridge I graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. During my undergraduate training in Mexico I was involved in several research projects. In 2009 I carried out a research project along with two classmates that showed that the ventral blue patch found in male lizards of the species Sceloporus grammicus microlepidotus is a social signal. During that year I also worked as a camp helper at "Islas Marietas" National Park for two projects on the brown booby, Sula leucogaster, one intended to evaluate the nest construction as a sexual signal and another one aimed to investigate whether the feet colour is a sexual signal. Finally, between 2009 and 2011 I developed my undergraduate thesis, which explored the influence of early social experience on adult courtship patterns in males of two populations of the “Amarillo” fish Girardinichthys multiradiatus. |
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| Ornela De Gasperin |
| Research |
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge
CB2 3EJ, U. K.