Patrice Rosengrave
Summary
I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in reproductive biology, gametic interactions, ecology, sexual selection and behaviour. I use an integrative approach (reproductive biology, behavioural analysis, molecular) to understand post-copulatory characteristics influencing mate choice and reproductive success, under sperm competition conditions.
My research focuses on how sexual selection influences the evolution of male and female reproductive traits. My research thus far has concentrated on cryptic female choice - a form of post copulation sexual selection. Cryptic female choice is the ability of a female to favour the sperm of one male over another and bias fertilisation accordingly. To explore this poorly understood form of sexual selection we have used an externally fertilising species the New Zealand chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as our model species.