My research interests have focused on the behavioral ecology of large mammals, particularly the interactions between males and females, especially in the context of sex and reproduction. I have always been fascinated with why individuals mate with certain individuals and how those decisions impact levels of parental investment, offspring survival, and future conflict between the sexes. The majority of my research has stemmed from management based projects that I use to examine major themes in behavioral ecology. Currently, I am studying bobcat health and presence in suburban West Reno.
Allen Gibbs
My lab uses experimental evolution in the laboratory to study how physiological systems evolve. We subject populations of fruitflies (Drosophila) to stressful conditions and investigate how they evolve in response to stress over many generations. Our current major projects involve flies that have been selected for resistance to desiccation and starvation stress for >100 generations. To understand the relevance of this laboratory research to nature, we have also studied several other types of insects and their relatives, including grasshoppers, ants, desert fruitflies, scorpions, etc.
David Alvarez-Ponce
Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno, 2014 – present
Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral fellow, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain, 2012-2014
Postdoctoral fellow, Trinity College Dublin, 2012
Postdoctoral researcher, National University of Ireland Maynooth, 2010-2012
See our lab webpage for research description: https://genomeevol.wordpress.com
Frank van Breukelen
Dr. van Breukelen is interested in the mechanisms that allow animals to survive in harsh environments.