An interesting talk at 12 noon on Monday 14th November in LT A6
Circulated on behalf of Adam Hayward
How studying post-copulatory sexual selection can save endangered birds.
Nicola Hemmings, University of Sheffield (
https://nicolahemmings.wordpress.com/)
In many endangered birds, more than half of all eggs never hatch. Identifying the cause(s)
of this failure is a crucial goal for conservation science, with the potential to
invigorate captive breeding and reintroduction programmes. My research has taken an
evolutionary approach to the problem of hatching failure, applying basic research on
post-copulatory sexual selection to identify the features of reproduction's winners
and losers. In this talk, I will describe the formidable path to fertilisation in birds,
and explain why a thorough understanding of post-copulatory processes is essential for the
successful management of threatened populations.
Nicola's research focuses on sexual selection in birds, in particular on sperm
competition in males and the reasons for reproductive failure in female birds. As well as
exploring the implications for the evolution of sexual traits, Nicola has applied her work
to the conservation of endangered bird species, in the context of breeding success in both
the wild and captivity. She's a fantastic speaker with a passion for communicating
science to both academic and non-academic audiences, so it should be a great talk- please
let any relevant groups of undergrads know and encourage them to attend (LT A6, 12pm).
Nicola will be in the department until around 3pm on Monday. If anyone would like to chat
to her during her visit, or come for lunch after her talk, please let me know.
Cheers,
Adam
Adam Hayward
Impact Research Fellow
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
University of Stirling
Stirling
FK9 4LA
Website:
http://adhayward.wordpress.com<http://adhayward.wordpress.com/>
Tel: +44(0)1786 467757