Sexual selection in anthropogenic environments
Humans are drastically altering the nutritional and sensory environments that affect the development of sexual traits. How does this alter sexual selection dynamics and what are the implications for population divergence and eventually speciation? We have considered how sexual signals may shift in agricultural environments where nutrient availability has increased and once-honest signals may become dishonest (see here). More recently, we are studying how male signals, female sensory systems, and mate choice shift in cabbage whites growing in shadier conditions (e.g., in open forests where garlic mustard grows, see left).