In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the NIMBioS Lecture Hall on the 4th floor of 1534 White Ave., Suite 400 Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served starting 30 minutes before each seminar.
Time/Date/Location: 1:00 pm, Wednesday, April 4, NIMBioS Lecture Hall, 1534 White Ave., Suite 400
Speaker: Andrew Pomiankowski, Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoPLEX), Univ. College London; NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellows Invited Distinguished Visitor
Topic: Do sexual ornaments signal fertility
Abstract: Female stalk-eyed flies show low fertility. Males transfer very small ejaculates and very few sperm per mating. Females need to mate multiply in order to raise their fertility. Here we investigate whether preference for larger male eyespan (the sexual ornament) confers fertility benefits on females. Sperm competition theory suggests that the conditions under which this occurs are limited. This view is supported by some our initial findings. But further investigations suggest the conditions under which direct fertility benefits can occur.
*Join us for refreshments in the NIMBioS Lobby on the 4th floor at 12:30 pm.
NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville,
TN 37996-3410
PH: (865) 974-9334
FAX: (865) 974-9461
Contact NIMBioS