John Fitzpatrick Professor
Kontakt
Namn och titel: John FitzpatrickProfessor
Arbetsplats: Zoologiska institutionen Länk till annan webbplats.
Besöksadress Rum D 541Svante Arrheniusväg 18 B
Postadress Zoologiska institutionen106 91 Stockholm
Forskargrupp
Om mig
My lab aims to develop an integrated understanding of how sexual selection influences animal evolution. To do this we combine experimental and phylogenetic comparative approaches to study reproductive behaviours. In particular, we investigate pre-mating competition, mate choice (both before and after mating), sperm competition, trade-offs among sexually selected traits, and co-evolutionary dynamics between the sexes.
For more information about ongoing projects please visit the Fitzpatrick Lab website.
TRADE-OFFS AMONG SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS AND TRAITS
When it comes to sex, you can’t have it all. Animals must balance their investment in behaviours and traits important before and after mating. My lab tries to understand how animals balance the competing demands of sex. We address this question experimentally in the lab using halfbeak fishes as a model. Halfbeaks are small, live-bearing freshwater fish from Southeast Asia that are easy to keep and breed in the lab. These fish show overt competitive behaviours, display sexual ornaments and multiple mating is common, making them an ideal model for assessing trade-offs among sexually selected traits.
THE EVOLUTION REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOURS
Females mate with multiple males in most animal species, which has important evolutionary consequences. We are using phylogenetic comparative analyses to explore how variation in female promiscuity influences the evolution of male sexual behaviours and traits. This work focuses on sharks and rays, bony fish, social insects, marine mammals, and mammals generally. We explore how co-evolutionary dynamics between males and females influence the evolution of testes, sperm, genitals and female remating rates and assess trade-offs at the macroevolutionary scale.
SPERM BEHAVIOUR AND EVOLUTION
Competition and choice for reproductive opportunities doesn't end at mating. Our lab focuses on how sperm compeition shapes sperm behaviour, how sperm respond to chemoattractants released by the eggs (or surrounding cells), and how sperm-female interactions influence sperm behaviour. This work spans the animal tree of life, including work on marine invertebrates, fish and humans.
THE EVOLUTION OF ANIMAL COLOURATION
Animals display an enormous variation in colouration and patterns, which is shaped by both natural and sexual selection. Our lab examines both of these selective forces to gain a better understanding of why animals look the way they do. We combine phylogenetic comparative studies with experimental approahces using our lab populations of bamboo sharks and halfbeak fish.
EDITORIAL POSITIONS
2014-2018: Editor for Behavioral Ecology
2011-2015: Board of Reviewing Editors for Journal of Evolutionary Biology
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
For a complete list of publications plase see my Google Scholar page.
Some recent highlights:
In a new paper published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, Ariel Kahrl, Rhonda Snook and I show that females supercharge sperm evolution in animals. This paper was a real labour of love - including sperm data from 3,233 species from 21 animal phyla!
Do animals avoid inbreedign when given the chance? In a new paper published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, Raissa de Boer and Regina Vega-Trejo lead a meta-analysis spanning 40 years of resaerch. The upshot is that there is very little evidence that animals avoid inbreeding in experimental settings.
Charel Reuland leads an multi-national team as he publishes the third chapter from his PhD thesis in Cells. It turns out sperm evolve slower than sexual weapons like horns and antlers.
Charel Reuland looks at how social dominace influences ejaculate traits in halfbeaks as he publishes the second chapter from his PhD thesis in Behavioral Ecology!
Microscopic mate choice! In a paper published in Proceedings B, we show that human eggs are better at attracting sperm from some males than others. While no where near definitive, these results suggest that mate choice might occur at the gametic level in humans. This paper has been downloaded more than 50,000 times so far and was featured in 126 news articles in 21 languages!
Some earlier highlights:
In a new paper published in Nature Communications, Leigh Simmons and I show that female genitalia evolve rapidly in dung beetles - evolving even faster than male genitalia!
Leigh Simmons, Stefan Lüpold and I explore the world of evolutionary trade-offs among sexual traits in animals in a new paper published in TREE.
Cody Dey leads a multinational team to evaluate why fish evolve complex cooperative behaviours in an article published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.