My interests lie at the interface between behavior,
evolution and ecology. My
research focuses on animal communication. I address
questions about signal function and evolution by performing
experiments within a naturalistic context.
My main research goals are to understand the evolution
of heterospecific eavesdropping, and establish the role of natural
selection in constraining the evolution of mating signals. To do
this I plan to integrate techniques to study behavior with anatomy,
physiology, parasitology and phylogenetics.
Other topics of interests in the lab include
sexual differences in perception of signals, learning in toads,
factors affecting female mating decisions, and other themes on
evolutionary ecology. Although most of my research has been with
anurans, I am open to working with any other species that provide
good models for questions on behavioral ecology.
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Ximena
E. Bernal