NSF Young Investigator: The Role of Parasites in Population Regulation

Dr Zuk will be researching the role of parasites in sexual selection. There are two projects involved in this research effort. The first involves study of conflicting selection pressures in a field cricket subject to an acoustically-orienting parasitoid fly. The second project examines the relationship between sex hormones, parasite burden as reflected in immune response, and sexual selection in red jungle fowl. Dr. Zuk will expose undergraduate and graduate students to current research from a variety of areas within ecology and evolution, with particular commitment increasing the representation of women and minorities in the sciences.