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P. Raelynn Deaton Office: LDB 101 |
Research Interests:
Sexual Selection, Life History Evolution, and Conservation Biology
My research investigates sexual selection in species of fish with coercive mating systems (mosquitofishes, genus Gambusia). I am interested in factors that influence these complex mating systems, including female mate choice, male mate choice, male coercion and sexual conflict. Specifically, I study characteristics of males and females, which may be important for mating success. I am also interested in how much control females actually have in mating (since these fish exhibit a mostly male-driven mating system) and whether female control affects male reproductive success. Females may control mating via resistance or other more cryptic mechanisms (e.g. sperm choice), ideas that I am currently testing. I also am studying sexual conflict in livebearing fishes, specifically how gonopodial morphology and male coercive mating tactics affect female fitness both indirectly and directly. I employ molecular and genetic techniques to answer questions in my research, including the use of paternity analysis to measure male reproductive success. This research lies in the interface of behavioral ecology and life history evolution. I investigate factors that influence female and male reproductive strategies and merge life history and behavior to formulate questions and hypotheses regarding mating strategies and sexual selection.
In addition, I am interested in fish ecology, population genetics, speciation and conservation biology. I have several other projects in the works, including population dynamics and food web ecology of two endangered fish species in a west Texas Spring. I also study a species of moquitofish endemic to Texas springs, where I am investigating mechanisms of reproductive isolation and genetic structure of isolated populations. Finally, I am working on conservation genetics of box turtles and the effects of urbanization on box turtle mortality and population genetic structure.
Current Projects:
I currently have 5 graduate students and 6 undergraduates in my lab, all working on various aspects of sexual selection, sexual conflict, mechanisms of speciation, and conservation biology.
Selected Publications:
Undergraduate* and graduate students+ in my lab at time of study
James C. Cureton II, Anna Buchman, Christopher P. Randle, William I. Lutterschmidt, and Raelynn Deaton1. Characterization of ten novel microsatellite loci for the threatened Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata. (accepted).
James Cureton*, Jason Randall*, and Raelynn Deaton. 2009. Density increases male homosexual behavior in the Western Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. (in press, The Southwestern Naturalist).
Anna Buchman+, Raelynn Deaton, Chris Randle, Ted Brummel, Everett Wilson, and William Lutterschmidt. 2009. Isolation and characterization of eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) and cross-amplification in other Terrapene species. (accepted, Mol Ecol Resources). [pdf]
Edie Marsh-Matthews, Raelynn Deaton, and Melody Brooks. 2009. Survey of matrotrophy in lecithotrophic species. In Viviparous Fishes II, the Proceedings of the III International Symposium on Viviparous Fishes (in press, Ed. Mari Carmen Uribe and Harry Grier).
Raelynn Deaton. 2009. Effects of parasites on male mate choice in the western mosquitofish, G. affinis Behavioral Processes 80:1-6. [pdf]
Raelynn Deaton. 2008. Use of microsatellite markers to determine male reproductive success in western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis Behaviour 145:795-814. [pdf]
Raelynn Deaton. 2008. Factors influencing male mating behavior in a coercive mating system. J Fish Biol 72(7): 1607–1615. [pdf]
Edie Marsh-Matthews and Raelynn Deaton. 2006. Resources and offspring provisioning: A test of the Trexler & DeAngelis model for matrotrophy evolution. Ecology 87(12): 3014–3020. [pdf]
Chad Hargrave and I collecting fish in the Blanco River, Texas.
A Member of the Texas State University System