2022 Fall Seminar Series Presents

Dr. Jenna Pruett

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dept of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, CU Boulder

WHEN:  Nov. 4, 2022 , at Noon
WHERE:   Seminar will be presented via Zoom and also in person in the North Classroom,
Room 1207.

Nesting Behavior, Developmental Plasticity, and Their Effects on Fitness in Reptiles

Maternal nesting behavior in oviparous species strongly influences the environmental conditions their embryos experience during development. In turn, these early-life conditions have consequences for offspring phenotypes and many fitness components across an individual’s lifespan. Thus, identifying the evolutionary and ecological causes and effects of nesting behavior is a key goal of behavioral ecology. Studies of reptiles have contributed greatly to our understanding of how nesting behavior shapes offspring phenotypes. While some taxonomic groups have been used extensively to provide insights into this important area of biology, many groups remain poorly studied. For example, the squamate genus Anolis has served as a model to study behavior, ecology, and evolution, but research focused on Anolis nesting behavior and developmental plasticity is comparatively scarce. This dearth of empirical research may be attributed to logistical challenges (e.g., difficulty locating nests), biological factors (e.g., their single-egg clutches may hinder some experimental designs), and a historical focus on males in Anolis research. In this talk, I will present my work on nesting behavior and its effects on development in Anolis lizards, specifically the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), and discuss what remains to be done in this understudied area of Anolis Biology.