Biology Seminar | Sara Lipshutz, PhD | Loyola University Chicago | Fighting for fitness: integrating behavioral, hormonal, and genomic perspectives on the evolution of female competition

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology.
Abstract: Female-female competition is widespread, but relative to male-male competition, we know less about its causes and consequences. The Lipshutz Lab studies the evolution of female competition across diverse avian species, ranging from territorially aggressive songbirds to socially polyandrous shorebirds. Our work bridges "muddy boots" experimental fieldwork in wild, free-living animals with a variety of molecular and computational approaches in population genomics, endocrinology, and neuro-transcriptomics. Our focus on a context that is relevant to both sexes - competition over essential breeding resources - provides a useful framework for co-consideration of proximate and ultimate drivers of reproductive competition in female and male animals.