Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for FY-2000

Pfennig, Karin S, Champaign IL

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for 2000. The research and training plan is in the area of Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology and is entitled "The evolution of species recognition and mate choice: a neural network approach". The aim of this research is to model mate choice behavior via use of artificial neural networks that will model cognitive function. The proposed research investigates a well known problem in evolutionary biology: the evolution of species recognition that both accompanies and influences speciation itself, i.e. the manner in which the signal recipient (usually female) evolves, and how this change affects evolution of the signaler (typically male). The model neural networks are being tested against the behavior of spadefoot frogs and will determine if species recognition by the female will result in stabilizing the male phenotype or, rather, drive it in a specific direction.