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SUMMARY:The evolution and assembly of a complex weapon system - Christine 
 W Miller\, University of Florida
DTSTART:20221108T130000Z
DTEND:20221108T140000Z
UID:TALK179102@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Stephen Pates
DESCRIPTION:Sexually selected weapons show incredible shape and performanc
 e variation across taxa and even within closely related groups of animals.
  To understand the evolution of trait diversity\, it is crucial to conside
 r trait function. Sexually selected weapons\, unlike sexually selected orn
 aments\, are fighting structures\; they have been selected to perform in p
 hysical combat. I will present projects from my research group that examin
 e the evolution and expression of these traits while explicitly considerin
 g their functional nature. The first project uses phylogenetic comparative
  analyses to look across a group of insects that fight with a highly compl
 ex\, multi-component weapon. We test the hypothesis that the gains and los
 ses of weapon components\, such as spines and curves\, are not random. Ins
 tead\, some components are more likely to arise when others are present\, 
 suggesting a coordinated function during battle. The second project dives 
 deep into the weapons of a single species to understand how environmental 
 variation affects their construction and to address the puzzling question 
 of why sexually selected weapons so often break. 
LOCATION:Main Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoolgy
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