Seminar: Dr. Tamra Mendelson, UMBC

Title: Beauty and speciation in North American freshwater fishes

Speaker: Dr. Tamra Mendelson

Host: Dr. Eric Schott

Abstract: Darwin spent much of his career pondering the mystery of beauty in nature, and we’ve made halting progress since then. Focusing on exaggerated male sexual signals, I address the role that “beautiful" traits might play in the origin of species. I begin by examining recent discussions of beauty in popular science and then address two hypotheses about its mechanisms and role in speciation. Research focuses on the genus Etheostoma, a colorful radiation of freshwater fishes in North America.