Tamra Mendelson

Biography

Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Ecology from University of Wisconsin, PhD in Zoology from Duke University.

Research Interest

Research in my lab focuses on the causes and consequences of evolutionary changes in communication systems. Using a colorful group of North American freshwater fish called darters, we ask the following questions: Why does mating communication evolve over time? How does the rate of communication evolution compare with ecological divergence and other reproductive barriers? (Why) Are individuals attracted only to members of their own species? By addressing these questions, we're trying to understand why male color patterns have diversified so extensively in this group, what are the consequences of that divergence, and what general principles about the ecology and evolution of communication can we learn by studying these beautiful fish?