Wayne Maddison

Gwylim Blackburn

PhD Candidate

Department of Zoology
University of British Columbia
6270 University Blvd.
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4

gwylim [at] interchange.ubc.ca
+1-604-827-5249

MSc, Simon Fraser University (2004)
BSc, University of British Columbia (1997)

Research Interests

Sexual selection research aims to explain the origin and function of extravagant sexual display traits. The presence of different display traits in different populations of a single species is useful in this regard, because we can ask whether the function of a given trait changes with its phentotype across populations. This provides insight to display trait signal function and also to potential mechanisms of display divergence. I am using this approach to study three populations of Habronattus americanus jumping spiders that each possess a distinct male sexual display phenotype.

Publications

Hipfner, J. M., M Charete, and G. S. Blackburn. 2007. Subcolony variation in breeding success in the Tufted Puffin: association with foraging ecology and implications. Auk 124: in press.
Gjerdrum C, Vallee MJ, Cassady St. Clair, C, Bertram DF, Ryder JL, and Blackburn, GS, 2003. Tufted puffin reproduction reveals ocean climate variability. PNAS 100(16): 9377-9382.
Blackburn, GS, Wilson DJ, And Krebs CJ, 1998. Dispersal of juvenile collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) in a high-density population. Can J. Zool. 76(12): 2255-2261.