Mathematical Biology Seminar Dean Castillo, Department of Biology, University of Utah Wednesday, February 5, 2020 3:05pm in JWB 335 Sex, Sperm, and Speciation: Interacting genomes and the diversity of life Abstract: All of the diversity in form and function that we observe in nature is a product of genetic changes that accumulate over time through the process of speciation. These genetic changes are often driven by strong selection either from the environment or from interactions with other organisms. The key traits for speciation include behaviors that limit genetic exchange between lineages. This includes traits that males use to court females and female mate choice. We can answer fundamental questions in biology by using female and male mating behaviors to study the selective and genetic mechanisms that lead to the rapid evolution of complex behavioral traits. In my lab we use several systems to understand the evolution of mating traits both in terms of the selective forces acting on these traits as well as their genetic basis. We are also interested in using population genetic models that we can parameterize with mating data to gain insight into which processes shape genetic variation in populations. For this seminar I will discuss work on how we are determining which male courtship traits are under selection from female choice and strategies for dimension reduction and prediction. I will also discuss a system where we can tease apart the effects of within species sexual conflict and between species isolation by using crosses and population genetic models.