I am an evolutionary behavioral ecologist interested in sexual selection and evolution of mating systems. My research interests include mate choice, parental care, natural history and animal communication of vertebrates (and some invertebrates), with the ultimate goal of understanding the factors driving the evolution of parental care behaviors, mating systems and sexually selected traits. I completed my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, mentored by Dr. Kentwood Wells. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri.
My research focuses on elucidating parental care strategies and behavioral decisions using frogs as a study system. In species with parental care, parents have evolved a variety of strategies to maximize the survival of their offspring. For example, parents must choose when and where to breed and how much care to provide; such choices have direct consequences in offspring life history and survival and ultimately impact parental reproductive success. In the glass frog family (Centrolenidae), several species exhibit egg attendance, and the benefits of this behaviour are clear (i.e., hydration, protection against predators), but for some of the species with short-term egg attendance (< 1 day), detailed studies have been lacking. My main goal is understand the function of the post-oviposition behavior in the Emerald Glass Frog Espadarana prosoblepon. This species is found from Honduras to Ecuador, inhabiting primary and secondary forests and urban areas. Despite its wide distribution and abundance, only recently its reproductive biology has been the subject of further studies. So far, my mentees have examined embryonic mortality sources and described predation events and other aspects of the natural history of this species previously unknown. In the future we will examine variation in oviposition sites and the role of microhabitat and conspecifics cues in oviposition site choice through natural history studies and controlled experiments in the field. goyes.johana(at)gmail.com @JoGoyes |
Artwork by Andrew Colaprete ©
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