*Featured image photo credit: Laura Bizzarri

In this episode, Laura Bizzarri (PhD candidate, Garcia-Robledo lab) chats with us about her new paper, Bizzarri et al. 2022: ‘DNA Barcoding Reveals Generalization and Host Overlap in Hummingbird Flower Mites: Implications for the Mating Rendezvous Hypothesis.’ We talk about her meticulous fieldwork studying these tiny hummingbirds transporting even tinier flower mites, the ecology that might explain the lack of specialization among mite species, and how the time is ripe to revisit classic hypotheses in our field with modern genetic tools. Listen to our conversation and then read Laura’s full paper here!

Craving more context? Email Laura at laura.bizzarri@uconn.edu.

NATURALIST SELECTIONS IS AN INTERVIEW SERIES PRODUCED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NATURALISTS GRADUATE COUNCIL. WE SHOWCASE GRADUATE STUDENT AND POSTDOC AUTHORED WORK IN THE AMERICAN NATURALIST, A PREMIER PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL FOR ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH. CATCH UP ON EXCITING NEW PAPERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED FROM THE JOURNAL, AND MEET SOME TRULY BRILLIANT EARLY CAREER NATURALISTS!

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Credits

Featured Guest: Laura Bizzarri, University of Connecticut, US

Host, Editor, Producer: Sarah McPeek, University of Virginia, US

Original Music: Daniel Nondorf, University of Virginia, US

Continue reading “NS – Laura Bizzarri – genetic analyses revise a classic story of sexual selection-driven specialization in tropical hummingbird flower mites” →