I am interested in the cognitive processes behind predatory strategies and how this influences the evolution of their prey. Specifically, my dissertation research will look at the initial evolution of aposematism using live Blue Jays and the Virtual Moth and Virtual Genome systems established in our lab. Aposematism is an anti-predator strategy in which species actively advertise their aversive nature via conspicuous signals, like bright colors or loud sounds. Some examples include the toxic monarch butterfly, stinging wasps, and poisonous rattlesnakes.

While there are many theories as to how aposematism may have evolved, there is little empirical data that examines the dynamic interplay between the appearance of the prey and the behavior of the predator. Our Virtual Genome program allows us to simulate prey species evolution over many generations in response to predation by Blue Jays, a design that is ideal for studying the interplay between predator and prey over evolutionary time. I hope to identify some of the ecological, behavioral, and cognitive mechanisms necessary to allow the evolution of aposematism with this line of research.