We tested for seasonal differences in cougar (Puma concolor) foraging behaviors in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem, a multi-prey system in which ungulate prey migrate, and cougars do not. We recorded 411 winter prey and 239 summer prey killed by 28 female and 10 male cougars, and an additional 37 prey items by unmarked cougars. Deer composed 42.4% of summer cougar diets but only 7.2% of wint...

The degree of departure from perfect symmetry in organisms, fluctuating asymmetry (FA), is seen in most populations of animals. It has particular impact on choice of mate which lies within the world of sexual selection. Here I consider a relatively little studied aspect of sexual selection, i.e. the effect of FA on contests between males for mates, based not on display ornament but rather on ag...

Evolution can alter the stability and dynamics of ecological communities; for example, prey evolution can drive cyclic dynamics in predator-prey systems that are not possible in the absence of evolution. However, it is unclear how the magnitude of additive genetic variation in the evolving species mediates those effects. In this study, I explore how the magnitude of prey additive genetic variat...

Discussions of aposematism traditionally have focused on the visual displays of prey that denote unpalatability or toxicity to predators. However, the construct of aposematism accommodates a spectrum of unprofitable traits signaled through various sensory modalities, including contact and distance chemoreception. Aposematism, involving learned aversions by signal receivers or selection for thei...