Mercedes Burns

Mercedes Burns

Sep 29, 2016

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About the Cover Photo

Just wanted to note that the species shown in the picture at the top of this project is a rare male from the Japanese species Leiobunum globosum. Males of this species are bright orange and for their body size they have HUGE pedipalps (arm-like appendages in front of the head, for holding mates and food). If I gathered up 100 individuals of this species, maybe 5 would be male... that's why it's such a thrill to find and collect them!

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About This Project

Most animal species have populations with equal ratios of males and females, but some have naturally biased sex ratios. There are are many factors that cause the bias to occur-- so what happens to the under-represented sex of a species over evolutionary time? I will investigate by studying the morphology and genetics of a female-biased daddy-longlegs species (Leiobunum relictum) that seems to only occur in the geologically-unique Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.

Blast off!

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