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| Dr. Bernal holding a baby boa constrictor. |
Dr. Ximena Bernal joined our faculty in September 2009 as an Assistant Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Bernal received her PhD in 2007 from the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research during her dissertation examined sexual dimorphism in perception of acoustic signals in frogs. Dr. Bernal's research addresses a wide array of ecological and evolutionary questions. Such work includes studies on the evolutionary hypostheses for the role of the vocal sac in anurans (e.g. to increase calling efficiency, as a visual cue), female mate choice based on genetic similarities, genetic diversity and morphology in island populations, and mating preferences at different scales of divergence. Dr. Bernal currently examines communication networks involoving male and female t
úngara frogs, frog-eating bats and blood-sucking flies, and the impacts of these interactions on the evolution of mating signals.
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| Dr. Bernal aspirating flies |