Laura Sullivan-Beckers

Last updated

Laura Sullivan-Beckers is an associate professor of evolutionary biology at Murray State University. [1] She is credited with the discovery of Hebetica sylviae, a species of treehopper, named for her daughter Sylvie Beckers.

Contents

Early life and education

Originally studying human forms of communication and earning a bachelor's in Spanish from the University of Tulsa, Sullivan-Beckers became fascinated with the ways birds communicate, and went back to school almost immediately, graduating from Northeastern State University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She then pursued a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri, publishing her doctoral research and graduating in 2008. [2]

Discovery of Hebetica sylviae

In the summer of 2016, [3] [4] Sullivan-Beckers asked her 2-year-old daughter Sylvie to water some seeds she had just planted in the backyard of their home. Sylvie overwatered the soil, and small, bright green treehoppers began to float to the top. Sullivan-Beckers noted the oddity of tree-dwelling insects to be dead and buried in the ground. [5] She soon began collecting samples from her backyard, including 72 of the new species, [4] and sent them to Dr. Stuart McKamey, [6] a collaborative researcher at the USDA. [7] “As soon as it was confirmed as a new species, I knew I wanted it named after Sylvie. She was at the heart of the discovery, and it’s not every day a mother gets the chance to name a species after her child,” she said. [5] The species is a variety of treehopper from the Darninae tribe. Sullivan-Beckers co-authored an illustrated description of the insects with Stuart H. McKamey which was presented at Entomological Society of Washington. [8]

Other research

Sullivan-Beckers continues to study wolf spider communication habits at Murray State, [1] [9] and teaches undergraduate courses in human anatomy, zoology, and ornithology. [5] Additionally, Sullivan-Beckers has published a number of papers and book chapters on evolution and sexual selection in publications such as Evolution, [10] Biometrics, [11] Current Zoology, [12] and Animal Behaviour. [13]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual selection</span> Mode of natural selection involving the choosing of and competition for mates

Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with, and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex. These two forms of selection mean that some individuals have greater reproductive success than others within a population, for example because they are more attractive or prefer more attractive partners to produce offspring. Successful males benefit from frequent mating and monopolizing access to one or more fertile females. Females can maximise the return on the energy they invest in reproduction by selecting and mating with the best males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strepsiptera</span> Order of insects

The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites of other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most species never emerge from the host after entering its body, finally dying inside it. The early-stage larvae do emerge because they must find an unoccupied living host, and the short-lived males must emerge to seek a receptive female in her host. They are believed to be most closely related to beetles, from which they diverged 300–350 million years ago, but do not appear in the fossil record until the mid-Cretaceous around 100 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stickleback</span> Family of fish

The sticklebacks are a family of ray-finned fishes, the Gasterosteidae which have a Holarctic distribution in fresh, brackish and marine waters. They were thought to be related to the pipefish and seahorses but are now thought to be more closely related to the eelpouts and sculpins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehopper</span> Family of insects

Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 400 genera are known. They are found on all continents except Antarctica; only five species are known from Europe. Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociality</span> Form of collective animal behaviour

Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser wax moth</span> Species of moth

The lesser wax moth is a small moth of the snout moth family (Pyralidae) that belongs to the subfamily Galleriinae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. Adults are about 0.5 inches (13 mm) in length and have a distinct yellow head with a silver-grey or beige body. Lesser wax moths are common in most parts of the world, except in areas with cold climates. Their geographic spread was aided by humans who inadvertently introduced them to many regions worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtship display</span> Communication to start a relationship with someone or to get sexual contact

A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), vocalizations, mechanical sound production, or displays of beauty, strength, or agonistic ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mating plug</span> Gelatinous secretion used in the mating of some species

A mating plug, also known as a copulation plug, sperm plug, vaginal plug, or sphragis, is a gelatinous secretion used in the mating of some species. It is deposited by a male into a female genital tract, such as the vagina, and later hardens into a plug or glues the tract together. While females can expel the plugs afterwards, the male's sperm still gets a time advantage in getting to the egg, which is often the deciding factor in fertilization.

Sexual antagonistic co-evolution is the relationship between males and females where sexual morphology changes over time to counteract the opposite's sex traits to achieve the maximum reproductive success. This has been compared to an arms race between sexes. In many cases, male mating behavior is detrimental to the female's fitness. For example, when insects reproduce by means of traumatic insemination, it is very disadvantageous to the female's health. During mating, males will try to inseminate as many females as possible, however, the more times a female's abdomen is punctured, the less likely she is to survive. Females that possess traits to avoid multiple matings will be more likely to survive, resulting in a change in morphology. In males, genitalia is relatively simple and more likely to vary among generations compared to female genitalia. This results in a new trait that females have to avoid in order to survive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecological speciation</span>

Ecological speciation is a form of speciation arising from reproductive isolation that occurs due to an ecological factor that reduces or eliminates gene flow between two populations of a species. Ecological factors can include changes in the environmental conditions in which a species experiences, such as behavioral changes involving predation, predator avoidance, pollinator attraction, and foraging; as well as changes in mate choice due to sexual selection or communication systems. Ecologically-driven reproductive isolation under divergent natural selection leads to the formation of new species. This has been documented in many cases in nature and has been a major focus of research on speciation for the past few decades.

<i>Enchenopa binotata</i> complex Species of true bug

Enchenopa binotata is a complex of multiple species found mostly in Eastern North America, but have also been reported in Central America. They are commonly referred to as treehoppers and are sap-feeding insects. The species in the complex look similar to each other in morphology, but are identified as different species by the host plant they occupy.

<i>Drosophila subobscura</i> Species of insect (fruit fly)

Drosophila subobscura is a species of fruit fly in the family Drosophilidae. Originally found around the Mediterranean, it has spread to most of Europe and the Near East. It has been introduced into the west coasts of Canada, the United States, and Chile. Its closest relative is Drosophila madeirensis, found in the Madeira Islands, followed by D. guanche, found in the Canary Islands. These three species form the D. subobscura species subgroup. When they mate, males and females perform an elaborate courtship dance, in which the female can either turn away to end the mating ritual, or stick out her proboscis in response to the male's, allowing copulation to proceed. D. subobscura has been regarded as a model organism for its use in evolutionary-biological studies.

<i>The Evolution of Beauty</i>

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—and Us is a 2017 book by the ornithologist and evolutionary biologist Richard O. Prum about the power of aesthetic mate choice, arguing it to be an important independent agent in evolution. Prum indicates that while Charles Darwin made this argument in The Descent of Man, published in 1871, the concept was sidelined and forgotten and the notion of natural selection being the sole driver of evolution took over. As an ornithologist, Prum describes many examples in avian evolution where aesthetics are preeminent. Prum proceeds to apply the principle of aesthetic evolution as an independent force in human evolution.

Maria R. Servedio is a Canadian-American professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research spans a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology from sexual selection to evolution of behavior. She largely approaches these topics using mathematical models. Her current research interests include speciation and reinforcement, mate choice, and learning with a particular focus on evolutionary mechanisms that promote premating (prezygotic) isolation. Through integrative approaches and collaborations, she uses mathematical models along with experimental, genetic, and comparative techniques to draw conclusions on how evolution occurs. She has published extensively on these topics and has more than 50 peer-reviewed articles. She served as Vice President in 2018 of the American Society of Naturalists, and has been elected to serve as President in 2023.

<i>Drosophila silvestris</i> Species of fly

Drosophila silvestris is a large species of fly in the family Drosophilidae that are primarily black with yellow spots. As a rare species of fruit fly endemic to Hawaii, the fly often experiences reproductive isolation. Despite barriers in nature, D. silvestris is able to breed with D. heteroneura to create hybrid flies in the laboratory.

Kathy Feng-Yi Su is an entomologist and evolutionary biologist from Singapore. She is an academic researcher, whose work focusses on sexual dimorphism particularly in the family Sepsidae.

<i>Hebetica sylviae</i> Species of treehopper

Hebetica sylviae is a member of the treehopper family Membracidae. It is found in the eastern United States, first discovered in Murray, Kentucky, with a second sighting in Atlanta, Georgia.

<i>Gea eff</i> Species of spider

Gea eff is a species of orb-weaver spider. It is found in Papua New Guinea. The arachnologist Herbert Walter Levi formally described the species in 1983. While it was still undescribed, Michael H. Robinson and colleagues reported on its courtship and mating behaviors. Gea eff has the shortest scientific name of any spider species.

<i>Cladonota</i> Genus of treehopper

Cladonota is a genus of neotropical treehoppers widespread from Mexico to South America. They are known for their elaborate pronotum shapes, hypothesized to play a role in camouflage or mate recognition, although their function is not yet known with certainty. Previously described as a subgenus of Sphongophorus, it was recognized as a genus of its own right in 1997 after the latter was synonymized with Hypsauchenia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Faculty and Staff". www.murraystate.edu. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  2. ↑ Sullivan-Beckers, Laura (January 2018). "Laura Sullivan-Beckers". ResearchGate. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  3. ↑ Li, Johanna (August 8, 2019). "2-Year-Old Discovers New Species of Bug While Gardening With Mom". Inside Edition. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  4. 1 2 Farrell, Kelly (July 7, 2019). "MSU professor, daughter uncover new insect species". Richmond Register. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  5. 1 2 3 "Murray State biology professor discovers new insect species with help from her five-year-old". The Blue & Gold. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  6. ↑ MoDuet (2019-06-30). "Professor discovers new insect species with help from her toddler". Insider Louisville. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  7. ↑ Krane, Jenny (August 22, 2019). "This Toddler Discovered a New Bug Species While Gardening with Her Mother". Better Homes & Gardens. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  8. ↑ McKamey, Stuart H.; Sullivan-Beckers, Laura (August 2019). "First Record of the Treehopper Tribe Darnini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Darninae) from Eastern United States Based on Specimens of a New Species Excavated from Hoplosoides wasp Nests". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 121 (3): 449–460. doi:10.4289/0013-8797.121.3.449. ISSN   0013-8797.
  9. ↑ "NSU Alumnus Dr. Sullivan Beckers to Lecture | Northeastern State University". www.nsuok.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  10. ↑ Rundus, Aaron S.; Sullivan‐Beckers, Laura; Wilgers, Dustin J.; Hebets, Eileen A. (2011). "Females Are Choosier in the Dark: Environment-Dependent Reliance on Courtship Components and Its Impact on Fitness". Evolution. 65 (1): 268–282. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01125.x. ISSN   1558-5646. PMID   20825477. S2CID   8323608.
  11. ↑ Holan, Scott H.; Wikle, Christopher K.; Sullivan-Beckers, Laura E.; Cocroft, Reginald B. (2010). "Modeling Complex Phenotypes: Generalized Linear Models Using Spectrogram Predictors of Animal Communication Signals". Biometrics. 66 (3): 914–24. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0420.2009.01331.x. ISSN   0006-341X. PMID   19764952.
  12. ↑ Fowler-Finn, Kasey D.; Sullivan-Beckers, Laura; Runck, Amy M.; Hebets, Eileen A. (2015-12-01). "The complexities of female mate choice and male polymorphisms: Elucidating the role of genetics, age, and mate-choice copying". Current Zoology. 61 (6): 1015–1035. doi: 10.1093/czoolo/61.6.1015 . ISSN   1674-5507. PMC   7098676 . PMID   32256539.
  13. ↑ Sullivan-Beckers, Laura; Hebets, Eileen (2014-05-01). "Tactical adjustment of signaling leads to increased mating success and survival". Eileen Hebets Publications.
  14. ↑ Hebets, Eileen; Sullivan-Beckers, Laura (2010-01-01). "Mate Choice and Learning". Eileen Hebets Publications.
  15. ↑ Vonk, Jennifer; Shackelford, Todd K. (2012-01-04). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-990983-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.