Backwell, Patricia - The Australian National University

个人简介

I received my formal education in South Africa. During my graduate years I worked on the breeding behaviour of several species of frogs. After my PhD I switched to studying fiddler crabs and completed three post-docs. I then did a year of lecturing in South Africa before moving to Panama to work for the Smithsonian for the next six years, still studying fiddlers. I took up my present post as lecturer at ANU at the start of 2002. All of this experience has forged me into the truly brilliant scientist that I am. My current research is entirely field-based and I have spent many hours sitting on sunny beaches staring at amazing little crabs. Most of my fieldwork has been carried out in Mozambique, Japan, South Africa and Central America. I am now working on tropical Australian fiddlers. My main study site is in Darwin, NT.

研究领域

I work on the behavioural ecology of fiddler crabs. There are over 100 species of fiddlers world wide, and about 20 of them occur in Australia. They are often the most commonly seen inter-tidal animal on tropical mudflats, and are ecologically important as a major food source for shore birds. Although a lot is known about them as prey items, surprisingly little is known about their behaviour. They are ideal study animals because they occur in huge numbers and are exceptionally easy to catch, mark, observe and manipulate. They are sexually dimorphic, males having a single enlarged claw which is used both as a weapon and waved to attract mate-searching females. My work has covered a broad range of topics but I have concentrated on three main areas: The mate choice process Dishonest signalling Fighting neighbours and strangers

近期论文

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Booksmythe, Isobel; Backwell, Patricia R. Y.; Jennions, Michael D,. Competitor size, male mating success and mate choice in eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki Animal Behaviour 85 (2) 371-375 Published: FEB 2013 Bolton, Jessica; Backwell, Patricia R. Y.; Jennions, Michael D,. Density dependence and fighting in species with indeterminate growth: a test in a fiddler crab Animal Behaviour 85 (6) 1367-1376 Published: JUN 2013 Hayes, Catherine L.; Booksmythe, Isobel; Jennions, Michael D.; et al., Does male reproductive effort increase with age? Courtship in fiddler crabs Biology Letters 9 (2 Published: APR 23 2013 Callander, Sophia; Hayes, Catherine L.; Jennions, Michael D.; et al., Experimental evidence that immediate neighbors affect male attractiveness Behavioral Ecology 24 (3) 730-733 Published: MAY-JUN 2013 Johnson, Laura; Mantle, Beth L.; Gardner, Janet L.; et al, Morphometric measurements of dragonfly wings: the accuracy of pinned, scanned and detached measurement methods Zookeys (276) 77-84 Published: 2013 Kahn, Andrew T.; Dolstra, Tegan; Jennions, Michael D.; et al,. Strategic male courtship effort varies in concert with adaptive shifts in female mating preferences Behavioral Ecology 24 (4) 906-913 Published: JUL-AUG 2013 Callander, Sophia; Kahn, Andrew T.; Hunt, John; et al., The effect of competitors on calling effort and life span in male field crickets Behavioral Ecology 24 (5) 1251-1259 Published: SEP-OCT 2013 Callander, Sophia; Kahn, Andrew T.; Maricic, Tim; et al., Weapons or mating signals? Claw shape and mate choice in a fiddler crabBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67 (7) 1163-1167 Published: JUL 2013 Callander, Sophia; Bolton, Jessica; Jennions, Michael D.; et al,. A farewell to arms: males with regenerated claws fight harder over resources Animal Behaviour 84 (3) 619-622 Published: SEP 2012 Callander, Sophia; Backwell, Patricia R. Y.; Jennions, Michael D. Context-dependent male mate choice: the effects of competitor presence and competitor size Behavioral Ecology 23 (2) 355-360 Published: MAR-APR 2012.