Centre for Evolutionary Biology

Contact me at john.fitzpatrick@uwa.edu.au

Broadly, I am interested in how sexual selection operates in a range of organisms, including fishes and marine invertebrates. Much of my work has focused on how sexual selection influences the evolution of reproductive behaviours and traits (e.g. genitals, sperm). I have studied species with a range of mating behaviours, including species that exhibit strict genetic monogamy, flexible mating tactics, and discrete alternative reproductive tactics. Increasingly, I am applying comparative techniques to my research to disentangle the selective forces that drive trait evolution and to assess the rate of trait evolution in fishes and mammals.

Professional Activities

Board of Reviewers, Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2011-present)

Research Interests

	Inbreeding, reproduction and conservation \| Inbreeding can have profound fitness costs, yet we know little about its impact on reproductive traits. Using guppies as a model system I am examining how inbreeding influences male reproductive traits. Additionally, using wild-collected guppies from Trinidad I am assessing how the genetic history of a population influences our ability to detect heterozygote fitness correlations and I am evaluating methods for restoring genetic diversity to threatened populations.
	Evolution of sexually selected traits \| Sexual selection is a major evolutionary force. I use comparative approaches to study how postcopulatory sexual selection influences the evolution of ejaculate and genital traits. My research focuses on fishes, including teleosts and elasmobranchs, marine mammals and social insects.
	Sperm competition and alternative reproductive tactics \| Not all males use the same tactics to reproduce. In some species, larger males court, sequester and guard females to secure fertilizations, while other smaller sneaker males perform parasitic fertilizations by releasing their sperm at the same time as the larger male. My research examines how ejaculate traits differ between males using alternative reproductive tactics in a variety of fish species.

Career

2010-2013 ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Centre for Evolutionary Biology, UWA

2010-2010 UWA Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Centre for Evolutionary Biology, UWA

2008-2010 NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship – Centre for Evolutionary Biology, UWA

2004-2008 PhD – Department of Biology – McMaster University, Canada

1998-2003 Honours BSc – Department of Zoology – University of British Columbia, Canada

Awards

2011 UWA Outstanding Young Investigator Award

2009 UWA Early Career Researcher Award for Best Work Accepted for Publication

Funding Received

2012 UWA: Research Collaboration Award – hosted at Uppsala University

2011 ARC: Discovery Grant (with Catherine Grueber and Jon Evans)

2011 UWA: Research Collaboration Award – hosted at Uppsala University

2010 ARC: Discovery Grant and APD Fellowship

2009 UWA: Research Development Award

2009 UWA: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

2008 NSERC: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Collaborators at UWA

Jon Evans – Studying inbreeding depression in guppies, sexual selection in marine invertebrates

Leigh Simmons – Studying selection on the ejaculate in marine invertebrates, trade-offs among sexually selected traits

Paco Garcia-Gonzalez – Studying sexual selection in marine invertebrates

Boris Baer – Studying sperm and mating system evolution in social insects

Joe Tomkins – Using meta-analyses to study how sperm competition influences testes and sperm evolution

Shaun Collin and his research group – Studying sperm and genital evolution in sharks, skates and rays

External Collaborators

Sigal Balshine (McMaster University, Canada)

Bob Montgomerie (Queen’s University, Canada)

Niclas Kolm (Uppsala University, Sweden)

Chris Wood (McMaster University, Canada)

Media

New Scientist 2009: Article on “Competition drives evolution of ‘super sperm’”.

Cosmos Magazine 2009: Article on “Infidelity encourages faster sperm”.

New Scientist 2009: Article on “Inbreeding sabotages rare species' sperm”.

John Fitzpatrick