Karl Loeffler-Henry
Post Doctoral Fellow
| Degrees: | B.A. (Hons) Biology (Carleton University), PhD (Carleton University) |
| Email: | KarlLoefflerHenry@cmail.carleton.ca |
I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Sherratt Lab. My research focuses on how natural selection influences animal coloration. Intuitively one might expect traits that render an animal difficult to distinguish from the background to be advantageous in avoiding predation. However, selection by predators has resulted in the evolution of highly conspicuous colors and behavioral displays in numerous animal lineages. Naturally, this leads to various questions about the mechanisms of selection and function of these conspicuous adaptations. My collaborators and I explore these questions using a variety of tools including computer-based simulations, phylogenetic comparative analysis, theoretical models, behavioral experiments and biomechanical comparisons.