Males exist. Does it matter?. Hanna Kokko University Zurich Suiza

Título: Males exist. Does it matter?

Ponente: Hanna Kokko, University Zurich, Suiza.

Hanna Kokko holds a professorship at the University of Zürich Switzerland (http://www.ieu.uzh.ch/staff/professors/kokko.html#8) and since 1995 she published more than 250 articles (more than 12 articles per year) including Nature, Science, Ecology letters, Current Biology, New Phytologist) . She has an H index of 50 and her publications obtained more than 9000 citations. Her research interests span evolutionary ecology of sexual and asexual reproduction, population dynamics, and evolution of reproductive and social strategies (behavior). 

Resumen:

Natural selection is a shortsighted process: it acts far more strongly on the individual than the group, thus (to take species’ long term persistence as an example of a group- or population-level benefit) selection is not expected to equip species with best possible long-term persistence or best possible popualtion growth. Here I show that sexual reproduction in particular is prone to the ‘tragedy of the commons’, predicting unwise use of essential resources for reproduction. I will draw examples from birds as well as fish, as well as from fundamental issues about male and female evolution: why do individuals specialize in producing sperm and eggs, and is this a ‘wise’ way to organize reproduction?