Phone: (509)-313-5598 Fax: (509)-313-5804 eMail: Office#: HU 003B

My primary research program is based on a remarkable natural hybrid zone between the swordtail fishes Xiphophorus birchmanni and X. malinche in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico, and has three major foci:

• (1) The evolutionary divergence of communication systems used in mate choice. While "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" has long been used to casually dismiss differences in human aesthetics, it has been only recently that scientists have begun to investigate the complex mechanisms affecting variation in the female aesthetic in non-human animals. Variation among females in what is considered attractive can have important implications for the evolution of male sexual displays, and can inform about the forces affecting perceived attractiveness in general. Using extensive field sampling, controlled experimentation, and mathematical modelling of sensory evolution, I explore the functional and evolutionary significance of variation in female preferences for complex male displays.
• (2) Female cognition, mate assessment strategies, and the evolution of male displays. In many species, mate choice is a complex and highly strategic process where individual females sample multiple males in multiple bouts prior to choosing mates. While theoretical models of mate searching indicate that the types of mate-searching and mate-sampling strategies used by females can have major impacts on how traits and preferences evolve, neither the selective forces shaping these strategies nor the cognitive mechanisms underlying them, have received much empirical attention. Here I combine behavioral and molecular-genetic assays with phylogenetic comparative analyses to elucidate the evolutionary covariance between female preferences, mate sampling strategy, and female cognition.
• (3) The ecological and evolutionary dynamics between environmental stress, inducible molecular defenses, and tumorigenesis. To elucidate the evolutionary relationships between tumorigenesis, inducible molecular defenses, and environmental stress I exploit the Xiphophorus hybrid cancer model in an ideal natural system replete with multiple replicated hybrid populations. These populations experience varying levels of exposure to carcinogens and environmental stressors, such as UV-radiation and anthropogenic toxicants. Studies in natural settings, combined with controlled laboratory experiments, will provide important insight into the evolutionary and ecological relationships between tumorigenesis, environmental stress, and stress-induced molecular defenses. It is my hope that this research may inform on future cancer treatment and prevention strategies.
• In addition to these three research foci, I intend to develop a local research program investigating sensory, cognitive and behavioral ecology in the brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.

Education

• Ph.D. University of Maryland 2005

• M.S. University of Maryland 2002

• B.S. University of Montana 1998

Professional Experience

• Assistant Professor of Biology, Gonzaga University, 2008-present.

• NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas A & M University, 2005-2008

• Lecturer of Biology, Universty of Maryland, 2004

Teaching Responsibilities

Diversity of Life (Bio 101); Human Ecology (Bio 123); Behavioral Ecology (Bio 313)

Publications

• Coleman, S. W. Sensory Ecology. In, Ecology and Evolution of Poeciliid Fishes (J. Evans, A. Pilastro, I. Schlupp, eds.). Chicago University Press. Anticipated publication date January 2009.
• Coleman, S. W. Of birds and bright colors: A review of the mate choice literature at In press, Acta Ethologica.
• Coleman, S. W. Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) wing-whistles may contain threat-related information for con- and hetero-specifics. In press at Naturwissenschaften.
• Coleman, S. W., Cognato A. D., and Jones, A. G. Reproductive isolation, reproductive mode, and sexual selection: Empirical tests of the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis. In press at The American Naturalist.
• Coleman, S. W., Patricelli, G. L., Coyle, B., Siani, J., and Borgia, G. 2007. A new role for vocal mimicry: the most attractive males are the best mimics. Biology Letters 3: 463-466.
• Coleman, S. W. and Jensen, J. 2007. Male mating success Ð preference or prowess? Investigating sexual selection in the laboratory using Drosophila melanogaster. The American Biology Teacher 69: 351-358.
• Coleman, S. W. and Rosenthal, G. G. 2006. Swordtail fry attend to chemical and visual cues in detecting predators and conspecifics. PLoS ONE 1: 1-4.
• Patricelli, G. L., Coleman, S. W. and Borgia, G. 2005. Male satin bowerbirds, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, adjust their display intensity in response to female startling: an experiment with robotic females. Animal Behaviour 71: 49-59.
• Coleman, S. W., Patricelli, G. L., and Borgia, G. 2004. Variable female preferences drive complex male displays. Nature 428: 742-745.
• Coleman, S. W., Patricelli, G. L., Coyle, B., Siani, J. and Borgia, G. 2003. Spectrographic cross-correlation reveals a possible role for vocal mimicry: In satin bowerbirds, the most attractive males are the best mimics. In Proc. of the First International Conference on Acoustic Communication in Animals, pp. 51-52. University of Maryland, College Park.
• Borgia, G. and Coleman, S. W. 2000. Co-option of male courtship calls from aggressive display in bowerbirds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 267: 1735-1740.

Publications in review (as of 17 September 2008)

• Coleman, S. W., and Borgia, G. Juvenile males prefer tutors with high quality sexual displays. In review at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
• Coleman, S. W., Meaders, A., Hensen, J., & Rosenthal, G. G. Inducible molecular defenses, ultraviolet radiation, and melanomagenesis in natural hybrids. In review at BMC Genetics.
• Coleman, S. W., Perkins, B., and Rosenthal, G. G. Sensory dysfunction in natural hybrids. Revised manuscript in review at Science.
• Coleman, S. W., Rosenthal, G., Jones, A., and Meyer, C. Genetic architecture, receiver psychology, and the evolution of complex mating displays. In review at Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
• Madden, J. R., and Coleman, S. W. Shared aesthetic preferences for male sexual displays between humans and non-human animals. In review at Perception.
• Coleman, S. W., Tobler, M., and Rosenthal, G. G. Reduced opsin gene expression in a cave-dwelling fish. In review at Biology Letters.