Mate choice directly affects the level of gene flow between individuals within and between populations. Therefore, the evolution of sexual communication systems is likely an important determinant in the speciation process. Night-active Lepidoptera (moths) are ideal organisms to address these questions, because they are one of the most diverse group of animals (~140.000 species), with well-defined sexual communication: females produce a species-specific sex pheromone that attracts males from a distance, after which close-range courtship occurs which includes female choice (1,2), there is communication interference between sympatrically occurring species (3), and moths contain parasites that may affect their sexual attraction. Through a combination of genetic analyses and behavioral lab and field experiments, we investigate the genetic changes underlying sexual interactions that lead to population divergence, including QTL and transcriptomic analyses and CRISPR/cas9 experiments (4-7) and field studies on the biological relevance of this variation (8,9). We also measure the natural selection forces affecting sexual attraction, including parasites and pathogens (10,11), and try to extrapolate micro-evolutionary processes to macro-evolutionary biodiversity patterns (12,13).
1) Zweerus et al. 2021, Anim Behav 179; 2) Zweerus et al. 2022, Ecol Evol 12; 3) Groot et al 2006, PNAS 103; 4) Lassance et al. 2010, Nature 4661; 5) Groot et al. 2014, Proc B 281; 6) Koutroumpa et al. 2016, PNAS 1133; 7) Unbehend et al. 2021, Nat Comm 12; 8) Unbehend et al. 2014, Plos One 9; 9) Van Wijk et al. 2017, Sci Rep 7; 10) Barthel et al. 2015, BMC Evol Biol 15; 11) Gao et al. 2019, J Invert Pathol 170; 12) Groot et al. 2016, Annu Rev Entomol 61; 13) De Pasqual et al. 2021, TREE 36.