Dr. Jeanne A. Zeh, Assistant Professor
Behavioral ecology, evolution of polyandry, intragenomic conflict, sexual selection, speciation and tropical biology

University of Arizona, 1986, B.A.
Rice University, 1996, Ph.D.

Current Projects / Research Interests
My research interests lie at the interface between behavioral ecology and molecular genetics. Discoveries in molecular biology are providing growing evidence that the genomes of species are much more dynamic entities than could have ever been appreciated by the founders of the Modern Synthesis. Genomes are constantly evolving, at least in part, as a result of genetic conflicts within and between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Accordingly, our research group utilizes a range of behavioral, experimental, field and molecular techniques to investigate the implications of intragenomic conflict for both individual behavior and population-level processes.
One area of behavioral ecology that has been radically altered by the recent revolution in molecular methods is sexual selection. The unexpected discovery that females across a wide array of species commonly produce mixed paternity broods and thus must frequently mate with more than one male has undermined traditional views of optimal female mating tactics. This finding has led us to formulate a new hypothesis to explain polyandry, namely that females mate with more than one male as a hedge against genetic incompatibility arising as a secondary consequence of various agents of intragenomic conflict and other forces acting at the suborganismal level. A major focus of my current research program involves testing this genetic incompatibility hypothesis against alternative hypotheses to account for the enhanced reproductive success of polyandrous females in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion, Cordylochernes scorpioides.

The discovery that polyandry is a pervasive feature of natural populations seems likely to shed light not only on the forces driving microevolutionary change within populations but also on the processes contributing to reproductive isolation betweenincipient species. As an extension of my research on polyandry, we are investigating the potential importance of gametic interactions and postcopulatory processes in the evolution of cryptic species of neotropical arthropods.

Selected Publications
Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2007. Mate choice by non-virgin females contributes to reproductive isolation between populations of the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion. Ethology (in press).

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2007. Maternal inheritance, epigenetics and the evolution of polyandry. Genetica (available in “Online First” at Genetica’s web site).

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2006. Male-killing Wolbachia in a live-bearing arthropod: brood abortion as a constraint on the spread of a selfish microbe. J. Invert. Pathol. 92, 33-38.

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2006. Outbred embryos rescue inbred half siblings in mixed paternity broods of live-bearing females. Nature 439, 201-203.

Zeh, D.W., J.A. Zeh & M.M. Bonilla. 2005. Wolbachia, sex ratio bias and apparent male killing in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion. Heredity 95, 41-49.

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2005. Maternal inheritance, sexual conflict and the maladapted male. Trends Genet. 21, 281-286.

Zeh J.A. 2004 Sexy sons: a dead end for cytoplasmic genes. Proceeding of the Royal Society London B, Biology Letters (in press).

Zeh D.W., J.A. Zeh & M.M. Bonilla. 2003. Phylogeography of the harlequin beetle. Journal of Biogeography 30, 747-753.

Zeh J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2003. Toward a new sexual selection paradigm: polyandry, conflict and incompatibility. Ethology 109, 929-950.

Zeh J.A., D.W. Zeh & M.M. Bonilla. 2003. Phylogeography of the harlequin beetle-riding pseudoscorpion and the rise of the Isthmus of Panamá. Molecular Ecology 12, 2759-2769

Zeh D.W. & J.A. Zeh. 2002. Maternal-fetal conflict. In Encyclopedia of Evolution, M. Pagel (Ed.). Oxford University Press, N.Y.

Zeh J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2001. Reproductive mode and the genetic benefits of polyandry. Animal Behaviour 61, 1051-1063.

Zeh J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 2001. Spontaneous abortion depresses female sexual receptivity: implications for the 'trading-up' hypothesis for polyandry. Animal Behaviour 62, 427-433.

Zeh D.W. & J.A. Zeh. 2000. Reproductive mode and speciation: the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis. BioEssays 22, 938-946.

Newcomer, S.D., J.A. Zeh & D.W. Zeh. 1999. Genetic benefits enhance the reproductive success of polyandrous females. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 96:10236-10241.Zeh, D.W. & J.A. Zeh. 1999. Transmission distortion at a minisatellite locus in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion. Journal of Heredity 90: 320-323.

Zeh, J.A., A.D. Zeh & D.W. Zeh. 1999. Dump material as an effective small-scale deterrent to herbivory by Atta cephalotes. Biotropica 31:368-371.

Zeh, J.A., S.D. Newcomer & D.W. Zeh. 1998. Polyandrous females discriminate against previous mates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 95: 13732-13736.

Wilcox, T., L. Hugg, J.A. Zeh & D.W. Zeh. 1997. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing reveals extreme genetic differentiation in a cryptic species complex of neotropical pseudoscorpions. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 7:208-216.

Zeh, D.W., J.A. Zeh & E. Bermingham. 1997. Polyandrous, sperm-storing females: carriers of male genotypes through episodes of adverse selection. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 264:119-125.

Zeh, D.W. & J.A. Zeh. 1997. Sex via the substrate: sexual selection and mating systems in pseudoscorpions, pp. 329-339. In The Evolution of Mating Systems in Insects and Arachnids, J.C. Choe & B.J. Crespi (Eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 1997. Homozygosity, self-recognition and aggressive ability in the sea anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima. American Naturalist 149:785-789.

Zeh, J.A. & D.W. Zeh. 1997. The evolution of polyandry II: post-copulatory defenses against genetic incompatibility. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 264:69-75.

Zeh, J.A. 1997. Polyandry and enhanced reproductive success in the harlequin beetle-riding pseudoscorpion. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 40:111-118.

University of Nevada, Reno
Biology Department m/s 314
Reno, NV 89557

email Dr. Jeanne Zeh

Office phone
775-784-1648
FAX number
775-784-1302

Other Links:

EECB 752 DIVIDED SELVES: GENOMIC CONFLICTS AND BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY