Biography
Research Area
Our research team is broadly interested in understanding why animals look and behave the way that they do. We generally approach this by combining experimental manipulations with phylogenetic comparative methods. Topics currently being investigated in the lab include fighting behavior and weapon evolution.
Publications
- McEvoy, I, L Daniels, and Z Emberts. 2024. Sexually selected weapons can wear out, decreasing their effectiveness in combat. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 291: 20241090.
- McEvoy, I, and Z Emberts. 2024. Sexually selected shields: male-male combat can promote the evolution of damage-reducing structures. Animal Behavior 211: 123–130.
- Emberts, Z, U Somjee, and JJ Wiens. 2023. Selection on weapon allometry in the wild. Evolution 77: 2090–2099.
- Emberts, Z, and JJ Wiens. 2022. Why are animals brightly colored? Sexual versus warning signals in land vertebrates. Evolution 76: 2879–2892.
- Emberts, Z, U Somjee, and JJ Wiens. 2021. Damage from intraspecific combat is costly. Behavioral Ecology 32: 1240–1245.
- Emberts, Z, and JJ Wiens. 2021. Do sexually selected weapons drive diversification? Evolution 75: 2411–2424.
- Emberts, Z, and JJ Wiens. 2021. Defensive structures influence fighting outcomes. Functional Ecology 35: 696–704.
- Emberts, Z, WS Hwang, and JJ Wiens. 2021. Weapon performance drives weapon evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288: 20202898.
Highlights
- September 2024, National Science Foundation Grant ($732,187) to examine the evolution of defensive shields used in male-male combat.
Education
- Ph.D. Biology, 2019 – University of Florida
- B.S. Biology, 2013 – University of Minnesota