Tagide deCarvalho

Advisor: Kerry Shaw

Previous Education:
B.S. Biology University of New Mexico

Research Interests:
I study courtship feeding behavior in the Hawaiian sword-tail cricket, Laupala cerasina (Gryllidae: Trigonidiinae). Crickets are known for their diverse courtship feeding adaptations such as specialized glandular secretions, body parts offered for consumption and spermatophores (sperm containing capsules, which remain external to the female’s genitalia during mating). Laupala exhibits an elaborate courtship and mating system that consists of multiple copulations, during which the male transfers many relatively small, spermless “microspermatophores” that the female consumes before accepting the final, sperm-containing “macrospermatophore”. For my dissertation, I am investigating the role of spermless spermatophores as nuptial gifts in courtship, using methodological approaches such as comparative analysis and experimental manipulation of behavior to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the adaptive significance of courtship feeding behavior. My work is important because male courtship feeding occurs across a wide range of animals, from spiders to birds; however, the significance of this behavior is not completely understood.

Location of Research:
Kalopa State Park, Hawaii

Publications:
Danley, P.D., T.N. deCarvalho, D.J. Fergus and K.L. Shaw. 2007. Reproductive asynchrony and the divergence of Hawaiian crickets. Ethology 113: 1125-1132.

deCarvalho, TN. & D. Otte. 2006. Three new species of the cricket genus Trigonidium in Hawaii (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Trigonidiinae). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 155: 29-34.

deCarvalho, T.N. & K.L. Shaw. 2005. Nuptial feeding of spermless spermatophores in the Hawaiian swordtail cricket, Laupala pacifica (Gryllidae: Trigonidiinae). Naturwissenschaften 92(10): 483–487.

Watson, P.J. & T.N. deCarvalho. 2004. The evolution of ritualized fighting. In: Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. Edited by Marc Bekoff. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.

deCarvalho, T.N., P.J. Watson & S.A. Field. 2004. Costs increase as ritualized
fighting progresses within and between phases in the sierra dome spider, Neriene litigiosa. Animal Behaviour. 68: 473- 482.

Otte, D., T.N. deCarvalho & K.L. Shaw. 2003. Two new introduced species of
Trigonidiinae recorded from Maui and Hawai’i (Grylloidea, Gryllidae,
Trigonidiinae). Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73: 47-53.

Gannon W.L., R.E. Sherwin, T.N. deCarvalho & M.J. O' Farrell. 2001. Pinnae
and echolocation call differences between Myotis californicus and M.
ciliolabrum (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae). Acta Chiropterologica. 3(1): 77-91.

Funding Sources:
2005 University of Maryland Nagel Travel Grant
2004 Animal Behavior Society Student Research Grant
2004 Orthopterists’ Society Research Grant
2003 Biology of Small Populations Research Training Grant

Awards:
2007 Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement
2007 BEES Spirit Award
2006 College of Chemical and Life Sciences Conference Travel Award
2006 Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) Lilly-East Conference Travel Award
2003-06 HHMI Teaching and Learning Fellowship
2001, 2002 Biology of Small Populations RTG Graduate Fellowship
1998 University of New Mexico Undergraduate Conference Award
1997 Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology Award (UMEB)