Assistant Researcher at CONICET, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA).
My main interest is the study of sexual behaviors using as model spider species of the Pholcidae family.The species of this family are a good model to analyze the existence of behavioral patterns and sexual morphological divergence, since they present an exposed genitalia. My work focuses on evaluating whether the behaviors that males perform during mating, as well as their genital morphology, influence reproduction success by analyzing different variables (copulation duration, copulatory and post-copulatory behaviors, transfer success and sperm removal, sperm count, and paternity). The intention is to contribute to the clarification of several points still unknown or little worked within the framework of sexual selection theory such as: stimulatory versus coercive mechanisms during mating, effect of female sexual receptivity, sperm competition, female cryptic choice and sexual conflict.
E-mail: luciacalbacho@gmail.com