Margaret Bloch Qazi

I study insect reproductive behaviors and physiology using two model systems, the flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). While males and females must cooperate to reproduce at all, there is also often conflict regarding how many progeny to produce, when to produce them, and who will fertilize the female's eggs. This tension between cooperation and conflict results in fascinating reproductive behaviors and physiology. While these types of male-female interactions have been documented in organisms ranging from primates to plants, insects present a particularly tractable study system. My research includes techniques and questions from the disciplines of animal behavior, physiology, genetics, development, and evolution.