PD Dr. Tamara Pokorny

Chemical ecology

Chemicals play a large role in many aspects of an insect’s life. For example, they can be essential to find food, to avoid/deter predators, or to communicate with conspecifics.

Variability and evolution of chemical signals

Communication is based on the interactions between signallers and receivers. This requires the emitted signals and the sensory detection thereof to be tuned to each other. I am interested in the causes of signal variability, how it affects communication, and the role it may play in population divergence and speciation.

Chemical signals are commonly complex mixtures that are species-specific in their absolute and relative composition, i.e., which compounds and their ratios. However, abiotic and biotic factors can lead to variability of the chemical mixtures between individuals. I investigate the causes and consequences of such variability for communication and fitness.