Annals of Botany Special Lecture by Professor Rod Peakall (ANU) at the Botany 2020 - Virtual meeting July 27-31, USA

Praying mantises are the only insects known to have stereo vision. We used a comparative approach to determine how the mechanisms underlying
stereopsis in mantises differ from those underlying primate stereo vision.

Having spent much of the last 15 years trying to improve molecular phylogenetics, I had formed the fairly firm view that my research was very interesting (of course!!!) but rather useless in the short term.

The central islands of Indonesia, between Java, Bali and Kalimantan (Borneo) on the west and Papua on the east - are a living laboratory for the study of evolution, known as the Wallacea region.

Every animal has a weapon of one sort or another, but the overwhelming majority of weapons stay small. Yet, sprinkled through the tree of life are species where weapons become extreme.

Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions an animal can make. The fitness costs and benefits of mate choice have been analysed extensively in the context of sexual selection, and the neural and hormonal bases of mate choice have provided insights into how animals make such decisions.