Katrina Salvante

I am interested in the proximate mechanisms underlying inter-individual variation in energy- and resource-management decisions, the timing of reproduction, and reproductive effort, and how these reproductive decisions ultimately influence trade-offs between reproduction and other life-history stages. My dissertation research (Ph.D., SFU 2006) examined the physiological basis of the trade-off between survival and current reproduction when energetic resources are limited, using a songbird as a model species. I have also examined how cues from the physical and social environment are processed in the brain to determine how these signals influence the timing and pace of seasonal reproductive development. I am currently investigating how daily stressors influence women’s reproductive health and child development through the interactions between the stress and reproductive axes.