Avehi is a J. Lloyd Huck Graduate Fellow in the Ecology Program at Penn State. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Reed College, Oregon. Her undergraduate thesis research was on the effects of social rank on the gut microbiota of cichlid fish. Avehi’s research investigates the role of olfactory processes in the evolution of specialization in squash bees. Specifically, she is using comparative genomics to characterize olfactory gene evolution associated with pollen specialization in the clade Eucera. Alongside, she is combining field studies and electrophysiological methods to understand the sensory mechanisms underlying host plant recognition in squash bees. 

Email: aps6366@psu.edu

Twitter: @_avehi

Google Scholar

Projects:

Pollinator Evolution

Publications:

Krishnan, A., Singh, A., and Tamma, K. (2020). Visual signal evolution along complementary color axes in four bird lineages. Biology Open, 9(9).

Chandrasegaran, K., Sriramamurthy, R., Singh, A., Ravichandran, P., and Quader, S. (2020). Antipredatory Responses of Mosquito Pupae to Non-Lethal Predation Threat—Behavioral Plasticity Across Life-History Stages. Environmental Entomology, 49(5), 1032–1040.

Singh, A., Faber-Hammond, J. J., O’Rourke, C. F., and Renn, S. C. P. (2019). Gut microbial diversity increases with social rank in the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. Animal Behaviour, 152, 79–91.

Chandrasegaran, K., Singh, A., Laha, M., and Quader, S. (2018). Playing it safe? Behavioural responses of mosquito larvae encountering a fish predator. Ethology Ecology and Evolution, 30(1), 70–87.

Brochu, K. K., Ray, S., Singh, A., Paiva, M., Evans, K. C., Grando, C., Lavanga, E., Ali, J. G., O., D. L., and Lopez-Uribe, M. M. (2021). Crop domestication drives changes in floral functional traits and pollinator foraging preferences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In prep.

Bocklund, K., Singh, A., Rork, A. M., Bergamaschi, D., Regan, K. H., Stupski, S. D., Tan, C.-W., Schilder, R. J., Lopez-Uribe, M. M., and Renner, T. (2021). Two methods for isolation of high-molecular-weight genomic DNA from diverse insect taxa. Journal of Insect Science. Submitted.

Targaszewski, M., Singh, A., Lopez-Uribe, M. M., Youngstead, E. Y., and Sorenson, C. (2021). Population genetic structure of the endangered plant, Lysimachia asperulifolia. In prep