Leigh W. Simmons
Leigh Simmons is an evolutionary biologist whose research has focused on reproductive biology. His research uses both vertebrates and invertebrates to test the predictions and assumptions of theoretical models of sexual selection and life history evolution. Specifically, his interests lie in five areas: i) sperm competition and paternal effects mediated via seminal fluid; ii) the evolution of animal genitalia; iii) natural and sexual selection acting on insect cuticular lipids; iv) the effects of diet on reproductive health; and v) the potential for sexual selection to promote population fitness. Collectively, these research programs seek to determine the direction and strength of selection acting on male and female reproductive strategies, and on the morphological and life history traits that contribute to fitness, from the whole organism to its gametes.
He has held Editor-in-Chief posts for two society journals, Animal Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, collectively for over 20 years.
Simmons received his PhD from Nottingham University in 1986 and held a series of postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Liverpool until 1995 when he moved to the University of Western Australia. He received an ARC Federation Fellowship in 2004 and was elected to the Australian Academy in 2009.