Kimberly L. Hunter
Papers
3
Total Citations
52
H-Index
3
About
Kimberly L. Hunter is a behavioral ecologist whose research explores the complexities of multimodal communication in animal mating systems, with a particular focus on anurans. Her work investigates how animals integrate signals across sensory modalities—such as visual and acoustic cues—to make mate choice decisions, and how these signals function under natural, often noisy, conditions. Hunter’s most-cited study, “Multimodal signaling improves mating success in the green tree frog (*Hyla cinerea*), but may not help small males” (2016, 33 citations), demonstrates that while multimodal signals generally enhance mating success, they do not uniformly benefit all individuals, revealing important trade-offs in signal production. Her subsequent research, including work on perceived synchrony of signal components (2017, 12 citations) and multisensory integration (2022, 7 citations), challenges the assumption that multimodal signals always facilitate mate choice, showing instead that context—such as signal content, order, and environmental noise—can influence receiver perception and decision-making. Through these contributions, Hunter has advanced our understanding of the evolutionary constraints and adaptive flexibility in animal communication, offering valuable insights into how sensory systems evolve in complex, real-world environments.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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