Undergraduate
I teach a combination of genetics, behaviour and evolution, which reflects my research interests perfectly. I also lead our first year Science Communication module, and join our final year Field Studies scientific diving trip to somewhere with tropical coral reefs (e.g. Malaysia).
First year: Ecology and Evolution, Science Communication*
Second year: Genetic Analysis, Evolutionary Biology
Third year: Sex and Social Behaviour*, Field Studies*
*module lead
Journal Article
The coincidence of ecological opportunity with hybridization explains rapid adaptive radiation in Lake Mweru cichlid fishes
Meier, J. I., Stelkens, R. B., Joyce, D. A., Mwaiko, S., Phiri, N., Schliewen, U. K., …Seehausen, O. (2019). The coincidence of ecological opportunity with hybridization explains rapid adaptive radiation in Lake Mweru cichlid fishes. Nature communications, 10(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13278-z
The Genomic Substrate for Adaptive Radiation: Copy Number Variation across 12 Tribes of African Cichlid Species
Faber-Hammond, J. J., Renn, S. C., Venkatesh, B., Faber-Hammond, J. J., Bezault, E., Lunt, D. H., …Renn, S. C. P. (2019). The Genomic Substrate for Adaptive Radiation: Copy Number Variation across 12 Tribes of African Cichlid Species. Genome Biology and Evolution, 11(10), 2856-2874. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evz185
Research interests
I'm interested in the behavioural and genomic adaptations of animals (primarily freshwater fishes). Primarily this is because these adaptations can lead to the formation of new species, and understanding how species evolve is of fundamental importance to biodiversity and conservation. I use haplochromine cichlid fishes to study this. I'm also interested in the role that anthropogenic pressures can exert which may lead to evolutionary change in populations over time, and this includes research on Atlantic salmon.
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Fish adaptation to depth: alternative splicing in the twilight zone?
Funder
Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Grant
£1,000.00
Started
28 May 2018
Status
Complete
Postgraduate supervision
We’re looking to recruit three PhD students to join our “Happy Chemical Cluster” and work with us on Animal Behaviour and/or Molecular Biology.
There is a possible role for serotonin in the sand-castle building behaviour of cichlid fishes, behaviour carried out by males to attract females. We seek to experimentally test how inhibiting the serotonin pathway with drugs could impact the skill of males, and the mating preference of the females. As well as showing how pollution could affect mating behaviour under different climate change scenarios, this could also demonstrate a mechanism by which the serotonin pathway generates reproductive isolation and leads to the formation of new species, a completely novel mechanism for generating biodiversity.
The primary focus of one of the PhD projects is cichlid fish behaviour, but there is the possibility to develop the project according to your interests, and to include molecular genetics, CRISPR/cas9 gene editing, and bioinformatics. We are looking for a student who can demonstrate academic excellence in Biology (or similar degree), including animal behaviour, and experimental design and analysis.