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Queen's University Biological Station

Winter Ecology Field Course 2013

Below are some photos of the 2013 edition of the Winter Ecology field course taught by Dr. Paul Martin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A panoply of bird photos from the course ... taken by course participant Dave Bell.

Featured Researcher

Kate Mathers (MSc Candidate)   

Project Title: The influence of hybridization on metabolism and hypoxia tolerance in sunfish
Supervisor: Chris Moyes, Queen’s University

In Lake Opinicon, both bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) sunfish are abundant. As adults, the two species of sunfish occupy slightly different niches as they differ in morphologies, feeding habits, and tolerance to low oxygen conditions (hypoxia). Pumpkinseeds are more tolerant of hypoxia than bluegills, and are found in vegetation-rich areas nears the shores of the lake, while bluegills are less hypoxia tolerant and tend to be found more in open water.

The two species naturally produce viable hybrids, which are found throughout Lake Opinicon. The existence and proliferation of these sunfish hybrids is quite interesting, as interbreeding between different species is usually prevented by a large number of ecological and genetic factors. Many hybrids experience “hybrid breakdown” – the loss of fitness through successive generations, likely due to incompatibilities between the two parental genomes.

The metabolic traits of the hybrid sunfish are of particular interest to me because the two parent species are so different. Are the hybrids intermediate to the two parental species in terms of metabolic traits, or are they defective because of genetic incompatibility? My research focuses on understanding the metabolic traits (with a focus on hypoxia tolerance) of bluegill-pumpkinseed hybrids in relation to their parent species. This research may aid our understanding of the genetic causes of hybrid breakdown and add to our knowledge of speciation.