Research | Queen’s University Canada

Recently hatched birds in a nest
First Emergence
Ivana Schoepf
My research focuses on the effects that avian malarial parasites have on female reproductive success and offspring quality. To assess how malarial infection affects mothers and their offspring, I spent the spring and summer in the field at the Queen's University Biological Station catching female, adult red-winged blackbirds and treating them with either an antimalarial medication or a control solution. Female reproductive success was determined by looking at a variety of parameters, including incubation behaviour, which was measured using I-buttons (as seen in the photo). If experimental reduction of infection leads to higher reproductive success in females, I expected to find medicated females to be able to spend more time incubating their eggs. Our preliminary analysis shows that this is indeed the case.
Location of photograph:
Queen's University Biological Station
Affiliation:
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Biology
Submission Year:
2018-19