School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Behavioural and morphological diversity in sticklebacks

Because of their rapid colonisation of freshwater bodies after the end of the last ice age, sticklebacks have become a model species for studying rapid adaptive radiation and speciation. Within this framework, I have a long-standing interest in the origin and function of individual variability in morphology and behaviour in three-spined sticklebacks. One recent project is aimed at characterizing the genetic distinctness of populations of sticklebacks in the Outer Hebrides which show dramatic armour loss. This information is important for the conservation of biodiversity. Additionally, we have used QTL mapping to show that the genetic mechanisms underlying armour loss in these populations are the same as those reported in North American populations. This is somewhat surprising, since the main selection pressure responsible for armour loss is different (low calcium levels as opposed to low levels of predation by piscivorous fishes). This work was carried out in collaboration with Dr Katie Piechel, University of Washington, Seattle and was funded by the NERC and by Scottish Natural Heritage