Behavioural axis

 Male and female sticklebacks often differ in colouration during the mating season. While the females retain a dull colouration that provides camouflage from predators during gravidity, males typically develop bright blue eyes and red throats to attract females to lay eggs in their nests. Prof. Chad Brock and Prof. Alison Bell are investigating the variation of cryptic and nuptial colouration of males and females in the experimental lakes, as well as the genetic underpinnings of differences in colouration. 

 Male sticklebacks are the sole caretakers of the offspring. During mating season, males will build nests out of vegetation, defend their territory and display to females. After spawning, the male is left to care for the offspring by keeping nest predators away, tending the nest and fanning the eggs to provide them with oxygenated water. The parental care continues even after the eggs hatch, by retrieving vulnerable free-swimming fry back to the nest to keep them safe from predators. Together with Prof. Laura Stein, PhD students Brendon Byrd and Rionach McCarthy are studying the effects of predation risk on parenting behaviour in the experimental lakes. The ancestral population originate from lakes that lack salmonids, but in their new environment, the sticklebacks may need to modify their behaviour due to higher predation pressures by recently introduced trout. 

 Climate change has been shown to impact northern boreal freshwater systems by causing increased browning due to dissolved organic matter. The optical environment of a lake can have significant effects on colour signaling in fish. Prof. Chad Brock is conducting semi-annual measurements of the optical environment by measuring physical parameters to characterize the optical environment of the experimental lakes. Data collected will track potential shifts in the optical characteristics of the lakes, as well as potential changes in how stickleback colouration may respond to changes in the environment. 

 Stickleback males are known to be territorial, keeping away competitors, defending their nests from predators, as well as protecting their eggs from cannibalistic females. Eric Arredondo, Chad Brock and Alison Bell are quantifying individual differences in male territorial aggression in the field and using QTL mapping to identify loci associated with variation in territorial aggression. 

 Territorial stickleback males have to balance territory defense, courtship, predator defense and parental care all at the same time. Tina Barbasch, Victoria Abuwa and Alison Bell are studying how individual males balance between competing demands and how those tradeoffs vary across lakes. 

 Allison Roth, Kevin Neumann and Alison Bell are quantifying social networks in both source and destination lakes to learn more about how social behavior influences adaptation to new environments. 

 Variation in dispersal following an introduction event could impact the ecological effects that introduced organisms have on their environments. Many factors can contribute to variation in dispersal, including variation in behaviour, parasitism, and ancestry. Alexis Heckley and Kiyoko Gotanda are studying movement and dispersal of sticklebacks in the destination lakes to gain insights into the early stages of adaptation to new environments.