Morphology & Diet axis

   ...However, it also seems likely that the environment of the lake that received the fish will also influence what they eat – and that all of these links should vary through time (for example, as increasing stickleback density increases competition).  This project will uncover these links through detailed measurements of trophic traits (body shape, head and mouth shape, gill rakers), analysis of stomach contents (e.g., abundance of various taxa of zooplankton and benthic macro-invertebrates), and stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen).  By analyzing fish collected from each source and experimental lake over time, we are assessing how intra-specific diversity in trophic structures influences the prey that stickleback consume, how those traits change through time in relation to the ecological conditions, and how that trait change then alters what the stickleback consume. By analyzing fish collected from each source and experimental lake over time, we are assessing how intra-specific diversity in trophic structures influences the prey that stickleback consume, how those traits change through time in relation to the ecological conditions, and how that trait change then alters what the stickleback consume.  

More information coming soon!