Fish training is hard work

Our new paper is online in the Canadian Journal of Zoology!

Since so many hatchery rainbow trout get eaten immediately after stocking, we tried to give them some experience right before they entered the real world. While they were in the truck on the way to the lake, we exposed them to chemical cues that signal them to increase antipredator behavior. Unfortunately, the quick and easy approach isn’t going to cut it. Exposed fish had the same mortality rates as unexposed fish over the 6 months post stocking. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board to try out more complicated predator training protocols. Big congrats to Chris Kopack and coauthors on the paper! Trout photo by Ari Koyama

An office with a view

I got to see Abbie Reade in action, doing research on the roof of the biology building–talk about an office with a view!!! Abbie is studying individual variation in honey bee foraging behavior to try to better understand the evolution of eusociality.

Don’t try this at home kids!

Abbie tagged this bee with a green spot

Worker bees grab nectar and then head back into the hive

Guppy photo shoot

My collaborator, Dr. Emily Kane, helped me set up a photo shoot for some of my favorite low predation pet guppies. Here is a sneak peek of one of the glamour shots!

Emily also just posted an entertaining and educational blog featuring some of her photos from a “couples photo shoot”–this particular couple was quite amorous 🙂 Check it out!

Moving to Denver

I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be moving to Denver in August to begin a postdoctoral position at the University of Denver through IRISE (Interdisciplinary Research Incubator for the Study of (In)equality). I’m excited to join the IRISE team and to work with all of the talented faculty from different departments that share my passion for improving STEM education. The beautiful campus is an added bonus 🙂