Department of Biology

Renn Lab

Fish 'N Chips: Comparative Functional Genomics in African Cichlid Fishes. The evolution of behavior.

Current Lab Members

Victoria (Vicky) Zero

Mellon Postbac Research Assistant
Genomic Mechanisms for Environmental and Genetic Plasticity of Gender Biased Behavior.clare

Clare Parker

NIH Summer Research Fellowship
Neuroendocrine regulation of maternal behavior in A. burtoni.kelsey

Kelsey Wood

NIH Summer Research Fellowship
Is there a Hormonal Basis for the Observed Gender Biased Behaviors in African Cichlid Species of the Genus Julidochromis?

My Linh Nguyen

Reed College Science Research Fellowship
Do All Males Perceive "Social Opportunity" or Only the 2nd Most Dominant Male?

Dan Bernstein

Murdock Life Sciences Summer Research Fellowship
DNA Sequence Comparison Based on EST Data from 4 Cichlid Species.

Natalie Morgenstern

Murdock Life Sciences Summer Research Fellowship
Is "Good Maternal Care" theRresult of "Good Moms" or "Good Fry"?
(a Cross-Fostering Study in the African Cichlid Fish Species Astatotilapia burtoni.)julia

Julia Carleton

Murdock Life Sciences Summer Research Fellowship
The expression profile of maternal behavior in A. burtoni.

Helen Magee

Summer Student Volunteer
Variation in male dominance behavior between wild and laboratory stocks of A. burtoni cichlid fish.

Jenny Leonard

Arch and Fran Diack Student Field Research Award
People’s impact on useful plants in Ha’Makuya, North East Limpopo Province, South Africa

Melati Kaye

Milton L. Fischer Summer Field Research Fellowship
The Effects of Coastal “Dead Zones” on Oregon’s Salmon Fisheries

2008 Alumni with Thesis

Alex Winters                thesis
Seyram Butame           thesis
Evan Bremer                thesis
Cate Mingoya              thesis

Alex Winters
2008 Senior Thesis Research
Maternal Care and Aggression in the African Cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni
Despite a wealth of research regarding the hormonal and molecular basis of aggression in male A. burtoni, little work has been done with the females of this species. While the females of the inbred lab strain show little maternal care and aggression, a recently collected wild stock exhibit a rich repertoire of maternal care. My thesis describes the behavioral differences between these two stocks and evaluates the relative levels of steroid hormones. (more detail)
This research project was supported in part by a grant from the James F. &Marion L. Miller Foundation made to Reed College.
Seyram Butame

2008 Senior Thesis Research
The Dominant Female: A Look at the Possible Sex-Role Reversal in Julidochromis marlieri, from a Behavioral and Hormonal Perspective.
The fish family Cichlidae is characterized as monogamous and biparental. Typically, the males are larger and more aggressive and hence are able to dominate their mates. The genus Julidochromis or “Julies” as they are affectionately called, is part of this family of fish localized to Lake Tanganyika in Eastern Africa. Julidochromis marlieri, is one of five species belonging to the genus. They are unique, in that they differ from other species by having the females larger than their male counterparts and hence, females develop the potential to dominate the males.(more detail)
This research project was supported in part by a grant from the James F. &Marion L. Miller Foundation made to Reed College.

Evan Bremer

2008 Senior Thesis Research
Assessing the Presence, Stability, and Linearity of Dominance Hierarchies Among Female Cichlids of the Species Astatotilapia burtoni
Since Astatotilapia burtoni females school in the wild and in laboratory settings, the potential for the development of a social structure is significant.  I chose to study female A. burtoni with respect to their dominance structures and establish the groundwork for future studies of female dominance to complement the wealth of research conducted with males of this same species. (more detail)

Cate Mingoya

2008 Senior Thesis Research
Intraspecies Recognition in A. burtoni Cichlids
The African Cichlid species, Astatotilapia burtoni, is a maternal mouth brooding species. The fry spend approximately 2 weeks within the buccal cavity of the mother. This sustained close physical contatct could provide stimulus necessary for filial imprinting. Since such detailed care and high expenditures of energy are required to raise the young to maturity, evolutionary theory stipulates that in the case of the cichlid, in order to maximize efficiency in benefiting it’s own reproductive success, it would be important for it to expend the least amount of energy in deriving the greatest benefit in caring for its biological offspring. Imprinting might allow fry and mother to recognize each other. (more detail)

2007 Summer

Christian Reilly - postdoc
Victoria Zero - research assistant                                                poster
Robby Kunkle - Murdock Life Sciences postbac                            poster
Molly Schumer - Miller Foundation Summer Student Fellowship poster
Julia Carleton - Reed College Summer Research Fellowship        poster
Peter Jantzen - Murdock Life Sciences Summer Student              poster
Doug Borst - Postbac Volunteer                                                   poster

 

2007 Alumni with Thesis

Monika Wieland                thesis
Cadence True                    thesis
Jessica Thompson            thesis
Victoria Zero                     thesis
Cadence True
2007 Senior Thesis Research
Previous microarray analysis of gene expression differences in territorial and non-territorial male phenotypes present a candidate list of genes including many neurotransmitters and neuropeptides.  This thesis presents the first evidence for colocalization of GnRH and AVT neuropeptides in the POA of this teleost fish.
more about Cadence
Jessica Thompson
2007 Senior Thesis Research
Currently I am working on an experiment to test the strength of mate choice as a gene flow barrier among allopatric populations of the species Astatotilapia burtoni from Lake Tanganyika using microsatelites coupled with behavioral experiments.
.....
When I'm not in the lab, I fill my days with cooking, rock climbing, mountaineering, playing guitar and running the student bike shop.
more about Jessica
Monika Wieland
2007 Senior Thesis Research
Academic passions include animal behavior and social communication. Other passions include writing, wildlife photography, bird-watching, and hockey watching.
more about Monika
Victoria Zero

2007 Senior Thesis Research
more about Vicky

Past Lab Members

Christian Reilly

Research Associate
I'm broadly interested in sensory ecology in general, and in the visual
ecology of fishes in particular. Sensory ecology is the study of the
mechanisms through which fitness of organisms is optimized though
adaptations to environmental constraints on information transfer.
Implicit in this study is the notion that an organism's natural
behaviors require some information about environmental states, and
that evolution shapes both behavior and sensory structures to match
local conditions. I've come to the Renn lab to learn modern,
quantitative techniques for studying behavior in fishes and measuring
the footprints of the underlying evolutionary changes. Here I'm
focusing on using heterologous Comparative Genomic Hybridizations
(hCGH) to examine rapid evolutionary change in closely related cichlid
fishes and correlating these differences with interspecies differences
in parental care strategies.