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Research
My research explores the degree to which human activities, specifically fishing, effect ecological change in natural populations. There is a growing and compelling body of evidence that high selective mortality, such as that caused by overfishing, can lead to changes in life history traits of harvested fish species. It diminishes population density, alters the distribution of target populations and can affect fitness-related traits such as body size, age at maturity and growth rate. Relative to temperate marine systems, however, fish populations in tropical inland waters have received little attention. Many questions remain regarding the rapidity and extremity of these processes in freshwater regions. These issues are of particular importance with regards to commercially important species in developing nations where the ability to predict and ensure stock survival is critical to the wellbeing of communities.
My Masters research investigates the extent to which intense fishing pressure induces ecological change in Nile perch (Lates niloticus), an economically important but invasive fish species introduced to the Lake Victoria basin in the 1950s. There is evidence that fishing-induced mortality has modified distribution and diet in Nile perch since the mid 80s. This has been reflected in habitat-associated morphological and ecological divergence in a Nile perch population in Lake Nabugabo, a satellite of Lake Victoria in Uganda.
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By tagging Nile perch across a range of habitats I will (a) characterize patterns of growth, age, condition factor and diet of Nile perch between wetland and open-water habitats in Lake Nabugabo, and (b) quantify patterns of movement of juvenile Nile perch to determine whether ecological divergence between habitats is transient, ontogenetic, or represents distinct phenotypes within the population.
Habitat types to be sampled in this study
Forest edge, Hippograss, Miscathidium and Hippograss + waterlilies
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A tagged juvenile Nile perch |
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Education |
2010 |
M.Sc. Candidate, McGill University
Department of Biology.
Project Title: Fishing induced ecological change in Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda.
Supervisor: Dr. Lauren Chapman |
2008 |
B.Sc., Simon Fraser University
Double major in Biology and Humanities |
Photo (left): A local fisherman paddling out to check his gill nets on Nabugabo in the early morning |
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Past Research
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2009
Food web interactions of Pacific salmon in coastal aquatic ecosystems.
This research, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Wendy Palen at Simon Fraser University, aims to understand how energy originally fixed by plants (either terrestrial or aquatic) makes its way into food webs of interacting species that ultimately get consumed by juvenile Pacific salmon in coastal ecosystems. We use information about aquatic macro-invertebrate species present at different places in the watershed (small shady upland streams to large sunny rivers) to evaluate how resource availability changes down the watershed, and compare these patterns with samples of juvenile salmon diet composition and stable isotope concentrations.
Photo (left) : habitat mapping on the South Fork Eel River, California |
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| A male mangrove killifish - pure males of this species make up a small percentage of a primarily hermaphroditic population. |
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2008
Aggression and courtship behavior of the Mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus)
This project investigated intra- and inter-sexual competition and mating strategies in a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, the mangrove killifish. I conducted a number of behavioural experiments in the laboratory to study the influence of size and colour on the ability of the males of this species to outcompete conspecifics for resources and mating opportunities.
Supervisors: Dr. Isabelle M. Côté and Dr. Phillip P. Molloy |
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2007
The spread of invasive species on Burnaby Mountain
In this collaborative independent study we carried out an extensive survey of the vegetation on Burnaby Mountain, British Columbia, with a special focus on invasive species in the region. Results were compared with data from the 1970s to determine the degree to which invasive plant species have spread on Burnaby Mountain around the Simon Fraser University campus.
Collaborators: Iisak Andreller, Sean McGee, Adam Keizer and Emily Meuser Supervisor: Dr. Elizabeth Elle |
2006
Foraging strategies of blood feeding mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae)
Designed and conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the roles of resource availability and state dependence on the foraging strategy of the blood feeding mosquito, Anopheles gambiae.
Supervisors: Dr. Bernard Roitberg and Dr. Brian O. Ma |
Manuscripts submitted
- Molloy, P. P., Nyboer, E. A., Côté, I. M. Male-male competition in a mixed mating fish. Submitted to Ethology. September 4, 2010. (MS# ETH-10-0223)
Teaching Experience
- September 2010 – present - McGill University. Teaching Assistant, Organismal Biology (BIOL 111)
- January – April 2010 - McGill University. Teaching Assistant, Cell and Molecular Biology (BIOL 112)
- January - April 2007 – Simon Fraser University. Teaching Assistant, Plant Ecology (BISC 404)
- 2002-2003 – Monkey Bay Private Secondary School, English and Biology
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Nile perch caught in morning beach seine
Checking the daily fyke net catch
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Kituti Landing -
we meet with the fishermen regularly to get their
input and ideas on our research |
Kaziru landing - one of the 3 major fish landings on Nabugabo.
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Andrew and I with a 53kg female Nile perch
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The massive gill rakers of a fully mature Nile perch |
Morning beach seine at Lake Nabugabo |
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Colin Chapman and I building an ethno-geographic map of Nabugabo |
Checking a gill net |
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Last update: Sept. 20, 2010 |
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