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Department of Biological Sciences

 

Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution

(of Fishes) Laboratory

 

 

Dr Culum Brown

I am primarily interested in fish biology with an emphasis on behavioural ecology. I frequently look to apply behavioural ecology research to fisheries or conservation management, including life-skills training for hatchery-reared fishes. My current research project examines the evolution and development of cerebral lateralisation in vertebrates using rainbowfish as a model species (Australian Research Fellowship sponsored by the ARC). I have a particular fascination for Australian native fish. I'm editor of "Fish Cognition and Behaviour" published in 2006 by Blackwell Scientific and Assistant Editor of "The Journal of Fish Biology".   Visit Culum's web-page for more details and list of publications.

 

Melanotaenia trifasciata (banded rainbowfish)

 

 

 

 

 Email: cbrown@bio.mq.edu.au

Current Lab Members:

Dr Amina Zuberi: Stress hormones in fishes
David Wells: Brush turkey mate choice
Joanna Wiszniewski: Social networks in dolphins
Anne-Laurance Bibost: Laterality in rainbowfish
Anne-Katrin Link: Effect of storm surges on costal fish communities
Andrew Bruce: Macquarie perch behavioural ecology
Gemma White: Spatial learning in intertidal gobies
Erin Kydd: Pre-release training of hatchery-reared fishes
Jennie Morgan: Interactions between introduced redfin and Macquarie perch
Suzzi Artiss: Brain and behaviour of Australian rainbowfish
Vincent Roult: Social learning mullaway
Heather Baldwin: Relatedness and social behaviour in Grey Headed Flying Foxes
 
Past Lab Members:
Kevin Woo: Cognition and behaviour of cuttlefish
Eduardo Gallo: Bird communities on the Central Coast of NSW
Diana Magat: Cerebral lateralization in Australian parrots
Krystle Keller: Effect of introduced fish on native fish
Steph Snoyman: Micro-habitat choice in grey-headed flying fox
Jasmina Muhic: Behavioural responses of grey-headed flying fox to temperature variability
Research Opportunities:
Enquire about potential projects available in the lab
 
 
POST DOCS
 
 
Amina is an Endeavour Fellow visiting us from Pakistan. She has a history of working on stress and sex hormones in fishes both back at home and in the United States. In the present project we are examining the stress responses in captive-reared and wild fishes in a bid to elucidate the maladaptive selective forces operating in hatcheries and their impacts on the post-release survival of hatchery-reared fishes.
 
 
 
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PhD STUDENTS
 
 
David Wells
David enrolled in his PhD in 2007 and is investigating breeding behaviour in brush turkeys. He is primarily interested in mate choice and will use a combination of remote behavioural observations of individuals at the male’s mounds via video camera and molecular techniques to identify paternity and maternity in turkeys. Turkeys are becoming increasingly common in the Sydney metropolitan area.
 

 
A male brush-turkey tending his mound.
 

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Jo is investigating the social structure of bottlenose dolphins in Port Stephens NSW. This will involve identifying spatial and temporal patterns of associations within and between sexes and assessing the relationship between reproductive strategies and reproductive success in males.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Lateralisation refers to the partitioning of information processing between the two hemispheres of the brain and is overtly expressed in a number of behavioural traits include eye or hand preferences. Anne is investigating many aspects of lateralisation using Australian rainbowfish as a model species. In particular she is interested in understanding the fitness benefits associated with the trait.
 
 
 
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Erin is interested in improving the post-release survival of hatchery reared fishes by examining the use of environmental enrichment paradigms.
 
 
 
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In my PhD I will apply spatially-explicit individual based models to investigate the impacts of climate change on the persistence of coastal fish populations. I will investigate critical fish habitat in a changing climate, and explore sustainable, adaptive conservation management and monitoring measures.
 
 
 
 
 
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MASTERS STUDENTS
 
Andrew Bruce
Andrew enrolled in his Masters degree in 2007 and is investigating the biology of the Macquarie Perch. Macquarie perch are listed as endangered and are confined to the Murray-Darling drainage as well as limited number of drainages on the south-east coast of NSW. Little is known about its life-history or habitat preferences. The knowledge generated from this project will feed directly into management of the species.
 
 

 Electrofishing for Maccas in the Little River
 
 
 

 
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 Gemma is working on spatial learning in intertidal gobies. Ecological cognition theory suggests that those species occupying rocky platforms need a well developed spatial memory to safely move around the rock platform and find their home rock pool at low tide. Those species living in the mundane sandy beaches, on the other hand, need only move up and down as the tide comes in or retreats. The results of this study help us understand the evolution of cognition in vertebrates.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vince is studying social learning in Mullaway. More specifically he is interested in the interaction between personality traits and the transfer of social information through groups of animals. In many social groups, decisions appear to be made by just a few individuals and the rest follow. Here we examine the likelihood that these group leaders are bolder than the followers using schools of marine fish.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I am investigating the relationship between genetic relatedness and social interactions in grey-headed flying-fox colonies. I will examine patterns of

relatedness both within camps, to determine whether related individuals tendto roost in close proximity, and whether core colony members are more

closely related than nomadic individuals. I will also examine relatednessbetween camps and patterns of dispersal and philopatry, particularly whether

dispersal is sex-biased. The knowledge gained through this research may contribute to management decisions on the conservation of this vulnerable

keystone species, as well as provide insight into kin selection, cooperation, and conflict.

 
 
 
 
 
 Unlike the brains of most vertebrates, fish brains remain relatively plastic right throughout ontogeny thus making them ideal subjects for the study of neurogenisis and cognition. A variety of animals that are reared in enriched environments show enhanced rates of neuronal growth in their brains which appears to have a number of behavioural and cognitive correlates. For example, rainbow trout reared in hatcheries (very boring environment) have a number of deficits in gross brain morphology compared to wild fish which may explain their unusual behaviour and poor survival rates when they are released into the wild. This project investigates the link between rearing environment, brain morphology and cognition in rainbowfish. Specifically we are interested to know if living in enriched environments effects brain morphology and, ultimately, rates of learning.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My research project is on the behavioural interactions between the introduced plague minnow, Gambusia holbrooki and the native ornate rainbowfish, Rhadinocentrus ornatus. R. ornatus is a threatened small freshwater fish with a limited and patchy distribution on the east coast of and shares much of its habitat with Gambusia. Gambusia is an aggressive pest fish, which was introduced to Australia in the 1920’s as part of a mosquito control program and is implicated in the decline of several native species. My study examines the effects Gambusia has on different populations of R. ornatus occurring in areas with low, medium and high densities of Gambusia and determine if these populations willdisplay niche shifts in relation to depth preferences when in contact with Gambusia, to establish how relatively naïve populations of R. ornatus will cope with invasions of Gambusia.
 
 
 
 
 

 

Current Lab Members:
Dr Amina Zuberi: Hormone analysis in fishes
David Wells: Brush turkey mate choice
Joanna Wiszniewski: Social networks in dolphins
Anne-Laurance Bibost: Laterality in rainbowfish
Anne-Katrin Link: Effect of storm surges on costal fish communities
Andrew Bruce: Macquarie perch behavioural ecology
Eduardo Gallo: Bird communities on the Central Coast of NSW
Erin Kydd: Reintroduction of hatchery reared fishes
Gemma White: Spatial learning in intertidal gobies
Vincent Roult: Social learning mullaway
Heather Baldwin: Relatedness and social behaviour in Grey Headed Flying Foxes
Jennie Morgan: Interactions between introduced redfin and Macquarie perch
Suzzi Artiss: Brain and behaviour of Australian rainbowfish
 
Previous Lab Members:
Dr Kevin Woo: Cognition and behaviour of cuttlefish
Steph Snoyman: Micro-habitat choice in grey-headed flying fox
Diana Magat: Cerebral lateralization in Australian parrots
Krystle Keller: Effect of introduced fish on native fish
Steph Snoyman: Micro-habitat choice in grey-headed flying fox