Risk of predation as a promoting factor of species divergence in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.)

Sequencing the genome of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Character displacement of male nuptial colour in threespine sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus )

Character displacement in signalling traits occurs when differences between species are greater in sympatry than where either species occurs alone. Finding character displacement in a signalling trait suggests that the trait has diverged as a result of interspecific interactions such as competition, aggression, predation, or reproductive interference. We tested for character displacement of mal...

Maternal Experience with Predation Risk Influences Genome-Wide Embryonic Gene Expression in Threespined Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

There is growing evidence for nongenetic effects of maternal experience on offspring. For example, previous studies have shown that female threespined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) exposed to predation risk produce offspring with altered behavior, metabolism and stress physiology. Here, we investigate the effect of maternal exposure to predation risk on the embryonic transcriptome i...

Water temperature, not fish morph, determines parasite infections of sympatric Icelandic threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Parasite communities of fishes are known to respond directly to the abiotic environment of the host, for example, to water quality and water temperature. Biotic factors are also important as they affect the exposure profile through heterogeneities in parasite distribution in the environment. Parasites in a particular environment may pose a strong selection on fish. For example, ecological diffe...

Conspicuous Female Ornamentation and Tests of Male Mate Preference in Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male t...