Fish conference a great opportunity for student researchers

A conference being held in Windsor for the first time ever will provide an excellent chance for young researchers studying the ecology and behaviour of fish to meet some of the top scientists in their field, according to one if its organizers.

The Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes conference, June 17 to 21, will bring together researchers from across Canada and across the world to discuss their work.

“It’s really going to be a great conference,” said biology professor Lynda Corkum, one of the event’s key organizers. “It’s going to be a terrific opportunity for students. It will really enhance their research opportunities.”

Among the themes the four-day conference will address are:

  • pheromones, sensory ecology and the behaviour of fish;
  • non-indigenous fish;
  • global freshwater resources and ecosystem health; and
  • genetic quality and the conservation of fish.

One of the keynote speakers scheduled to appear is UWindsor biology professor Trevor Pitcher, who will speak about his efforts to replicate in the lab the natural mate selection process that fish use in order to support restocking efforts by creating genetically superior fish.

Also on the slate is Weiming Li, a Michigan State University professor who studies how pheromones—chemicals that fish excrete to attract members of the opposite sex—operate in sea lampreys, an invasive species which have been responsible for wiping out large numbers of domestic fish in the Great Lakes.

The conference will also include two workshops that will be open to the public that will focus on analyzing fish behaviour and how to track movements of fish.

For more information on these workshops, or anything related to the conference, contact Lynda Corkum at corkum@uwindsor.ca or at 519-253-3000, ext. 2717.

Dr. Corkum will appear today on Research Matters, a weekly talk show that focuses on the work of University of Windsor researchers and airs every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on CJAM 99.1 FM.