There are several possible projects for interested 4th year students. I list the top 10, which are suitable either as thesis topics (61.4908 and 61.4906) or Independent Studies (61.4901), in which case this is noted. See research and publications for more information on each area of investigation.
- Examine whether larval mites show host discrimination for mite species where hosts species are near equal versus quite different in availability.
- Assessing the degree to which landscape structure influences parasitism rates of model invertebrates.
- Assessing whether brood loss in amphipods is partly explained by infection status.
- Survey of amphipod species at sites in the Bay of Fundy as part of a larger study to determine parasitism rates by microsporidians.
- Assessing the degree to which differential use of host species and parasite success (or fitness) on those hosts is linked and whether exceptions to Harrison’s rule occur when host species availability is uneven.
- Partake in a study to see in male and female cormorants differ in the types of parasites they have, indicative of wintering in different areas.
- Exploring the occurrence and adaptive significance, if any, of pseudooviposition by male dragonflies (or is it parasite manipulation?).
- Examining the evidence for sex biases in parasitism for hosts sampled during their breeding seasons versus not.
- Assessing whether ephemeral ponds show much more overlap in emergence of dragonflies and damselflies than do nearby permanent ponds.
- Determining whether immunity and morph type are linked in damselflies.
If you are interested in any of these projects, you need to contact me. I will ask that you prepare a short annotated bibliography on the project(s) that most interest you.