i BRAKE for Gasterosteus aculeatus

My study species is Gasterosteus aculeatus -- more commonly known as the threespine stickleback fish. While this fish is small in size (an average of 6 cm standard length), observing stickleback up close in their underwater habitats (marine harbors. sloughs, and lagoons or freshwater streams and lakes) reveals biologically relevant information regarding social behaviors, sensory systems, life history strategies, and antipredator morphology. On a more practical note, stickleback are amenable to laboratory conditions whether wild-caught or lab-reared -- they occupy little space and, under the appropriate conditions, readily perform many of the behaviors observed in the field. Although the ability to study stickleback under laboratory conditions has its perks (controlled abiotic and social environment, drier, fewer mosquitoes...), observing stickleback in the wild is an entertaining and rewarding experience both in terms of the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors and the ecologically/evolutionarily relevant data to be uncovered. My own interests in stickleback regards variation in mating behavior and reproductive tactics within and among populations -- more on this at a later date...

3 threespine facts:

• Threespine sticklebacks have three dorsal spines (hence the name "threespine sticklebacks") PLUS many populations also have two pelvic spines. All of these spines can be held erect or collapsed down flat against the body and are utilized in antipredator defense and to signal aggression between individuals.

• Threespine stickleback have a holarctic distribution (only two subspecies range south of northern North American, northern Asia, and northern Europe). They like the cold water -- which means snorkeling in a drysuit and several layers of warm clothing is usually a prerequisite to observe stickleback in their natural habitats.

• Anadromous stickleback include those populations that live in a marine environment the majority of their 1-3 year lives, only entering freshwater during the spring and summer to breed. Anadromous populations are very similar both behaviorally and morphologically across the Baltic, Atlantic and Pacific. Freshwater populations include those populations restricted to freshwater environments -- streams, rivers, lakes. These populations are most likely descendants of anadromous stock that became restricted to freshwater environments via changes in physiology and/or geographic barriers over long periods of time. In comparison to anadromous populations, behavioral repertoires, life histories, and morphologies vary greatly among freshwater populations -- so much so that biologists and taxonomists had described many freshwater populations as different subspecies until it was decided that the vast majority of stickleback populations were too closely related (in terms of time since geographic isolation) to rank as subspecies. Now the vast majority of threespine populations fall under the subspecies Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus.
  

more threespine facts, biology and musings to come...

The things I do when I should be working....

...say, on a very important proposal...

So the plan was to start a blog while I was out in the field during the spring and summer. This way I could stay in touch with my family, friends, and colleagues without spending an arm and a leg (or two) on phone calls and individual emails. Although I usually romanticize the idea of personalized postcards before I head into the wilderness ...and make egregious promises to everyone I know that it will be done...AND buy special non-smudge pens to make sure my lefty tendencies don't ruin the only copy of the perfect postcard for my friend Kate -- I usually procrastinate so long that I return home in time to read them out loud personally to my friends or family members. Plus, my cat really doesn't need to receive a postcard from me but I feel guilty if the activity is not all-inclusive. I figure with freely accessible postings, I can hear from my friends, family, and colleagues and they can hear about my daily mosquito bite counts and leaky drysuit trials and tribulations. I also hope this will serve as forum for others to tell me about their experience in the field, give me some feedback or help me resolve the typical hangups that occur when you try to impose your carefully typed methods section onto a real world situation. Perhaps I can impart a few tiny chunks of wisdom here or there regarding questions about your own field work -- so ask away.

I was a little hesitant about starting a blog. I never have time to read them myself. I doubt anyone I know will have time to read mine. I do hope to fill it with enough pictures to keep it entertaining. And I do hope to have internet access frequently enough to keep it updated while I am far away from any urban center :/

Of course, the big question is what will I post until my field season begins? That's a good question I asked myself... I do have until May 2009. Then the follow-up question I asked myself is why start writing now? Well (1) it takes a lot of preparation to squeeze what could easily be a couple of summers worth of work into a few months and (2) the fresh air and diet of peanut butter, pirates booty and rice I encounter only a few months of the year leaves me pretty strung-out and tired so I figure I would be more apt to keep this up if I make it a habit now...