{"id":109437,"date":"2026-04-30T16:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=109437"},"modified":"2026-05-04T09:49:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:49:43","slug":"from-alaska-to-the-galapagos-award-winning-prof-explores-human-impact-on-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/04\/from-alaska-to-the-galapagos-award-winning-prof-explores-human-impact-on-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"From Alaska to the Galapagos: Award-winning prof explores human impact on wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feeding local wildlife might seem harmless, but Kiyoko Gotando\u2019s research shows small everyday actions can have profound ecological impacts.<\/p>\n

While conducting research in the Galapagos Islands, the Brock University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences observed that Darwin’s finches seemed to prefer eating human foods rather than those they have evolved to consume.<\/p>\n

Gotanda and her team designed a unique method of collecting fecal samples to investigate the impacts of this new diet on the birds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that the human foods change the Darwin’s finches\u2019 gut microbiome which could influence their immune function and ability to defend against parasites, among other things,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The project is part of Gotanda\u2019s laboratory<\/a>, which studies how organisms evolve in natural ecosystems and urban environments, particularly when adapting to changes brought about by humans.<\/p>\n

That work has earned her Brock University\u2019s 2026 Early Career Research and Creative Activity Award<\/a> (ECRCA).<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Gotanda is one of the strongest emerging researchers and leaders in the field of ecology, evolution, behaviour and conservation in Canada,\u201d says Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. \u201cAs humans continue to encroach upon the natural environment, Dr. Gotanda\u2019s local and global work contributes critical knowledge that can guide us to better manage our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gotanda, who joined Brock in 2021, specializes in studying Darwin finches, Trinidadian guppies and three-spine stickleback, a type of fish found across the Northern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

While Trinidadian guppies have colour patterns in their natural environment, she says some breeders in the aquarium industry aim to encourage more exaggerated colour patterns and fins.<\/p>\n

According to Gotanda, this artificial breeding, or \u201cdomestication,\u201d can cause other physical and behavioural traits that are not directly selected for to evolve changing the natural guppy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people move or\u00a0are not interested in their pet guppies anymore,\u00a0they’ll\u00a0release the guppies into the wild so that the domesticated guppies become an invasive species,\u201d she says. \u201cWe know they have an ecological impact, but we\u00a0don’t\u00a0know very much about the details.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gotanda says her guppy research can shed light on if and how domesticated species \u201cde-evolve\u201d from the traits they were selected for and how species introduced into a new environment interact with organisms in the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

In parts of Alaska, for example, the invasive northern pike was threatening native fish.<\/p>\n

In response, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game cleared nine lakes of all fish and worked with the Alaska Stickleback Restoration Project<\/a> to restock the lakes with the native three spine stickleback.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s scientists are using the opportunity to study how the re-introduced stickleback adapt to their new environment over time, with Gotanda co-leading a team examining their behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonitoring animal behaviour following ecological restorations can help us understand if the restoration was successful or not and will help inform future restoration efforts,\u201d she says. \u201cBehaviour is an important trait tied to survival and reproduction and can be an indicator of if and how organisms adapt to new environments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gotanda says the study of evolutionary biology and urbanization goes beyond exploring the deleterious impacts humans have on the natural environment, as some species do better in urban areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it’s about paying attention to what we’re doing and getting out of our own bubble and thinking about the organisms around us,\u201d she says. \u201cFor this to be successful, we need to understand how organisms are, or are not, adapting to human influences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other highlights of Gotanda\u2019s recent research and creative activity include:<\/p>\n