Getting to conduct field research in Portugal has been a highlight of Paige Au\u2019s time at Brock.<\/p>\n
The third-year Biological Sciences student spent three months in Portugal studying the Iberian lynx, a mid-sized wild cat native to Portugal and Spain that is classified as being an endangered species.<\/p>\n
Raahavi Ramathesun, a Biochemistry graduand, dove into undergraduate research through her work on the Trinidadian guppy, a tiny, freshwater fish that lives in streams in Trinidad.<\/p>\n
Au and Ramathesun are two of many Brock undergraduate students pursuing research in areas that have captured their interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndependent research projects during your undergrad provide excellent opportunities to synthesize and apply what you have learned in the classroom to real-world experiments,\u201d says Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Kiyoko Gotanda, who supervised both Au and Ramathesun\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese experiences form the essence of science as students engage in all aspects of the scientific process,\u201d she says. \u201cUndergraduate research opportunities that I experienced sparked my interests in ecology and animal behaviour and were instrumental in my decision to pursue a career in research and academia.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ramathesun, a research career wasn\u2019t on her mind when she first started her degree in Biochemistry. In her third year, she decided to focus on evolution in her honours thesis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked at all the research at Brock and found Dr. Gotanda\u2019s work very interesting,\u201d she says. \u201cI contacted Dr. Gotanda, who introduced the different research I could do and Trinidadian guppies stood out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramathesun\u2019s undergraduate thesis involved continuing Gotanda\u2019s research on whether different populations of male guppies change colour the same way in the presence of predators.<\/p>\n
After examining data Gotanda gathered in previous experiments, Ramathesun found that the guppies didn\u2019t have a similar change in colour among different populations in response to predators.<\/p>\n
She and Au presented their research at the undergraduate student conference Ontario Biology Day<\/a>, held Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24 at Toronto Metropolitan University.<\/p>\n \u201cTake any opportunity you can to learn through research,\u201d she advises. \u201cShare your experiences because that\u2019s how you learn as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Ramathesun says she\u2019s considering a career in academia thanks to the many research topics she was introduced to through the conference and her research with Gotanda.<\/p>\n Au has long been passionate about conserving wildlife. She says she realized she could best improve ongoing conservation efforts by conducting research in the field and approached Gotanda for advice.<\/p>\n