Research in environmental physiology explores how cells and physiological systems respond to changes in their environment. The environmental physiologists in the Department of Biology study a broad range of topics in a variety of vertebrate (mammals, fish, birds) and invertebrate (insects, crustaceans, worms) animals. Our studies take advantage of a diverse array of cutting-edge techniques, such as in vivo physiological recording, patch-clamp analysis, scanning ion-selective microelectrode technique (SIET), cell and tissue culture, confocal immunofluorescence analysis, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Work in the laboratory is complemented by field research in a diversity of locations, including the Queens University Biological Station in Ontario, the Bamfield Marine Station in British Columbia, Mongolia, China, the Andean Mountains of Peru, the Rift Valley of Africa, and the Brazilian Amazon. Motivated students and post-doctoral fellows can expect an exciting, highly interactive, and intellectually stimulating environment for research.
The Little Lab explores physiological mechanisms to understand the eco-evolutionary costs of change. Many animals can remodel their physiology within their lifetimes to compensate for changing environments. This plasticity represents the best defense animals have against climate change, but potential costs and trade-offs have been difficult to identify. The Little Lab uses an integrative approach to uncover proximate mechanisms for plasticity, allowing us to make and test predictions about its contextual costs.
Environmental Physiology
