Celebrating the 2023 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award Winners

Congratulations to Giselle Dove, the recipient of the 2023 Shaughn and Sharon Clements Independent Study Award!

ISS Thesis: Cone photoreceptor patterning and opsin expression in the retina of sablefish

It has been an inspiring experience to explore a new avenue of research that I had not considered at the beginning of my undergraduate degree. Dr. Iñigo Novales Flamarique introduced me to the spatial analysis of sablefish retinas during my ISS, and my fascination for the subject has led me to pursue a master’s in this area. I am grateful to Iñigo and to the many professors and students who encouraged and assisted my research along the way.

- Giselle
 

Congratulations to Charlotte Pinard, the recipient of a 2023 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award

Research Topics:

• Repellent microbes of stable flies and blacklegged ticks

• Stable fly and horn fly attraction to gases

• Effects of bait characteristics and dose on mortality of European fire ants

• Blacklegged tick avoidance of ant semiochemicals

• Stable fly, mosquito, and tick attraction to a secret cue

In the summer of 2022, I was hired as a research assistant for two graduate students in the Gries lab. Working full time in a lab bustling with innovation, I was given the opportunity to experience a variety of study organisms, such as stable flies, horn flies, and ticks. One of our research projects focused on testing multiple potentially repellent microbes of stable flies and ticks. We also tested the attraction of stable flies and horn flies to a combination of gases, as well as a secret cue. Being able to follow a project as it evolved truly showed me what it means to research. Through the ups and downs: troubleshooting, rethinking, redoing... to the moment of eureka! As the summer ended, I knew that I wanted to continue in research, so I enrolled in a BISC 497W course with the Gries lab.

My new study organism was the invasive European fire ant. With graduate students having previously developed an effective toxic ant bait, delivered in the form of a liquid, the question was asked whether it would be as effective in a consumer-friendly gel matrix, and how the concentration of the killing agent affects mortality. Through this project, I improved my existing skills and learned a number of new ones, including developing methodology, data analysis in R, and writing and revising a scientific manuscript.

The following semester, I returned to the Gries lab as a BISC 498 student, focusing on ant semiochemicals as repellents to blacklegged ticks. Seeing as ants use many volatile compounds, it was believed that ticks may eavesdrop on their communication signals to avoid predation. Through research, we found that synthetic glandular extracts repel blacklegged ticks. This presents an alternative to the use of environmentally damaging pesticides for the control of ticks. Through this project, I continued to improve my skills, and learn new ones, like microdissection!

Over the past summer, I was fortunate enough to receive an NSERC-USRA to continue my work in the Gries lab. The fly team graciously took me back into the embrace of their six arms. I was able to continue testing gas combinations on stable flies and horn flies. This research was done first at an individual fly level, but eventually moved on to a greenhouse setting, and finally into the field where I met some cows. Halfway into the summer, I began dissecting stable flies in order to identify the receptor of a secret cue. Once we identified the receptor, I said ‘smell you later’ to the fly team and began work on mosquitoes and ticks. Excitingly, we were able to identify the receptors in mosquitoes and ticks as well!

Insects are fascinating, and I encourage students to take part in studying them. However, if buggery is not for you, there are many non-bug labs at SFU. Working alongside graduate students has been the most fulfilling part of my degree.
-Charlotte
 

Congratulations to Alexandra Gregg, the recipient of a 2023 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award

Research Topic:

• Quantifying Multiple Axes of Niche Specialism in Canadian Butterflies Across Species and Space 

During the Fall of 2021, I had the privilege of volunteering with Dr. Jayme Lewthwaite, aiding in digitizing her photo collections from the Smithsonian Museum. This experience sparked my fascination in butterfly evolution, leading me to collect trait data and screen field guides for Dr. Lewthwaite's research. This work led to me receiving the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) in the summer of 2022. Under the guidance of the Ries Lab of Butterfly Informatics based in Georgetown University, I contributed to the creation and verification of a comprehensive database for global butterfly life-history traits. This work was published through LepTraits v.1.0, the world's first open-access butterfly life history trait database. Building on this research experience, I became a regional expert with the citizen science platform eButterfly, dedicating numerous hours to confirming species identifications for permanent collection in the Toronto Atlas of Lepidoptera with fellow Canadian butterfly enthusiasts.

Continuing my research journey, I worked with Dr. Arne Mooers on a BISC 498 independent research project. This project challenged the existing central dogma of specialist and generalist distinctions in North American butterflies, revealing that specialism in Canadian butterflies exists along three independent axes of climate, hostplant, and habitat. The findings of this study highlight the complexity of ecological relationships within butterfly populations.

I was then honored with a second NSERC USRA. Under the expert guidance of Dr. Arne Mooers, I embarked on a comprehensive study investigating the historical impact of urbanization on the ranges of Canadian specialist butterflies, utilizing invaluable data curated by Dr. Jayme Lewthwaite. Currently, I am combining all of this past research into a final 499 independent research project, where I will co-author a paper with Dr. Arne Mooers, Dr. Jayme Lewthwaite, and Alexa Gemby regarding the distributions of specialist butterflies in Canada.
- Alexandra
 

Congratulations to Sophie Hennig, recipient of a 2023 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award

Research Topics:

• Investigating the Effects of Border and Striped Contrast Patterns on the Visual Attraction of the Stable Fly, Stomoxys calcitrans

• Effects of Light Intensity, Wavelength, and Polarization on Attraction of Stable Flies, Stomoxys calcitrans

• Effect of ‘Fly Factor’ Microbe-Derived Odor On Stable Fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, Oviposition

I wanted to be a part of a research project when I found out there were research positions available to undergraduates. After looking at openings listed on SFU’s webpage, I began volunteering in the Gries lab helping to analyze video data investigating stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, host seeking and mate recognition cues. I continued working on this project through the completion of a BISC 497W and later an independent study semester (ISS) under the supervision of Dr. Gerhard Gries and Emmanuel Hung (PhD candidate). More recently, I have been testing stable fly oviposition responses to microbe-derived olfactory cues.

During my first research course (BISC 497W), I investigated whether the presence of contrasting visual patterns is attractive to host-seeking stable flies. Specifically, these patterns contrasted in either their degree of linear polarisation or their intensity. Since I really enjoyed this course, I spent my last semesters at SFU doing an ISS where I helped investigate the respective roles played by all possible visual aspects (polarisation, wavelength, and intensity) in attracting the flies.

Since graduating, I have been investigating stable fly oviposition responses to interspecific olfactory cues. Specifically, I am testing whether the isolated microbes present in heterospecific faeces are attractive or repellent to ovipositing stable flies.
I think taking research courses are definitely worth it! Not only is research itself interesting, but I found my writing abilities and public speaking skills greatly improved due to papers I had to write and the conferences I was able to present at. Ultimately, these are skills that will remain useful in the future.
-Sophie