MSc thesis opportunity at AFI & EZO: Functional morphology of an aquatic invader

With this MSc thesis project we want to find out whether a known invasive fish species, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus or zwartbekgrondel in Dutch), adjusts to the novel environments it encounters. Round goby encounter different food types during their invasion, at varying abundance and with diverse competitors: this could trigger adjustments in their functional feeding traits that allows them to establish at these new locations. We will compare the functional morphology of different populations of round goby to see if they indeed adjust to local conditions, or that their ‘normal’ generalist feeding morphology is sufficient to allow invasion of a wide range of ecosystems. The outcomes of this study will eventually aid risk assessment  and other management tools of biological invasions.

During this project at the Aquaculture & Fisheries and Experimental Zoology chair groups, you will perform functional morphological measurements on round gobies from populations across Europe and North-America, and compare the populations using existing statistical methods. Furthermore, we will combine these measurements with a phylogeny to determine whether a genetic basis exists behind found differences in feeding traits. We strive to get the final results published in a scientific journal.

Read more about: MSs thesis - Functional feeding traits of invasive fish