Research Projects

The Leonard lab has several focuses that all interact.  We are interested in life history variation, particularly within populations, and the environmental determinants of this variation.  We are exploring the determinants behind migration of fishes and other movement paradigms. We are also interested in the effects of environmental change, including climate change, seasonality, and human impacts. For this work, the long winters of the U.P. are an important player as we try to understand how winter biology intersects with organismal biology and environmental change. And we are very interested in cool and coldwater aquatic vertebrates, perhaps with a bit of a bias toward native species, although we appreciate all the community members.  

One major research program in our group seeks to better understand the ecology of burbot (Lota lota), a unusual native species in the Great Lakes. We have developed a system where we can collect gametes from wild fish, fertilize them, and rear them through early life history stages. This work is particularly interesting because much of the life history variability seen in adult burbot is linked to spawning areas. We also know that much of the selection on burbot happens on their very small (for a freshwater fish), pelagic larvae which drift as plankton. Current work is evaluating parameters important the larval burbot success.

The lab also has an ongoing project with the Presque Isle blue spotted salamanders. This includes a service project with a local population at Presque Isle Park as well as lab and field based research with these salamanders, trying to understand their basic ecology! Areas of interest include overwintering ecology, using photographic techniques to study their behavioral ecology, and better understanding their migratory patterns. Check it out on our Presque Isle Salamander Page linked in the menu!

Common approaches in the lab include RFID/PIT telemetry, thermal physiology, photographic estimation, swimming and non-swimming respirometry, geometric morphometrics, behavioral exposure chambers, and endocrinology, and lots of good old fashioned fishing.