Welcome to the Dijkstra lab at Central Michigan University!

We study how social competition and oxidative stress shape brain function, stress resilience, and evolutionary processes. Using African cichlid fish as our primary model system, we combine behavioral, physiological, and neurogenomic approaches to study how animals cope with the metabolic challenges of territoriality and reproduction.

Research spotlight: 

• Social stress and the brain (media coverage) - how dominance interactions influence brain oxidative stress. 

• Sexual selection and male coloration - mate choice and male-male competition drive plasticity in a sexual signal.

• Why do mothers eat their babies? (media coverage) - managing the metabolic stress of mouthbrooding, and our follow-up study.

recent lab News

• December 2025 - Abigail Medler joins the lab as a Masters student! Abby graduated from Saginaw Valley State University. She will study stress resilience and behavioral decision making in cichlid fish.

• December 2025 - Peter gives seminars at KU Leuven (Belgium), Wageningen University (The Netherlands), and University of Basel (Switzerland). Beyond presenting our work, these visits were a great opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about exciting ongoing research in the labs of Hugo Gante (Leuven), Alexander Kotrschal (Wageningen), and Walter Salzburger (Basel).

• November 2025 - Peter visits the Seehausen lab in Bern (Switzerland) to discuss our NSF project on the genetic basis of aggression biases in Lake Victoria cichlid fish. 

• November 2025 - Peter gives a departmental seminar at Case Western Reserve University.  Thanks to Dr. Ron (RG) Oldfield, the graduate students (Tyler, Olivia, Ethan, Farjana) were actively involved in this visit and contributed to two guest lectures! While in Ohio, Peter also gave an invited seminar at the Ohio Cichlid Association, making the visit especially productive by combining science, education, and outreach! 

• October 2025 - Peter gives a departmental seminar at Hope College (Holland, MI), hosted by Dr. Jimena Golcher-Benavides. He also enjoyed conversations with students and faculty and learning about the college’s Dutch history.

• September 2025 - Lab receives a 5-year NSF grant! Our lab will lead this $1.8M collaborative NSF grant on the genetic, developmental, and neurogenomic basis of aggression biases in cichlid fish. This is a collaborative grant with three PIs (Peter Dijkstra [lead], Hans Hofmann, Ryan Wong). International partners include Dr. Ole Seehausen in Switzerland and Dr. Mary Kishe in Tanzania, linking research teams across three continents. (Grant summary and Media highlight) 

Link to news archive