I am always excited to hear from bright, motivated students or postdocs interested in behavioral physiology, evolutionary biology, or neurogenomics. Our lab primarily investigates physiological adaptations to metabolically demanding activities such as reproduction, aggression, and territoriality. We are also interested in how sexual selection drives diversification of male coloration in East African cichlid fish.
If you're interested in developing a graduate or postdoctoral proposal to join our team (particularly through external fellowships or co-mentored opportunities), please do not hesitate to reach out.
Graduate students:
My lab at Central Michigan University is actively seeking motivated graduate students to join our team. We investigate stress resilience and behavioral biases using cichlid fish as a model.
While it’s late in the admissions cycle, we recognize that many talented students are still looking for the right fit. If you're passionate about behavioral neuroscience, animal behavior, stress biology, or evolution, we welcome your inquiry.
Interested prospective students should contact Dr. Peter Dijkstra with (i) a statement of interest detailing how you might fit in the lab, (ii) CV, (iii) transcripts (unofficial is sufficient), and v) contact information of 3 references. Please compile as a single pdf. You can also contact Peter Dijkstra for questions about the lab and the positions.: dijks1p(at)cmich(dot)edu
Undergraduate students:
We welcome motivated undergraduate students who want to volunteer in our lab and gain valuable research experience. Undergraduate students perform various tasks, including fish maintenance, behavioral analysis, data analysis, and lab work (microscopy, hormone measurements, etc.). Don't hesitate to drop me an email or come see me in my office to discuss research opportunities in our lab (Biosciences Building 4105).
Undergraduate students are actively involved in our research and often contribute to scientific papers as co-author! Below are some examples of this. Undergraduate students are indicated in bold.
Funnell, T., Fialkowski, R. & Dijkstra, P.D. Social dominance does not increase oxidative stress in a female dominance hierarchy of an African cichlid fish. Ethology 128: 15-22 link
Piefke, T., Bonnell, T.R., DeOliveira, G., Border, S.E. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2021. Social network stability is impacted by removing a dominant male in replicate dominance hierarchies of a cichlid fish. Animal Behaviour 175: 7-20 link
Fialkowski, R., Aufdemberge, P, Wright, V.D. & Dijkstra, P.D. Radical change: 2021. Radical change: temporal patterns of oxidative stress during social ascent in a dominance hierarchy. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75, Article number: 43 link
Sawecki, J., Miros, E., Border, S.E. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2019. Reproduction and maternal care increase oxidative stress in a mouthbrooding cichlid. Behavioral Ecology 30: 1662-1671 link
Border, S.E., Piefke, T., Fialkowski, R., Tryc, M., Funnell, T., DeOliveira, G. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2019. Color change and pigmentation in a color polymorphic cichlid fish. Hydrobiologia 832:175-191 link