Behavioral  Ecology of Zebrafish
Zebrafish  have become one of the premier model  systems for developmental biology and neurobiology, but very little is currently  known about their behavior and ecology.  As an example, some researchers claim that these fish travel in schools or shoals, but casual observations of their behavior in tanks would belie that claim.  Thus there exists a tremendous opportunity to fill in some major gaps in understanding the behavior of an animal that has been the focus of intensive investigations in other areas.  Students in my laboratory have done research in the optomotor response, fear response and feeding behavior, in an attempt to improve existing screens for behavioral mutants.
 
 
 A wild-type zebrafish above a leopard mutant, with another wild-type swimming into the field of view from below
A leopard zebrafish showing off for the camera

The current work in my lab is in the area of behavioral ecology.  My students are attempting to understand the development of affiliative behavior over the course of an individual's lifetime.  The basic experiment involves raising wild-type and leopard zebrafish in varying ratios in a tank, and asking whether preferences for either one or the other phenotype develop in relation to their relative frequency within the tank.  One could imagine that a leopard fish raised in a tank dominated by wild-type fish might prefer to associate with wild-type fish.  Alternatively, it may prefer an unfamiliar phenotype.  This may be particularly true in the case of mate choice.  Outbreeding may favor fish that prefer to mate with a minority phenotype, or alternatively, there may be selection for phenotype matching.  Resolution of some of these issues should be forthcoming in the next few months.

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