UROP Project

zoology

Research Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Hughes, she
Department, College, Affiliation: Biological Science, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: kahughes@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Biological Science, Scientific Computing
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

We are interested in why organisms are so genetically diverse. We examine this question using one of the best-studied species for understanding the maintenance of genetic diversity, the Trinidad guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Individual guppies vary greatly in many traits, but one of the most obvious is male body color. In previous research, we found that males with rare or novel color patterns are favored by natural selection, a process that tends to maintain high genetic variation. As the result of a long-term experiment, we have a large collection of digital images of guppy coloration. UROP students will have the opportunity to assist in digitizing those images and, ultimately, analyzing that data to rigorously test the hypothesis that selection favoring rare color patterns is responsible for maintaining high genetic diversity in this species.

Research Tasks: data collections (digitize images of fish coloration)
data analysis (use computational tools to analyze animal color data)


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: familiarity with personal computers
ability to focus on small details for long periods
good hand-eye coordination