People

Sigal's research interests are centered on evolutionary behavioural ecology with a special focus on sociality, breeding system evolution and anthropogenic impacts on behaviour. Sigal received her B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Toronto, a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and conducted post-doctoral research at Tel Aviv University, the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology in Vienna and the University of East Anglia in Norwich.  Sigal joined the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour in 2000 and was granted tenure in 2006 and full professor status in 2011. She is also an associate member of the Department of Biology at McMaster University and is a member of the Animal Behaviour Society and the International Society for Behavioural Ecology.

Hannah is interested in how anthropogenic environmental impacts affect the social dynamics and group stability of gregarious fish.  She received a BSc in Biology and a BA in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she worked with Dr. Todd Freeberg to study the effects of road noise on songbird foraging rates and calling behaviour. Her current research project investigates how social fish adapt to fluctuating versus stable turbidity.

Adrienne Joined ABEL in September 2016.   Her PhD work will focus on the role of behaviour in the various stages of a species invasion. She is studying how behaviour can impacts invasion success, and can be most effectively used to inform management, assessment, and reproduction of invasive species.   Her research is based on the invasive round goby, in Hamilton Harbour, at the western end of Lake Ontario, and in tributaries leading into Lake Ontario.

Adrienne received her B.Sc. in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Guelph, where she worked with Dr. Beren Robinson testing direct and indirect effects of invasive spiny water flea on walleye. She also received her M.Sc. from the University of Guelph in Integrative Biology with Dr. Robert McLaughlin where she tested behavioural explanations for low trapping success of a parasitic invasive fish species, the sea lamprey.

Tang Tang just completed her undergrad degree in the Honours Biology and PNB program.  She joined ABEL initially working with Eli to examine how social ranks affect learning preferences and capacity in cichlids. Next she did her 4th year thesis on bat sibling rivalry and parent-offspring conflict.  Tang Tang is co-supervised by Dr. Paul Faure.  Her thesis project was so successful that she has decided to stay for a co-supervised MSc project which begins in the fall of 2025 on the same topic.  When she is not in the lab, Tang Tang enjoys going camping, holding bats, and trying to beat her record in the countries of the world quiz. 

Ainsley joined ABEL officially in September 2022 but spent part of last summer on Vancouver Island, in the field working with the ABEL BC Midshipman crew.  Ainsley's MSc research will focus  of female plainfin midshipman.  We know a great deal about males  in this species but Ainsley will be examining female decision  making  and investigate the factors that influence their mate selection and nest choices.  Ainsley received a BSc from the University of British Columbia in biology, where she completed an Honours Thesis with Dr. Jeffrey Richards and Dr. Tammy Rodela on how pre-exposure to ammonia effects zebrafish tolerance to subsequent exposure.  She also received a BEd from Simon Fraser University, specializing in secondary teaching.  In her free time she loves to hike and hang out with her dogs.

Eli is interested in animal learning and cognition, and will be working on social cognition in cichlids. He received his B.Sc. in Biology from Carleton University in Ottawa, where he completed an Honours thesis studying the behavioural effects of artificial light at night on Bluegill sunfish with Dr. Steve Cooke. His research will focus on differences in learning in various species of cichlids with various social structures and breeding strategies. Eli’s research will be co-supervised by Dr. Culum Brown from Macquirie University.

Reyad is in the first year of his masters.  He first joined ABEL in the summer of 2023 as a BIOLOGY 4F06 project student where he worked on round goby population monitoring project with PhD student, Sina Zarini.  He then completed his undergraduate thesis in the lab with a focus on the alternative reproductive tactics in round goby by working on experiments investigating the effects of sneaker presence on reproductive behaviour.  For his MSc research Reyad is examining parentage in the round goby. He is comparing paternity rates of guarder versus sneaker males based on microsatellite markers as well as studying how nest quality and density influence paternity rates.  Reyad is co-mentored by Dr. Bryan Neff from the University of Western.  Apart from academic work, Reyad enjoys cooking, geocaching, and going on hikes. 

Mackenzie is interested in fish communication and social interactions, and how anthropogenic noise can affect behaviour and reproduction. She is studying the impact of motorboat noise on plainfin midshipman fish, specifically how it influences mate attraction, parental care, and reproductive success. Mackenzie received her B.Sc. in Biology (Marine Biology concentration) from the University of Victoria, where she completed an Honours Thesis with Dr. Francis Juanes on the effects of boat noise on plainfin midshipman aggression and territoriality. Her M.Sc. is co-supervised by Dr. Juanes and she is stationed on the West Coast, where she carries out her field-based research.

Catalina is a fourth-year student in the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program who joined ABEL in January 2023 as a 2QQ3 project student and is now doing her 3QQ3 project in Fall 2023. Initially she worked with Eli Latchem on research involving social learning in cichlid fish, more specifically taking a look at how dominance rank influences this learning.  She returned to ABEL as a thesis student to examine how stress influences learning and memory in cichlids. Some fun facts about Catalina are that she is on the McMaster Varsity Figure Skating Team and recently published a poetry book.

Anna is a 4th year PNB and Arts&Science student. Initially when she joined ABEL in January 2023, she worked with PhD student Sina Zarini studying the round goby. As a 2QQ3 project student she studied the stomach contents of juvenile round goby. Over the 2023 summer she worked on a project to study the effects of food availability and predator detection on the vertical movement of juvenile round goby. She continued this project for a 4QQ3 over the fall of 2023.  Anna also worked as work study student who helps manages the lab.  In the summer of 2024 she was part of the France-Canada research collaboration and for her thesis worked with PhD student Chloe Souques.  Together with Chloe and the team, Anna examined demographic patterns along a Canadian invasion gradient.  Outside of the lab, Anna loves to dance, read, hike and swim.

Ethan is a third year student in the PNB program who joined the lab in January 2024. He worked on the juvenile round goby team with PhD student Sina Zarini. He helped score behavioral videos and used image J to quantify ontogenetic changes in morphology related to movement ecology and dispersal of the round goby. Outside of the lab, Ethan enjoys listening to music, playing basketball, and spending time with his girlfriend, friends, and family.

Andrew joined the lab  in January 2024 as a 2QQ3 project student. He is an undergrad student in the Biology and PNB program. Initially he worked with Ainsley Harrison Weiss to study female mate choice in the plainfin midshipman. Andrew returned to ABEL for his third year where he worked with Sina Zarini (on ontogenetic changes in morphology in the round goby) and with Eli Latchem and Catalina Costiuc (examining the impacts of stress on social learning) . This summer (2025) Andrew is a Mitac research intern working on our Canada-France collaborative grant adaptation and plasticity along invasion gradients.  In his free time Andrew enjoys reading, playing videogames, and playing tennis.   

Yana is a 2^nd year Honours Life Sciences student pursuing a minor in Psychology. She joined ABEL as a Lifesci 3RP3 project student in September of 2023, working with PhD student Hannah Anderson to study the behavioural impact of turbidity on Zebrafish. Yana learned to score behaviours of zebrafish. Yana will continue in the lab this term (winter 2024) working alongside PhD student, Sina Zarini. She will enumerate and identify zooplankton from Hamilton Harbour. In her free time, Yana enjoys hiking, reading books, learning to code, and spending time with family and friends”.

Emily is a second year student pursuing a double major in Anthropology and PNB. She joined ABEL in May 2025 as a Research Assistant and is currently working with the team in a range of field and lab-based projects, including population monitoring and nest preference. This summer Emily will be working on her own project investigating paternity patterns in the invasive round goby. Outside of the lab, Emily enjoys swimming, reading, and is currently teaching herself how to play the guitar.

Emma is a second year student in Honours Integrated Science, PNB concentration. She joined ABEL in January 2025 as a 2QQ3 project student working with thesis student Catalina Costiuc. Emma scored behavioural videos to study the impact of stress on learning and memory in cichlid fish. This summer Emma is working as a MacWork Summer student, helping with the population monitoring but also with lots of other studies.  Some fun facts about Emma are that she is on the McMaster Varsity Cross Country team and loves to play the violin and guitar.

Jane McClelland joined the lab in October, 2024, as a highly valued volunteer. This summer Jane is helping with round goby population monitoring and with the goby nest preference experiment. Outside the lab, Jane enjoys reading, hiking and art.