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.

Emma is ABEL's work study student this year.  She is in her fourth year student in Honours Integrated Science, PNB concentration and first joined ABEL in January 2025 as a 2QQ3 project student.  Back then she worked with thesis student Catalina Costiuc to investigate the impact of stress on learning and memory in cichlid fish.. Since then, Emma has been working in the lab as a work study student, helping with population monitoring, many other studies,  lab maintenance and training. Some fun facts about Emma are that she is on the McMaster Varsity Cross Country team and loves to play the violin and guitar.

Reyad is currently the Lab Manager.  He completed his MSc this last summer 2026.  Reyad 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.  Reyad 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 examined parentage and shelter choice in the round goby. He compared paternity rates of guarder versus sneaker males based on microsatellite markers and examined how nest quality and density influence paternity rates.  Reyad was co-mentored for his MSc project by Dr. Bryan Neff from the University of Western.  Apart from academic work, Reyad enjoys cooking, geocaching, and going on hikes. 

Sina is currently a PNB teaching postdoctoral fellow.  Sina ireceived his BSc in Animal Biology from the Urmia University and his MSc in Marine Biology (Marine Animals) from the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran, Iran.  During his MSc which was supervised by Dr. Bahram Kiabi and Dr. Asghar Abdoli, Sina studied the effect of riprap, one of the most common human-made structures for coastal hardening, on gobies abundance and species composition in the southern Caspian Sea coast.  Sina came to ABEL, McMaster and Canada to work on his PhD.  He is broadly nterested in fish behaviour, physioogy and ecology.  He has done research on how anthropogenic environmental changes (habitat alteration, invasions of exotic species) influences behaviour and populations. For his PhD Sina examine the life history, movement ecology, diet and feeding behaviour of the invasive round goby.  

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 is in the 2nd year of her MSc project on bat sibling rivalry and parent offspring conflict.  She is co-supervised by Dr. Paul Faure who runs the McMaster Bat Lab.  Tang Tang completed her undergrad degree in the Honours Biology and PNB program. She orginally joined ABEL initially in her 2nd yea working with Eli Latchem to examine how social ranks affect learning preferences and capacity in cichlids. Next Tang Tang did her 4th year thesis on bat sibling rivalry and parent-offspring conflict.  er thesis project was so successful that she has decided to stay for a co-supervised MSc project which began in the fall of 2025 on the same topic.  When Tang Tang is not in the lab, she enjoys going camping, holding bats, and trying to beat her record in the countries of the world quiz. 

Kaitlyn is in the first year of her masters. For her MSc she is interested in researching how wastewater impacts complex social behaviours such as, hierarchy establishment, group formation, and territoriality in Fathead Minnows. Kaitlyn received her BSc degree in Biology from Saint Mary’s University. During her time at Saint Mary’s, she completed an Honours Thesis with Dr. Colleen Barber, where she studied the effects of parental condition and nest
ornamentation on nestling sex allocation in European Starlings. In her free time Kaitlyn enjoys, hiking, teaching dance, and playing board games.

Iman is a second-year master's student in the ABEL and Kidd Lab at McMaster University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Honours Biology at McMaster, where she conducted a thesis on the ingestion and effects of microplastic fibres on freshwater snails with Dr. Karen Kidd. For her MSc research, Iman is investigating how nutrients and contaminants are transported from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems through the consumption of plainfin midshipman fish by bald eagles with Dr. Sigal Balshine and Dr. Karen Kidd as co-supervisors. Outside of her academic work, Iman enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors, and connecting with friends and family. 

Emily is a fourth year student pursuing a double major in Anthropology and PNB. She initially joined ABEL in May 2025 as a Research Assistant and has worked with the team in a range of field and lab-based projects, including population monitoring and the nest preference study. This year Emily is working on her thesis project investigating how the amount eaten and feeding itself influence the metabolic rate of the invasive round goby. Outside of the lab, Emily enjoys swimming, reading, and is currently teaching herself how to play the guitar.

Easton is a fourth-year student in the Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour honours program. He started out at ABEL in January 2025 as a 2QQ3 project student, and since then he has done a 3QQ3 and 4QQ3 co-mentored by Tang Tang Guo looking at parent offspring conflict and sibling rivalry in the Big Brown Bat. After becoming so "bat-brained" in the fish lab, he decided to focus his thesis research also on parent-offspring conflict in a collaboration between ABEL and the McMaster Bat Lab and is supervised by both Drs. Sigal Balshine and Paul Faure. Specifically, Easton is examining if and how baby bats change their vocalizations when they are hungry. He is essentially testing if bat pups honestly signal their hunger to their moms. Apart from academic life, Easton enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and spending time with his family and friends.

Hazel is a fourth-year student in the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour Mental Health Specialization program. She joined ABEL in fall 2026 and is beginning her senior thesis project with her co-mentor Iman. Their project examines nutrient and contaminant pathways from plainfin midshipman fish to their predator, bald eagles, and finally to the trees where the eagles’ nests are. In the project, Hazel will analyze C, N, and S isotopes in midshipman fish and investigate whether the isotopic niche differs depending on the fish's sex and alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). Outside of the lab, she likes to travel somewhere new and write, draw, walk/run, and try new foods in the new place.

Connor is a final year undergraduate student in Ecological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He joined ABEL in 2026 as a MITACS Globalink Research Intern. Connor is interested in aquatic ecology, invasive species, and how environmental change can influence animal behaviour and decision-making.  His dissertation research uses a dynamic shuttlebox system to investigate whether round gobies will abandon their preferred temperature to remain in a refuge, and whether this trade-off differs between fish from contaminated and less contaminated populations. Outside of the lab, Connor enjoys travelling, fishing and reading. 

Tatum is a 4th year in the Biology and PNB program. They joined ABEL in January 2025 as a 2QQ3 project student working on learning and memory in cichlids with Catalina Costiuc. With Catalina Tatum examined how cichlids learn how to obtain food and how different levels of stress influence learning. This year Tatum has returned to ABEL as a thesis student and is examining how contaminants influence cognition and decision making in the invasive round goby.  Outside of school, Tatum enjoys downhill skiing, making digital art, and learning history. Other than spending time with loved ones, Tatum is happiest when surrounded by animals. They love to work with small and exotic animals, especially lizards. 

Kayla, is a fourth-year research project student in the lab. She is double majoring in Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behavior and Health and Society. Initially Kayla started in the lab in January 2026 as a project student working with Reyad Malakh, researching the plasticity of alternative reproductive tactics in the round goby. This semester, (fall 2026) she is helping with Tatum Taylor's thesis research, investigating the effects of different levels of contamination on round goby cognition. In her free time, Kayla love travelling, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family! 

Diya is a third-year Honours Health Science student pursuing a minor in Sustainability. She joined ABEL as a volunteer in September 2025 and is currently a project course student investigating differences in cognition and behaviour in the round goby due to contaminant exposure. In her free time, Diya enjoys hiking, herping, sewing, and learning how to play the guitar.

Maggie is going into her 3rd year of PNB mental health and pursuing a minor in Anthropology. She joined ABEL in the summer of 2026 as a volunteer, and as of fall 2026 is a 3QQ3 project student examining the stomach contents of round gobies to determine whether they are eating game fish (e.g. bass) eggs. This is a project in collaboration with Dr. Jon Midwood at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In her free time, Maggie enjoys painting, fishing, playing video games and hanging out with her girlfriend. 

Claire Zhou, is a third year Honors Neuroscience student.  She joined ABEL in September 2026 as a NEUROSCI 3DD6 project student, and she is  working on examining mother-pup interactions in big brown bats. In her free time, Claire enjoys watching cat videos, hanging out with her friends, and listening to music!

Sana is in her 3rd year of a Honours Life Science degree. She is volunteering in ABEL and is assisting with lab maintenance and fish care. Sana is interested in population monitoring and dissections as well. Outside the lab, Sana enjoys playing puzzle games and listening to rock music"

Angelina is a 3^rd year student in Honours Neuroscience. She joined ABEL as a volunteer. Outside of the lab, Angelina loves to knit and hike.

Richard is a second year student pursuing a Bio & PNB double major. This year, he is volunteering at ABEL to help with maintaining the experiment tanks. Some of his hobbies are recreational fish keeping, cooking, and working out!