BUEE students participating in this project will explore reproductive behavior in the northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus), a species with a highly developed form of reproduction, male pregnancy. While the majority of pipefish species are genetically polygamous, the northern pipefish mates almost exclusively monogamously – the explanation for this exceptional reproductive mode is unknown.  The collection of pregnant males and their offspring allows us to track how reproductive strategies change over space and time, and how these strategies may be influenced by local ecological and environmental conditions. Students will carry out fieldwork on local populations of pipefish, and participate in behavioral experiments in Brooklyn College’s Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center aimed at determining what factors drive reproductive decisions in this species.

BUEE students involved in this project will use genetic and genomic methods to probe immune diversity in natural populations of seahorses inhabiting nearshore environments.  Depending on student interests and experience, this project could involve the development and testing of immunological tools to explore immune function or expand into more comparative studies, investigating how the functional immunity of nearshore inhabitants is influenced by the conditions of their surrounding environment.