Lesley Hamamoto

Thesis Research: Evolutionary ecology of water molds and fish eggs

I am investigating the process of infection of fish eggs by oomycete watermolds, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “fungussing”. Using cichlids and their eggs for my project will provide a unique opportunity to observe the effects of parental care on the incidence and spread of infection throughout a clutch of eggs, and to postulate how potential infection of eggs may drive parental behavior.

I will be using various microscopy techniques to study and document the mechanics of oomycete infection of convict cichlid eggs. The information that I hope to reveal in this study will advance our understanding of the relationship between fish eggs and oomycete infection in two ways, by addressing the process of infection and by correlating the incidence of infection with parental care behavior.

My project has been generously funded by research grants from the Pacific Coast Cichlid Association and the American Cichlid Association.

Lesley joined the lab in May of 2003.

CSUS BIO SCI