Authors: Nolan Rodeback, Jerald Johnson
Mentors: Jerald Johnson
Insitution: Brigham Young University
The environment plays a crucial role in the development and evolution of organisms. In some cases, the environmental pressures on a mother may result in changes of offspring phenotypes. This phenomenon, called maternal effects, might occur in the tropic fish species Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora. I will conduct an experiment to test if maternal effects can be induced by the presence of a predator. To measure this we will look at maturity age and growth rates in the offspring where mothers are reared in the presence or absence of predators. If predators have an effect, offspring should mature at earlier ages and have faster growth rates than individuals with mothers reared in the absence of predators.