Behaviour and Ecology
@ School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham
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Aliya El Nagar
BSc (Hons) Animal BiologyMRes Marine Biology
PhD Research Interests
One of the most fascinating areas of evolution is ecological speciation which is driven by divergent natural selection caused by ecological variables.
My PhD’s main focus is to explore the influence of parasites in
ecological speciation. Parasites and pathogens are a strong selective force on
two levels: they directly affect survival and they can play a role in sexual
selection. This means that parasites may have marked potential to
drive the evolution of ‘magic traits’.
Speciation begins with the isolation and diversification of
populations. I am looking at differences between populations of three-spined
stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus in the island of North Uist, outer
Hebrides, Scotland. This island hosts highly diverse sympatric and allopatric
demes in lochs only circa 10,000 years old. These come with different habitats,
environmental variables, and parasites. Using a combination of field
observations, experiments, phenotype and genotype data of both functional and
neutral genes, together with line cross analysis of resistance traits, the
influence of parasite-mediated selection on stickleback populations will become
clearer.
Publications:
El Nagar, A.,
Huys R., Bishop J.D.D. (2010) Widespread occurrence of the Southern Hemisphere
ascidian Corella eumyota Traustedt,
1882 on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. Aquatic
Invasions 5, 169-173.
Griffiths, A.M., Sims, D.W., Cotterell, S.P., El Nagar, A., Ellis, J.R., Lynghammar, A., McHugh, M., Neat, F.C., Pade, N.G., Queiroz, N., Serra-Pereira, B., Rapp, T., Wearmouth, V.J., Genner, (2010) M.J. Molecular markers reveal spatially segregated cryptic species in a critically endangered fish, the common skate (Dipturus batis) Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277 (1687), 1497-1503.
Highfield, A.C., El Nagar, A., Mackinder, L.C.M., Noël, L.M.-L.J., Hall, M.J., Martin, S.J., Schroeder, D.C. (2009) Deformed wing virus implicated in overwintering honeybee colony losses. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75 (22), 7212-7220.