Albrecht Schulte-hostedde

Biography

I am a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist working at the interface of behaviour, evolution, ecological genetics, life-history and physiology. My students and I integrate intense field research on marked wildlife populations with molecular markers and other lab-oriented techniques to examine issues related to a) the fitness consequences of phenotypic and genotypic variation, and b) factors influencing patterns of gene flow across populations. Our group collaborates extensively with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Toronto Zoo. Taxonomically, my focus is mammals, but my students and I have worked on an array of taxa including fish, amphibians, squamates, turtles, birds and insects. As Canada Research Chair in Applied Evolutionary Ecology, my research also encompasses areas of conservation interest, including the effects of domesticated populations on closely-related wild species, the effects of urbanization on selection in natural populations, and the evolutionary ecology of captive zoo populations.I serve on the Board of Directors for the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Park, Associate Editor for the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, and as the representative for the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution and Board member on the Canadian Council for Animal Care. Students that have graduated from our research group have gone on to graduate studies at other institutions (e.g. Univ Alberta, Dalhousie Univ, Univ Windsor, McMaster Univ) or work in the public (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Parks Canada) and private sector (environmental consultants). Recently, I established the Centre for Evolutionary Ecology and Ethical Conservation with colleagues Drs. Brett Buchanan, Gillian Crozier, David Lesbarreres, and Jackie Litzgus.

Research Interest

Major areas of research interest include causes and consequences of sexual selection, host-parasite interactions, and patterns of gene flow in heterogeneous environments. From an applied perspective, we are interested in the effects of domestic populations on wild relatives, the effects of anthropogenic environments on selection in wildlife, and the consequences of captivity on zoo populations.