Katie Marshall

Assistant Professor

Research Classification

Animal physiology, environmental stress

Research Interests

Environmental Change
Marine biodiversity
Population Ecology
invertebrates and temperature adaptation

Relevant Degree Programs

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Affiliations to Research Centres, Institutes & Clusters

Biodiversity Research Centre
Biodiversity frontiers in a rapidly changing world

Research Options

I am available and interested in collaborations (e.g. clusters, grants).
I am interested in and conduct interdisciplinary research.
I am interested in working with undergraduate students on research projects.
 
 

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Research Methodology

machine learning
bioinformatics
RNAseq
Enzymology

Recruitment

Doctoral students

Population variation in enzyme activity, metabolic rate

I support public scholarship, e.g. through the Public Scholars Initiative, and am available to supervise students and Postdocs interested in collaborating with external partners as part of their research.
I support experiential learning experiences, such as internships and work placements, for my graduate students and Postdocs.
I am open to hosting Visiting International Research Students (non-degree, up to 12 months).
I am interested in supervising students to conduct interdisciplinary research.

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Supervision Enquiry

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Graduate Student Supervision

Master's Student Supervision

Theses completed in 2010 or later are listed below. Please note that there is a 6-12 month delay to add the latest theses.

Plasticity of cold-hardiness in the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (2020)

Of all abiotic factors that drive range boundaries, temperature is the best studied because of its pervasive influence on biological processes. For populations at high-latitudes, extreme cold and the populations’ cold-hardiness set the range boundary. Phenotypic plasticity, where a single genotype results in differentiated phenotypes under differential environmental conditions, can assist populations in managing changing temperatures. Local adaptation in phenotypic plasticity, which results in different responses in different populations, can assist with the variability in temperature a species can experience across its range, especially at range boundaries. I used the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) as a model system for exploring local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity of insect cold-hardiness. The species is one of the most destructive forest pests in North America, therefore accurately predicting its range and population growth is essential for management. In this thesis, I show that there is no transgenerational plasticity in cold-hardiness. However, I found a fitness cost associated with repeated cold exposures. Additionally, across the species’ range, I found both local adaptation of seasonal cold-hardiness and short-term plasticity of this trait. Therefore, the findings of this thesis provide evidence for including phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation when modelling species distributions under climate change.

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Publications

Current Students & Alumni

This is a small sample of students and/or alumni that have been supervised by this researcher. It is not meant as a comprehensive list.

Jarrett Blair

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Research Topic
Bulk classification of terrestrial invertebrates using computer vision and DNA metabarcoding
 
Katie Marshall's Profile
Publications on Google Scholar
ORCID Profile
Other link
Supervision Enquiry

Membership Status

Member of G+PS
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Program Affiliations

Zoology

Department(s)

Department of Zoology
 

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