Projects
Neuro-endocrine control of reproduction and feeding in Octopus vulgaris KU Leuven
The octopus is renowned for possessing the most complex behavior and cognitive abilities among all invertebrates: they show problem-solving skills such as opening jars and learning behaviors after repeated exposures (Fiorito et al., 1990). Moreover, recently three octopuses’ genomes were sequenced: Octopus bimaculoides (Albertin et al., 2016), Octopus minor (Kim et al., 2018), and Octopus vulgaris (Zarrella et al., 2019), skyrocketing the ...
Nuptial pads as integrated pheromone delivery systems in amphibians Ghent University
Males in many frog families yearly develop keratinized, often spiny nuptial pads on their thumbs and
forearms during the reproductive period, and it is generally accepted that these serve to improve
grip on the female during amplexus. Here we hypothesize that nuptial pads also secrete primer
pheromones that bypass the conventional olfactory system and are injected to directly trigger
physiological ...
Behavior as an indicator - Development of a monitoring system for pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems. KU Leuven
Pollution is a key environmental problem and a major contributor to global change. Ecotoxicology combines ecology and toxicology to study the effects of pollutants on organisms and ecosystems as a whole, in an attempt to mitigate deleterious effects of environmental pollution. To determine the environmental safety of a chemical compound and to promote the sustainability of ecosystems, ecotoxicological studies use a battery of standardised ...
The effect of deiodinase deficiency on zebrafish development and reproduction KU Leuven
Thyroid hormones (THs) are crucial regulators for a wide range of processes in the body. In this thesis we focus on development, growth and reproduction, which are all tightly controlled by TH action. The thyroid gland mainly produces the prohormone 3,5,3’,5’-tetraiodothyronine (T4) and to a much lesser extent the receptor-active 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T3). Appropriate T3 availability is locally regulated by deiodinases (Dio1, Dio2, Dio3), ...
Hormones and neuroplasticity: image guided discoveries of molecular mechanisms in neuroplasticity KU Leuven
During juvenile development, male songbirds exhibit a high amount of neuroplasticity in the brain regions responsible for song learning and production, called the 'song control nuclei'. Additionally, seasonal learners display a cycle of song control nucleus growth and regression throughout a year: song control nuclei increase in volume when the days get longer in early spring and regress again when days get shorter. Both neuroplastic ...