Tuesday/Mardi, May/Mai 7
18:30-19:30
F. E. J Fry Medal/Médaille
Outstanding contribution to knowledge and understanding of an area in zoology/
Contribution exceptionnelle à la connaissance et à la compréhension d'un domaine de la zoologie
Location/Lieu: Ballroom A and B
Chair/Animé par: Carol Bucking (York University, CSZ-SCZ president)
Rudy Boonstra, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto
I was born in the Netherlands but came to Alberta as a youngster and lived for the first 16 years on the western outskirts of Calgary. I spent summers and winters roaming the hills and fishing in the Bow River. The innate curiosity about the natural world was always there and early on, realized I wanted to be a biologist. I went to the University of Calgary for my Honours B.Sc. and my professors there were absolutely crucial in nurturing my curiosity and ability (Drs. Nancy Henderson, Robert Ogilvie, Charles Bird). Every summer of those years was spent working in north central Alberta (Alberta Forest Service, National Parks Service and 2 summers with the Canadian Wildlife Service on wolves in the wilds of Jasper National Park). I did my Ph.D. on the population ecology of cyclic small mammals at the University of British Columbia (1972-77) with Drs. Dennis Chitty and Charles Krebs. Charley has been a critical mentor, collaborator, and friend my whole research life. I then became an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, finally retiring after 42 years, but still remaining active in research and now still having a lab and supervising students. My first sabbatical (1983-84) as a Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO in Canberra Australia was a career changer for me. There I learned how to rigorously quantify stress hormone using radioimmunoassay on wildlife.
Chair/Animé par: Carol Bucking (York University, CSZ-SCZ president)
Rudy Boonstra, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto
I was born in the Netherlands but came to Alberta as a youngster and lived for the first 16 years on the western outskirts of Calgary. I spent summers and winters roaming the hills and fishing in the Bow River. The innate curiosity about the natural world was always there and early on, realized I wanted to be a biologist. I went to the University of Calgary for my Honours B.Sc. and my professors there were absolutely crucial in nurturing my curiosity and ability (Drs. Nancy Henderson, Robert Ogilvie, Charles Bird). Every summer of those years was spent working in north central Alberta (Alberta Forest Service, National Parks Service and 2 summers with the Canadian Wildlife Service on wolves in the wilds of Jasper National Park). I did my Ph.D. on the population ecology of cyclic small mammals at the University of British Columbia (1972-77) with Drs. Dennis Chitty and Charles Krebs. Charley has been a critical mentor, collaborator, and friend my whole research life. I then became an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, finally retiring after 42 years, but still remaining active in research and now still having a lab and supervising students. My first sabbatical (1983-84) as a Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO in Canberra Australia was a career changer for me. There I learned how to rigorously quantify stress hormone using radioimmunoassay on wildlife.
My research has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of classic systems in ecology (boreal and arctic populations of cycling snowshoe hares, lemmings, and voles, and the communities and ecosystems within which they occur, as well as in temperate ecosystem) and shown that these natural populations are also ideal models for studies of physiological and epigenetic mechanisms by which animals (including humans) respond to stress and senescence. I have pioneered studies of wild populations mammals and birds as models for the evolution and regulation of stress. My current research work is at the interdisciplinary junction of population and community ecology, endocrinology, neuroscience, and epigenetics and has led to the establishment of a new discipline focusing on the ecology of stress. Thus far, either directly, with graduate students or collaborators, have worked on ~35 different species of mammals (from bats to bison). I am now extending this through stress research collaborations on marine mammals (polar bear, dolphins, and seals) and sub-Antarctic birds (King penguins). I am a passionate advocate of the broader role for science in public discourse and the responsibilities of academics to address real-world problems, especially climate change.
The Pursuit of Generality in Nature: the Role of the Stress Axis
I will discuss two key problems have intrigued me since my undergraduate years: what is the role of the stress axis in life and why am I (and all other organisms) going to get old and die? In mammals, a key response to life’s difficulties is the activation of the stress axis. The study of this axis is one of the best windows we have to ‘see’ under the surface of the animal into the functional mechanisms it uses to cope and adapt. At the individual level, the stress axis plays a key role in allowing animals to respond daily to change and challenge in the face of both environmental certainty and uncertainty. At the population and species level, the stress axis plays a central role in evolutionary adaptations to particular ecological pressures (e.g. the physical environment, intra- and interspecific competition, predators, etc.). Understanding how the axis functions among species is essential to understanding life history adaptations and ultimately species-specific aging patterns. My research and that of my students marries intense field work with laboratory research. I will review stress axis functioning and then apply it to 3 broad questions. First, predators may be a major force regulating prey populations. Are prey chronically stressed by their predators and is their demography affected? Second, in placental mammals, are the changes in maternal stress axis hormones over pregnancy the same in all mammals and what it the role of maternal effects? Third, the life history of mammals varies from those that breed once followed by death (they are semelparous) to those that breed multiple times over their life time (they are iteroparous). Is stress axis functioning traded off for reproduction (i.e. it deteriorates with age), resulting in death or is it a constraint (i.e. no change in functioning occurs over the lifespan)? Much of our understanding of the axis comes from intense biomedical research into it and our laboratory animal models, with the ultimate objective being human health. Here my goal will be to discuss its role the real world of mammals found in nature.
The Pursuit of Generality in Nature: the Role of the Stress Axis
I will discuss two key problems have intrigued me since my undergraduate years: what is the role of the stress axis in life and why am I (and all other organisms) going to get old and die? In mammals, a key response to life’s difficulties is the activation of the stress axis. The study of this axis is one of the best windows we have to ‘see’ under the surface of the animal into the functional mechanisms it uses to cope and adapt. At the individual level, the stress axis plays a key role in allowing animals to respond daily to change and challenge in the face of both environmental certainty and uncertainty. At the population and species level, the stress axis plays a central role in evolutionary adaptations to particular ecological pressures (e.g. the physical environment, intra- and interspecific competition, predators, etc.). Understanding how the axis functions among species is essential to understanding life history adaptations and ultimately species-specific aging patterns. My research and that of my students marries intense field work with laboratory research. I will review stress axis functioning and then apply it to 3 broad questions. First, predators may be a major force regulating prey populations. Are prey chronically stressed by their predators and is their demography affected? Second, in placental mammals, are the changes in maternal stress axis hormones over pregnancy the same in all mammals and what it the role of maternal effects? Third, the life history of mammals varies from those that breed once followed by death (they are semelparous) to those that breed multiple times over their life time (they are iteroparous). Is stress axis functioning traded off for reproduction (i.e. it deteriorates with age), resulting in death or is it a constraint (i.e. no change in functioning occurs over the lifespan)? Much of our understanding of the axis comes from intense biomedical research into it and our laboratory animal models, with the ultimate objective being human health. Here my goal will be to discuss its role the real world of mammals found in nature.