Daniel Bergman and Rachelle Belanger, doctoral students in biological sciences, will use their Sigma Xi Grants-In-Aid of Research to further their study of crayfish behaviors.

Two BGSU students receive Sigma Xi grants for crayfish research

Two BGSU students pursuing doctoral degrees in biological sciences have received Grants-In-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, to study crayfish behaviors.

Proposals by Daniel Bergman of Maumee and Rachelle Belanger of Tecumseh, Ontario, were among 300 that were chosen for funding from 1,300 applications from North America and abroad.

“These students show particular promise in their research careers,” said Paul Moore, biological sciences. “This grant is a stamp of approval that they are doing good research,” he added, noting that “the list of excellent scientists who got their start with Sigma Xi grants includes Nobel Prize winners and some of the top scientists over the past century.”

The Grants-In-Aid of Research program is the oldest of its kind, providing undergraduate and graduate students with educational experiences since 1922. The program promotes scientific excellence through hands-on learning and close working relationships between students and faculty.

The grants are the third and fourth Grants-In-Aid of Research in the last 10 years for BGSU. To receive two in one year is “pretty incredible,” Moore said.

Bergman is interested in the neural mechanisms of aggression—why animals get mad at one another and fight. His research will involve crayfish, which he has already studied for three years, because of their extremely aggressive and complex social behavior.

Crayfish produce body signals and odors that express a dominance hierarchy, telling other crayfish whether they are bullies or not. Bergman will research what the chemical signals are that tell other animals they are ready to fight.

The $375 grant will pay for videotapes, used in the analysis process, and other laboratory supplies and chemicals. He will be working with about 300 crayfish.

Belanger will look at a different function of the crayfish—mating. She will find out how male crayfish know when females are ready to mate by their chemical signals.

Crayfish only mate at certain times each year, and the males have to determine when the females are ready through specific chemical signals or odors. The crayfishes’ claws have hairs which act as one of their 12 noses to detect the chemicals. Belanger will investigate the underlying neural process of the female pheromones.

Her research is more costly because of the molecular and biochemical techniques she will be using. The $875 grant will cover travel, chemicals and reagents. Belanger will travel to the University of Windsor, the Bermuda Biological Station for Research and the University of Kentucky for additional laboratory work. She will be working with roughly 200 crayfish.

Although the students will be conducting their research separately, each project will fit into the bigger picture of the world of crayfish, according to Moore.

The two students, along with Moore, have dedicated their research to crayfish because the animals’ complex social behaviors are much like humans. Both crayfish and humans have the neural chemical serotonin that is used in investigating such drugs as Prozac. Prozac and other aggression-controlling drugs can be given to crayfish and can serve as a model on how to control aggression in humans, according to Moore.

A 1995 graduate of Minster High School, Bergman received his bachelor’s degree from BGSU in 1999. He has also received a Biological Sciences Non-Service Fellowship and has five publications on crayfish neuroscience and behavior to his credit.

Belanger graduated from St. Lawrence College in 1996 with a degree in veterinary technology. She received an honorary bachelor’s degree in biology in 2000 and a master’s degree in biology in 2002, both from the University of Windsor. She is the author of four publications on fish neurobiology and behavior.

Sigma Xi is a nonprofit membership society of about 75,000 scientists and engineers, including nearly 200 Nobel Laureates. Members are elected to the society based on their research achievements or potential. Sigma Xi has 516 chapters at colleges and universities, government laboratories and industry research centers.