Cátedra de Ecología y Conservación
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Ecology, physiology and evolution of fishMy scientific career was oriented from the beginning to marine biology, especially working with different species of fish in ecological, physiological, and evolutionary development. Since 1994 working mostly in a group of fish called Nototheniid, which presents a series of characteristics related to life at low temperatures, and on which I have done my PhD work. I particularly studied the characteristics of the axial and pectoral muscles of these species, which have large muscle fibers but few in number. I have also conducted investigations to elucidate other aspects of the biology of these species such as energy management (energetics), swimming, buoyancy, early development, and so on. Between 2000 and 2004 I did two postdoctoral experience abroad (Scotland and the USA) where I was trained in molecular techniques applied to marine biology and developmental biology, using as experimental animals Nototheniid Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic in the first case, and zebrafish (zebrafish) in the second case. Since my return to Ushuaia I’ve started a new line of research studying phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity Nototheniid in an attempt to discern the importance of these two factors, often antithetical, in the evolutionary processes that led to the diversification of this group of fish. In this context we are studying the population genetic structure of different species of fish. I also work on more applied topics such as the identification of species using molecular techniques using different mitochondrial and nuclear genes, and characterization of a chinook salmon population has been recently established in the National Park Tierra del Fuego. |
Selected PublicationsJohnston, I.A., J. Calvo, H. Guderley, D.A. Fernández y L. Palmer, 1998. Latitudinal variation in the abundance and oxidative capacities of muscle mitochondria in Perciform fish. Journal of Experimental Biology,201: 1-12.Fernández, D.A. , J, Calvo., C. Franklin y I.A. Johnston., 2000. Muscle fibre types and distribution in sub-Antarctic notothenioids. Journal of Fish Biology, 56 (6): 1295-1311.Johnston, I.A., D.A. Fernández, J.Calvo, V.L.A. Vieira, A.W. North, M. Abercromby y T. Garland, Jr4, 2003. Reduction in muscle fibre number during the adaptive radiation of notothenioid fishes: a phylogenetic perspective. Journal of Experimental Biology, 206: 2595-2609.Stellabotte, F., B. Dobbs-McAuliffe, D.A. Fernández, X. Feng y S.H. Devoto, 2007. Dynamic somite cell rearrangements lead to distinct waves of myotome growth. Development, 134(7):1253-1257. |