Peter Biro's Hompage

Peter A. Biro

Current Appointment: Chancellors Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact

Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management
Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS)
P.O. Box 123
Broadway NSW 2007
Australia

Office: Building 4, 5.46C (Harris St. Wing)
Phone: +61 02 9514-8310
Mobile: 0434 856 921
Email: peter.biro@uts.edu.au

Research Interests

My interests lie at the intersection between behavioural, evolutionary and population ecology. In particular, I am interested in the causes, and population-level consequences, of variation in antipredator behaviour. Behavioural theory was initially motivated by the desire to provide mechanistic explanations for variation in growth and survival in animal populations. Yet, the theory is virtually untested at spatial or temporal scales appropriate to test for its predicted population-level consequences. My doctoral and postdoctoral research tested theory that predicting how animals should forage when at risk of predation (Werner and Gilliam’s µ/g criterion). I conducted a series of multiple whole-lake experiments with fish showing that an understanding of adaptive antipredator behaviour can be a very good predictor of growth and survival of young prey fish at the population level. Indeed, populations of prey fish at high density, and with little food available, increased foraging activity to maintain rapid growth but experienced high mortality (Biro et al. 2003a,b,c). In addition, those experiments helped identify the risk of overwinter starvation and size-dependent predation risk as important selective pressures promoting risk-taking in order to grow quickly in young fish populations (Biro et al. 2004b, 2005). My more recent research has focused on evolution of growth rate and its relationship with foraging behaviour under risk of predation which has shown that predation mortality keeps intrinsic growth rates below maximum (Biro et al. 2004a, 2006). Currently, I am investigating the genetic basis to foraging behaviour and intrinsic growth rate of reef fish to better understand the role of behaviour in populations, and also the effects of commercial harvest that tends to preferentially remove the largest (fastest growing) individuals. Additionally, I am looking at the simultaneous effects of body size and foraging behaviour on mortality in recently settled reef fish (details below). Although my research is motivated by ecological theory, it has direct practical applications to (a) fisheries management, by providing a mechanistic understanding of factors that affect growth and survival in fish populations and to (b) invasion biology, by using a priori understanding of how behaviour and life history interact to affect differences in growth and survival between native and introduced species (e.g. Biro et al. 2004a; see below).

Current Projects

Evolution of intrinsic energy acquisition and behaviour

I am beginning laboratory experiments that will create experimental strains of Mostquitofish (Gambusia affinis) that differ in intrinsic appetite and therefore also growth rate. The aim is to establish a connection between this characteristic and behavioural tendency (termed behavioural syndrome, or simply animal ‘personality’). I also hope to do similar experiments with a marine fish species, such as one from the family Atherinidae, that has reasonably fast generation times.

Role of behaviour and body size in determining mortality in prey populations

Body size and condition are considered the two most important determinants of mortality in young reef fish, yet the contribution of behaviour variation to survival has not been well explored. I will manipulate each of these characteristics of young reef fish to determine the quantitative contribution of each to survival by seeding coral bommies with fish of known size/condition and indirectly manipulating behaviour with food and density manipulations.

Cane Toad invasion biology

A smaller side project involves experiments examining the possible role that behavioural syndromes may have in the evolution of increased invasibility in populations of cane toads in northern Australia. It appears that these toads are evolving greater activity and dispersal attributes in the absence of co-evolved predators that would normally keep their numbers in check. We are currently looking for evidence of genetically determined differences in activity rates between toads at the invasion front, and those at the site of introduction. This is a collaborative project with researchers in Rick Shine’s laboratory at Sydney University.

Qualifications

Ph.D., Ecology. Sept. 1997 – April 2003. Thesis title: Population consequences of behaviourally-mediated tradeoffs between growth and mortality in age-0 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cohorts. University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

M.Sc., Zoology. May 1994 – May 1996. Thesis title: Space-use by juvenile brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in lakes: the central-place territorial model does not apply. University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Honours B.Sc., Zoology. 1993. University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Scholarships and Awards

Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship. Sept 2006 – 2009. UTS, Sydney, Australia.

Endeavour Research Fellowship, Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), Australian Government. Feb 2006 – July 2006. UTS.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. May 2003 – May 2005. Department of Zoology, University of Manitoba.

NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship (PGS-B) for Doctoral Studies in Ecology. May 1998 - May 2000.

University of Calgary Tuition Fee Scholarship ($3,000 per year for 2 years).

University of Calgary Thesis Research Grant ($1,500)

University of Calgary Conference Travel Grant ($750)

University of Calgary Graduate Research Award (received 4 times, each approx. $4,500)

Refereed Publications

Booth, D.J. and Biro P.A. In press. Population dynamics: adaptation. In, Encyclopedia of Ecology.

Askey, P.J., J.R. Post, E.A. Parkinson, E. Rivot, A.J. Paul and P.A. Biro. In press. Estimation of gillnet efficiency and selectivity across multiple sampling units: a hierarchical Bayesian analysis using mark-recapture data. Fisheries Research.

Beckmann, C., P.A. Biro, and J.R. Post. In press. Asymmetric impact of piscivorous birds on size-structured fish populations. Canadian Journal of Zoology.

Biro, P.A., M.V. Abrahams, and J.R. Post. In press. Direct manipulation of behaviour reveals a mechanism for understanding variation in growth and mortality among prey populations. Animal Behaviour.

Biro, P.A., M.V. Abrahams, J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2006. Behavioural tradeoffs between growth and mortality explain evolution of submaximal growth rates. Journal of Animal Ecology 75: 1165-1171.

Biro, P.A., J.R. Post, and M.V. Abrahams. 2005. Ontogeny of energy allocation reveals selective pressure promoting risk-taking behaviour in young fish cohorts. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 272: 1443-1448.

Biro, P.A., M.V. Abrahams, J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2004a. Predators select against high growth rates and risk-taking behaviour in domestic trout populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 271: 2233-2237.
** This paper was chosen as a feature article by the journal and released early with a summary and photograph.

Biro, P.A., A.E. Morton, J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2004b. Overwinter lipid depletion and mortality of age-0 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Candian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 61: 1513-1519.

Biro, P.A., J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2003a. From individuals to populations: risk-taking by prey fish mediates mortality in whole-system experiments. Ecology 84: 2419-2431.

Biro, P.A., J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2003b. Population consequences of a predator-induced habitat shift in whole-lake experiments. Ecology 84: 691-700.

Biro, P.A., J.R. Post, and E.A. Parkinson. 2003c. Density-dependent mortality is mediated by foraging activity for prey fish in whole-lake experiments. Journal of Animal Ecology 72: 546-555.

Biro, P.A. 1998. Staying cool: behavioural thermoregulation during summer by young-of-year brook trout in a lake. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 127: 212-222.

Biro, P.A., M.S. Ridgway, and D.L.G. Noakes. 1997. The central-place territorial model does not apply to space-use by juvenile brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in lakes. Journal of Animal Ecology 66: 837-845.

Biro, P.A., M.S. Ridgway, and R.L. McLaughlin. 1996. Does the rate of foraging attempts predict ingestion rate for young-of-the-year brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the field? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53: 1814-1820.

Biro, P.A., and M.S. Ridgway. 1995. Individual variation in foraging movements in a lake population of young-of-the-year brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis. Behaviour 132: 57-74.

Conference Presentations

Invasion success by farm salmonids and evolution of intrinsic growth rate. Invited presentation, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Dec 2005. (Oral).

Invasion success by farm salmonids and evolution of intrinsic growth rate. Invited presentation Biological Sciences Seminar Series, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, April 2005. (Oral).

Predators protect ecosystems against invasion by farm salmonids: comparative survival of adult and young domestic and wild trout. Presented at the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) Meeting, Windsor, Ontario, January 2005. (Oral).

Predators protect ecosystems against invasion by farm salmonids. Invited presentation for the Seminar Series at the Freshwater Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, February, 2004. (Oral).

From individuals to populations: risk-taking by prey fish mediates mortality in whole-system experiments. Presented at the CCFFR Meeting, Meeting, Ottawa, Qntario, Canada, January 2003. (Oral).

Food-dependent foraging activity by prey fish mediates population-level predation mortality in whole-system experiments. Presented at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Meeting, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, August 2001. (Oral).

Adaptive foraging behaviour mediates density-dependent mortality for young fish cohorts. Presented at the CCFFR Meeting, Ottawa, January 2001. (Oral).

Population consequences of behaviour: density-dependent mortality is mediated by adaptive foraging activity for young fish in whole-lake experiments. Presented at the Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes (EEEF) Meeting, Athens, Georgia, USA, May 2000. (Oral).

Space-use and foraging movements of young-of-the-year brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in lakes. Presented at the CCFFR Meeting, Ottawa, January 1997. (Poster).

Behavioural ecology and habitat use of juvenile brook trout at Scott Lake. Presented at the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Meeting of the Ontario Forest Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, October 1996. (Oral).

Space-use and foraging movements of young-of-the-year brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in lakes. Presented at the EEEF Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, May 1996. (Poster). [Received Honourable Mention Award for this presentation.]

Does foraging attempt rate predict ingestion rate for young-of-the-year brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the field? Presented at the CCFFR Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January 1996. (Oral).

Individual variation in foraging movements in a lake population of young-of-the-year brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis. Presented at the CCFFR Meeting, Ottawa, January 1995. (Oral).

Staying cool: behavioural thermoregulation by juvenile brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Invited presentation at the Institute of Ichthyology Seminar Series, University of Guelph, December, 1995. (Oral).

Employment History

Scientific Career

2006/09 – Present	Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, UTS, Sydney.
2006/02 – 2006/08	Endeavour Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
2005/12 – 2006/01	Visiting scientist, UTS.
2005/05 – 2005/11	Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Calgary, Canada.
2003/05 – 2005/04	NSERC Postdoctoral fellow, University of Manitoba, Canada.
1997/09 – 2003/04	Doctoral studies, University of Calgary, Canada.
1994/05 – 1996/05	Masters studies, University of Guelph, Canada.
1993 – 1994	Research associate (PI), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.