Dr. Amber Makowicz
Department of Biology
Building M, Room M
University of Konstanz
Universitätsstr. 10
78457 Konstanz
Tel: +49 (0) 7531 88
E-mail: amber.makowicz@uni-konstanz.de
Building M, Room M
University of Konstanz
Universitätsstr. 10
78457 Konstanz
Tel: +49 (0) 7531 88
E-mail: amber.makowicz@uni-konstanz.de
I am interested in Behavioral Epigenetics and how parental stress can be passed from parent to offspring via changes in DNA methylation and anxiety/boldness behaviors. Chronic stress has been related to major mental disorders through changes in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA-axis; an important stress response found in all vertebrates) and is most notable through changes in DNA methylation. Both maternal and paternal stress has been shown to influence the DNA methylation of children and increase the likelihood of developing psychopathological disorders. To investigate both maternal and paternal effects of stress I am using Poeciliid fish. Poeciliid fish are excellent model specimens for several reasons: 1) they are small livebearing species, 2) short gestation period with numerous offspring in each brood, 3) it's easy to manipulate their environment, 4) they lack parental care (removing the constraint found in mammals), and 5) some species are matrotrophic (have a placenta-like structure that provides nutrition throughout pregnancy), while others are lecitotrophic (not reproductive investment beyond yoking the egg).
Part of my research has been summed up in this video supported by the Hector Fellow Academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se9b5SXHBfU
Part of my research has been summed up in this video supported by the Hector Fellow Academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se9b5SXHBfU
Education
- 2011 – 2015: PhD - University of Oklahoma (advisor: Ingo Schlupp)
- 2009 – 2011: M.Sc. - University of Oklahoma (advisor: Ingo Schlupp)
Publications
12. Makowicz AM, Tiedemann R, Steele RN, Schlupp I. (2016) Extreme kin recognition in a unisexual fish, Poecilia formosa. PLOS One. 11: e0158442.
11. Makowicz AM, Tanner J, Dumas E, Siler CD, Schlupp I. (2016) Pre-existing biases for swords in mollies (Poecilia). Behav. Ecol. 27: 175–184.
10. Makowicz AM, Schlupp I. (2015) Effects of female aggression on the fitness level in a unisexual/sexual mating system. Ethol. 121: 904-914.
9. Langerhans RB, Makowicz AM. (2013) Sexual selection paves the road to sexual isolation during ecological speciation. Evol. Ecol. Res. 15: 633-651.
8. Bierbach D, Konstantin Y, Stadler S, Schenkell D, Makowicz AM, Nigl H, Geupel H, Riesch R, Schlupp I, Plath M. (2013) Audience effects alters male mate choice in poeciliids. In: Clark KB (ed.) Social learning theory: Phylogenetic considerations across animal, plant, and microbial taxa. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, NY. 95-112.
7. Bierbach D, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I, Geupel H, Streit B, Plath M. (2013) Cassanovas are liars: Behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in livebearing fishes. F1000Research 2013, 2:75.
6. Makowicz AM, Schlupp I. (2013) The cost of living in a sexual harassment environment. Anim. Behav. 85: 569-577.
5. Riesch R, Plath M, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I. (2012) Behavioural and life-history regulation in a unisexual/bisexual mating system: does male mate choice affect female reproductive life histories? Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 106: 598-606.
4. Makowicz AM, Plath M, Schlupp I. (2010) Male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) adjust their mate choice behavior to the presence of an audience. Behav. 147: 1657-1674.
3. Makowicz AM, Plath M, Schlupp I. (2010) Using viedo playback to study the effects of an audience on male mating behavior in the Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). Behav. Proc. 85: 36-41.
2. Langerhans RB, Makowicz AM. (2009) Shared and unique features of morphological differentiation between predator regimes in Caymen Gambusia. J. Evol. Bio. 22: 2231-2242.
1. Plath M, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I, Tobler M. (2007) Sexual harassment in livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae): Comparing courting and non-courting species. Behav. Ecol. 18: 680-688.
Memberships
Animal Behavior Society, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Southwestern Association of Naturalists, Graduate Women in Science, American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, International Society of Behavioral Ecology, American Livebearers Association, Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology