Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Johan Zhang

Evolution of the Lateral Line Canal-Tubule System in Extinct Devonian Sarcopterygian and Extant Early Actinopterygian Fishes

The lateral line system is a sensory system in fish that allows them to detect movement, vibrations, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. This system becomes crucial when studying the various behaviors such as navigating, hunting, or avoiding predators. My work this summer at the Liu Lab will consist of segmenting these lateral line canals and branching tubules using a software called Avizo. By doing so, we hope to identify any evolutionary adaptations, functionalities, or phylogenetic relationships between ancient and modern fishes.

 

Message To Sponsor

Thank you so much for this opportunity and letting me continue my research this summer! I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity and I know this will be a worthwhile experience for me. The amount of support I've received throughout the years have allowed me to deepen my interests and skills in the field. Thank you so much for everything!