Support our work through UAB’s

Aquatic Biodiversity & Conservation Research Fund

Fish account for more than half of vertebrate species and are found in almost every aquatic environment, from the headwaters of Alabama’s rivers to the depths of Antarctica. But aquatic ecosystems today face extreme risks. Global warming and human activities are altering them at a magnitude never seen before. These perturbations can tip a species or an ecosystem from a healthy state to collapse. We, however, have a limited understanding of fish sensitivity and resilience to ecological disturbance and therefore we are unable to predict how global climate change and human activities will affect fish and how to mitigate our impacts to preserve the existing biodiversity and the services it provides.

Research in Dr. Thomas Desvignes’ lab aims to understand the mechanisms by which fish evolve and adapt to hostile or changing environments. Understanding the evolutionary processes of adaptation to changing conditions can help us reveal the capacity of today’s life to withstand predicted environmental changes and provide the scientific evidence necessary to motivate ecosystem management and conservation policies.

The Aquatic Biodiversity & Conservation Research Fund provides financial resources to support the research activities of students and researchers working in Dr. Desvignes’ laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. At a time when research funds for the study of climate change, biodiversity, endangered species, and biological conservation have vanished, any contribution can go a long way! Funds help purchase laboratory supplies and equipment, support local educational outreach programs, and enable students to publish in scientific journals and present at scientific meetings. Contributions not only fund timely and important research to better understand and preserve our planet’s biodiversity but also help future generations of scientists become leaders in biology and conservation.

If you are interested in contributing any amount to the Aquatic Biodiversity & Conservation Research Fund at UAB, you can easily do so through the Department of Biology “Give” page: https://www.uab.edu/cas/biology/give. The Aquatic Biodiversity & Conservation Research Fund can be selected in the second tab “Faculty Research”.

Thank you for your support!

Dr. Thomas Desvignes