From England, Jackie Lighten was attracted to AV俱乐部 to work and study with Professor Paul Bentzen, an expert in population and evolutionary genetics. The opportunity to do research in his chosen field, the evolutionary genetics of fish, as well as to surf Atlantic swells along Nova Scotia鈥檚 rugged coastline makes his new home just about perfect.
鈥淭he coastline is the best,鈥� says Mr. Lighten, 28, from East London. 鈥淵ou can find spots where no one else is surfing and have the waves all to yourself. It鈥檚 world class surf for sure and thankfully pretty unknown in the surfing world.鈥�
Even when he鈥檚 not catching a wave off the coast, Mr. Lighten spends a lot of time on the water. Over the past year and a half, he鈥檚 been on all three coasts of North America, hitching rides on fishing boats and Coast Guard vessels to collect tissue samples from fish.
In that time, he鈥檚 collected more than 10,000 samples from a myriad of diverse species, everything from haddock, halibut and herring to sharks, smelt and skates. Memorable catches include a 226-kilogram roughtail stingray and a three-metre long sandtiger shark鈥攚ith its rows of ragged teeth and vicious appearance, it wasn鈥檛 exactly a gracious guest to the fishing boat deck. A quick snip of a fin and they鈥檙e back overboard.
His travels have taken him from waters south of Labrador all the way to North Carolina on the Atlantic; and from the Beaufort Sea in the Canadian Arctic to Monterey Bay, California on the Pacific side.
Since returning to the lab, he鈥檚 been examining the samples to look at DNA and inputting the information into a large database.
His PhD research explores the role of Arctic climate change in driving marine diversification in fishes. In their DNA, he explains, the fish reveal the 鈥渟ignature of contemporary and past population patterns and processes.鈥� From there, 鈥渨e have various ways of inferring evolutionary processes鈥� and 鈥� from this data can infer what affect future environmental change may have on species.鈥�
So far, he鈥檚 been impressed with AV俱乐部 and his supervisor Dr. Bentzen, who 鈥渓eaves us to our own devices but always has time for us.鈥� And he loves Nova Scotia so much that he鈥檇 like to apply for Canadian citizenship. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the people who make it so great. They鈥檙e laid back and friendly and everyone鈥檚 into the outdoors.鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 say too much about the surfing,鈥� adds the Brit, who鈥檚 surfed off Australia and Central America. 鈥淟et鈥檚 keep that part quiet.鈥�
From surf to sea life, PhD student discovers the Atlantic
Researching the impact of climate change on marine diversity
Marilyn Smulders - August 16, 2011
Jackie Lighten checks out the waves of the day. (Nick Pearce photo)