Ben Speers-Roesch, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Biology,
University of New Brunswick,
Saint John

E-mail: [email protected]

Comparative and Environmental Animal Physiology Lab
Metabolic and cardiorespiratory physiology of fishes; mechanisms of 
hypoxia and thermal tolerance; mechanisms of metabolic rate depression; energy metabolism; cardiac function and metabolism; biology of sharks, rays, and chimaeras; phylogenetic patterns of metabolic organization; physiological reaction, acclimation, and adaptation to challenging environments; mechanisms and significance of physiological diversity

My Resarch

The overarching goal of my research program is to understand the mechanisms and functional, ecological, and adaptive significance of physiological diversity among animals. My work considers the physiological variation that exists within individuals (i.e. acute reactions, phenotypic plasticity) as well as across populations, species, and broad phylogenetic boundaries (i.e. evolutionary).  Studying physiological diversity and its underlying mechanisms across these scales, in particular, provides insight into the vulnerability or tolerance of animals to environmental change, which can challenge organismal persistence by constraining function and performance. Much of my research, therefore, is directed at understanding the physiological responses that allow animals to maintain function and performance and thus persist in challenging environments, including exposure to abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic stressors. Working mostly on fishes because of their biological and economic importance, I focus on two major, integrated physiological systems: energy metabolism, or how energy is supplied and used, and the cardiorespiratory system that sustains it. These are ideal systems in which to broadly explore the significance of physiological diversity because metabolism is fundamental to all life processes, and metabolic function is sensitive to many forms of environmental stress. My research involves comparative and experimental approaches incorporating biochemical, molecular, cellular, organ system, and organismal techniques. Ultimately, I aim to integrate physiology from cell to environment, to use physiology to assess and forecast the consequences for animals of anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and to understand the physiological linkages between environmental variability, organismal function and performance, and ecological and evolutionary patterns.
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Currently, I am carrying out projects to investigate (see Current Research for more details):

• The physiological and behavioural mechanisms underlying winter dormancy in fishes
• Causes & consequences of overwintering strategies in fishes
• Physiological and behavioural responses to 'ocean acidification' in temperate and tropical fishes
• The physiological bases of variation in hypoxia tolerance among fishes
• The impacts of dietary preference and fasting on metabolic pathways in fishes and cephalopods
• The interactive effects of biotic stress (competition with invasive species) and abiotic stress (UV radiation, temperature) on physiological performance in amphibians and fishes
• The diversity and patterns of energy metabolism among vertebrates, including elasmobranchs​

Prospective M.Sc. or Ph.D. students are encouraged to contact me to discuss possibilities for graduate research in my lab.