The Department of Life Sciences

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The DLS has carried me from BSc to MPhil to PhD within the last two decades.  During that time I not only gained an education in Biology but also gained the skills such as people and project management and learnt these are equally important whether you work in academia or industry.  My experiences while at DLS have opened my mind in the realms of research, at the local, regional and international level, encouraging me to see the value of multi-disciplinary research. I have watched the department grow and adapt to changes economic climates and social needs of the Caribbean, which has been reflected in our research. I looking forward to seeing the DLS not only continuing to lead the UWI in research but also becoming a service provider to the very ecosystems we investigate.

Education

• Ph.D. (Candidate) in Environmental Biology ,The University of the West Indies (UWI) January 2012- Present
• M. Phil. Environmental Biology (2010): UWI. Thesis Title- ‘Investigation Of Factors Affecting The Prevalence Of Selected Parasites And Bacterial Pathogens On Three Species Of Freshwater Catfish Exported From Trinidad’
• B.Sc. Zoology Major and Botany minor (2003). Undergraduate Research Project: A Comparison Between Clear And Green Water Systems For Silver Tilapia Fingerling Production During The Sex Reversal Process

Project Details

Global Surface temperature projections predict 2 to 4 °C within 50 yearsHow will a 2°C to 4°C rise in surface temperature affect the ecology of tropical freshwater systems? Investigations into effects of temperature on the freshwater systems a model system was chosen-Guppy- Gyros’. Guppies forms the foundation of many picivorous food chains. It is an ideal species for evolutionary investigations due to its ubiquitous environmental habitats as well as quick population generation time. Gyrodactylus spp. are ectoparasite which can reproduce asexually, sexually or via parthenogenesis. In their natural habitat, guppies are commonly parasitized by Gyrodactylus species, sometimes at prevalences of up to 75%.

How does an increase in water temperature affect the ecology of both organisms? Experiments in the project are designed to investigate fish behavior, parasite tolerance, parasite interactions and secondary bacterial infections of fish at elevated temperatures.

Publications              

• Phillips, Karl P., Joanne Cable, Ryan S. Mohammed, Magdalena Herdegen-Radwan, Jarosław Raubic, Karolina J. Przesmycka, Cock van Oosterhout, and Jacek Radwan. "Immunogenetic novelty confers a selective advantage in host–pathogen coevolution." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018): 201708597.
• Lighten, J., Papadopulos, A.S., Mohammed, R.S., Ward, B.J., Paterson, I., Baillie, L., Bradbury, I.R., Hendry, A.P., Bentzen, P. and Van Oosterhout, C., 2017. Evolutionary genetics of immunological supertypes reveals two faces of the Red Queen. Nature Communications.
• Getting into hot water: sick guppies frequent warmer thermal conditions. RS. Mohammed, M. Reynolds, J. James, C. Williams, A. Mohammed, A. Ramsubhag, C. van Oosterhout and J. Cable. (Oecologia 181(3), March 2016.
• Infestation of Hopilas malabaricus with Eustrongyloides spp. in Arena, Trinidad- R. Suepaul, A Basu, RS. Mohammed (Caribbean Naturalist No. 23: 1–7) 2015.
• Parasites of Trinidadian guppies: evidence for sex- and age-specific trait-mediated indirect effects of predators. JF. Stephenson, C. van Oosterhout, RS. Mohammed, J. Cable. (Ecology 96:489–498) February, 2015.
• Comparison between green water and clear water systems during the masculization process of Silver Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. RS. Mohammed and IW. Ramnarine (Global Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2408-5464 Vol. 2 (5), pp. 177-181) October, 2014.
• Invasive freshwater snails provide resource for native hermit crabs. C van Oosterhout, RS. Mohammed, R. Xavier, J. Stephenson, GA. Archard, F. Hockley, S. Perkins, and J. Cable. (Journal of Aquatic Invasions, Volume 8, Issue 2: 185–191), May 2013.
• Can parasites use predators to spread between primary hosts? J. Cable, GA. Archard, RS. Mohammed, M. McMullan, J. Stephenson, H. Hansen and C. van Oosterhout. Parasitology, 140, 1–6, April 2013.
• Upstream guppies go against the flow. RS. Mohammed, C. van Oosterhout, B. Schelkle, J. Cable, M. McMullan. (Biota Neotropica. Volume12, No.3, pp. 68-72), October 2012.
• Parasites pitched against nature: Pitch Lake water protects guppies (Poecilia reticulata) from microbial and gyrodactylid infections. B. Schelkle, RS. Mohammed, MP. Coogan, M. Mcmullan, E. Gillingham, C. Van Oosterhout and J. Cable. Journal of Parasitology. Volume 139, Issue 13. 2012.
• Ieredactylus rivuli n. gen. et sp. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) from Rivulus hartii (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) in Trinidad- B. Schelkle, G. Paladini, AP. Shinn, S. King, M. Johnson, C. van Oosterhout, RS. Mohammed and J. Cable. Acta Parasitologica, Volume 56, No. 4. October 2011.
• Colour variation of an individual of Hart’s rivulus (Rivulus hartii) found in a habitat rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Pitch Lake of Trinidad. RS. Mohammed, MJ. McMullan, B. Schelkle, C. van Oosterhout. Ecologia Balkanica, Volume 2, pages 61 to 63. December 2010.
• The role of parasites and inbreeding in captive breeding programs for the release of animals into the wild: experiments with the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). C. van Oosterhout, A. Smith, B. Hänfling, IW. Ramnarine, RS. Mohammed and J. Cable. Journal of Conservation Biology. Volume 21, No. 6, Pages 1573 to 1583, Society for Conservation Biology. July 2007.
• Selection by parasites in spate conditions in wild Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) C. van Oosterhout, RS. Mohammed, H. Hansen, GA. Archard, MJ. McMullan, DJ. Weese and J. Cable. International Journal for Parasitology, Volume 37, Pages 805 to 812. December 2006.
• Balancing selection, random genetic drift and genetic variation at the major histocompatabilty complex in two wild populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata). C. van Oosterhout, DA. Joyce, SM. Cummings, J. Blais, NJ. Barson, IW. Ramnarine, RS. Mohammed, N. Persad, and J. Cable. Journal of Evolution, 60 (12), Page 207. August 2006.

Work Experience (Non Academic)

• March 2013 – Present: Internal Verifier, Inland Aquaculture, Level 1 CVQ and Level 2 TTNVQ, Re-training Programme, YTTEP, (Cycle 26 to 30).
• January 2012 – Present: Senior Aquatic Biologist, Eco Project Limited
• August 2010 – August 2011, March 2012 – October 2012: Internal Verifier, Inland Aquaculture Operations (Tilapia Production) Level 1 CVQ, Re-training Programme (Cycle 22, 24 and 25), MSTTE.
• (January 2009 – December 2011). Senior Consultant and Partner of Strategic Environmental Services Limited (SES Ltd)
• June - August 2002: Manager, Bamboo Grove Fish Farm, Trinidad (hatchery, nursery and grow out facility for, Hoplosternum littorale (‘Cascadura’), Oreochromis niloticus (Silver or Nile Tilapia), Red Tilapia Hybrid and Malaysian prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).