How important is natural sunlight?

Synopsis 

Laboratory animals are kept under artificial lights, including broad-spectrum lights designed to mimic natural sunlight. But basking under natural sunlight could be important in development, and animals deprived of natural sunlight might develop abnormally. The UNSW project: How Important is Natural Sunlight seeks to understand the effects of natural versus artificial light in insects.

Aims 

This project will involve innovative experiments to test for the effects of basking in natural versus artificial light on the development of laboratory insects.

Student benefits 

You’ll conduct cutting-edge research on a high-profile question in evolutionary ecology. Through this project, you will learn how to:

• design and carry out experiments
• carry out sophisticated statistical analysis
• write an influential scientific paper.

Honours students in the Bonduriansky lab often publish their work in prestigious journals, such as:

• The American Naturalist
• Functional Ecology
• Animal Behaviour
• Scientific Reports.