Sigal Balshine

Sigal Balshine is a Professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, affiliated with the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and serving as associate member of the Department of Biology. Her research focuses on evolutionary behavioural ecology, particularly sociality, breeding system evolution, and anthropogenic impacts on animal behavior, primarily through studies of fish but also extending to birds and human-related ecological issues.

• PhD in Zoology (University of Cambridge, 1995)
• BSc in Zoology (University of Toronto, 1989)
• Post-doctoral fellowships at Tel Aviv University, Konrad Lorenz Institute, and University of East Anglia

Her research integrates animal behavior, behavioral ecology, and neuroscience, with recent work examining how environmental stressors like anthropogenic noise and wastewater pollution affect fish physiology and social interactions. She investigates parental care evolution, social hierarchies, and reproductive tactics across species including cichlids, round gobies, and toadfish.

Key trends in her 2024-2025 publications include studies on acoustic communication disruption in midshipman fish, environmental stressors in invasive species, and neuroendocrine regulation of social behavior. Her work often combines field and laboratory approaches, emphasizing ecologically relevant contexts.

She actively supervises graduate students in both Psychology and Biology departments and leads the Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory (ABEL) at McMaster University, which explores how aquatic animals adapt to environmental changes through behavioral and physiological mechanisms.