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Available Bachelor Topics
Evaluating Food-Anticipatory Behavior as a Biomarker for Cognitive Decline in the Turquoise Killifish
Globally, the proportion of the elderly in the human population is increasing, carrying significant social and economic implications for society at large. Consequently, scientific attention is increasingly focused on aging research, its manifestations, and the early detection of its symptoms. Aging is characterized not only by physical decline but also by alterations in behavior, disruptions of daily biorhythms, and a decline in learning capacity (Valenzano et al. 2006; Bedbrook et al. 2026). Since these changes can serve as early biomarkers for severe neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, it is crucial to study them in detail. The turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) has emerged as a flagship model organism for this purpose due to its exceptionally short lifespan and compressed aging process (Hu and Brunet 2018; Bedbrook et al. 2026).
One specific behavior that links learning ability with daily biorhythms is food-anticipatory activity (Javier Sánchez-Vázquez and Madrid 2001). This occurs when organisms, repeatedly fed at the same time each day, begin to anticipate the feeding, showing increased excitation and aggregating at the feeding site in advance. This behavior is a direct product of both associative learning and the functionality of the endogenous circadian clock. Therefore, the intensity and temporal precision of this anticipatory behavior may serve as effective assays for detecting the onset of senescence. By conducting a series of multi-week behavioral experiments across three age cohorts of the turquoise killifish—utilizing passive photosensors to monitor activity levels—this thesis will investigate how aging modifies anticipatory behavior. This work aims to provide essential insights into the behavioral periodicity and learning capabilities of N. furzeri in the context of biological aging.
If interested, please contact Jakub Žák – 248375@mail.muni.cz, University Campus Bohunice: D32/311
Association between visual cues and macronutrient intake in a short-lived fish species
Identifying food types and their composition prior to ingestion allows for the optimization of specific macronutrient intake, which has the potential to increase individual fitness (Dukas and Bernays 2000). These recognition mechanisms are grounded in associative learning, where complex stimuli are linked to a particular food type or its nutritional value; in this context, visual stimuli play a significant role (Raubenheimer and Tucker 1997). Associative learning of food properties is especially critical in unpredictable and dynamically changing environments (Dukas and Bernays 2000). The turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is a small fish inhabiting ephemeral pools in the African savannah that remain filled for only a few weeks (Reichard and Polačik 2018). This environment, and consequently the available food supply, changes dynamically, making it vital for the killifish to rapidly learn and recognize nutritional properties based on external cues. While vision is considered an essential sense for environmental orientation and foraging in killifish, there is a lack of empirical data demonstrating associative learning in relation to food intake or specific macronutrients. This bachelor’s thesis, through a series of experiments conducted in the accredited facilities of the Department of Botany and Zoology (UBZ), will utilize self-operated sensory feeders to test the association between visual color stimuli and macronutrient preference.
If interested, please contact Jakub Žák – 248375@mail.muni.cz, University Campus Bohunice: D32/311
Available Master Topics
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