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David C. Heins
Ph.D,
Biology, Tulane University, 1979
Professor
Department of Ecology &
Evolutionary Biology
Boggs 400 • Tulane University
• New Orleans, LA 70118-5698
Phone: (504) 865-5191 • Fax:
(504) 862-8706
Ecology and
Life-History Evolution of Fishes, Host-Parasite Relationships
Research in my laboratory focuses on the life histories and evolutionary ecologies of fishes in North America. The investigations involve the testing of hypotheses using quantitative data derived from both field and laboratory research and a combination of modeling and statistical methods.
There are three major geographical regions where the field work for most of my projects is being conducted. One is along the northern Gulf Coastal Plain from Texas to Florida. The second geographical area is the southwestern United States, and the third one in which I am conducting research is the south-central region of Alaska including the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and the Kenai Peninsula. Studies along the Gulf Coastal Plain focus on the populations of minnows and darters inhabiting the steams that drain the landscapes there. In addition, I am conducting research on the host-parasite relationships of killifishes from estuaries of the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Research in the southwestern United States focuses on pupfishes. Work in Alaska emphasizes populations of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, that live in lakes of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and the Kenai Peninsula.
Darters and Minnows of the Northern Gulf Coastal Plain
There are two major types of studies involved in the research on darters and minnows. One group of studies includes investigations of their life histories. Biological traits of interest include clutch size, egg size, reproductive effort, size and/or age of maturity, and longevity. We are interested in the patterns of variation in these traits and their causal mechanisms. Emphases of these studies include historical constraints on evolution from ancestry, adaptive responses due to natural selection, and immediate influences of environmental factors on phenotypic plasticity.
The second group of studies involves
a series of collaborative projects on the ecomorphology of the
blacktail shiner, Cyprinella venusta. The research
involves the study of variation in body shape and size within and
among populations and seeks to understand how and why differences
in these traits occur among the different biological forms. These
studies employ the methods of the emerging field of geometric
morphometrics which is a sophisticated set of procedures allowing
the description of shape and size variation. At present, we are
studying shape and size differences in the blacktail shiner that
are associated with ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, and stream flow.
Haas, T. C., M. J. Blum, and D. C. Heins. 2010. Morphological responses of a
stream fish to water impoundment. Biology
Letters 6: 803-806.
Threespine Stickleback of South-Central Alaska
Research on the threespine
stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus,s involves
collaborative research with John Baker and Susan Foster of Clark
University in Worcester, Massachusetts. We are pursuing two main
avenues of study. One is the life-history evolution of the
threespine stickleback and the other is the host-parasite
relationship between the threespine stickleback and the cestode
parasite Schistocephalus solidus. Our studies of
life-history evolution in stickleback focus on variations in
clutch size, egg size, and reproductive effort and seek to
elucidate the evolutionary factors that have resulted in the
patterns we have observed. Our studies on the host-parasite
relationship seek an understanding of how the parasite affects the
reproductive traits of stickleback in different populations, and
they extend to understanding how differences among host
populations affect outcomes for the parasite.
Baker,
J. A., D. C. Heins, R. W. King, and S. A. Foster. 2011. Rapid shifts in
multiple life-history traits in a population of threespine
stickleback. Journal of Evolutionary
Biology 24:
863-870.
Heins,
D. C., J. A. Baker, M. A. Toups, and E. L. Birden.
2010. Evolutionary significance of fecundity reduction in
threespine stickleback infected by the diphyllobothriidean
cestode Schistocephalus solidus. Biological
Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 835-846.
Pupfishes of the Southwestern United States
A new area of research in the lab is
the study of life history diversity of pupfishes (Cyprinodon)
of the southwestern United States. This research is being
conducted in collaboration with Alice and Anthony Echelle of
Oklahoma State University.
Lee, J.S., D.C. Heins, A.F. Echelle, and A.A.
Echelle. 2014. Annual ovarian cycle and other reproductive
traits of female red river pupfish (Cyprinodon
rubrofluviatilis) in the Red River drainage of Texas. Southwestern
Natrualist 59: 9-14.
Kurz, M.L., D.C. Heins, M.A. Bell and F.A. von Hippel. 2016. Shifts in life-history traits of two introduced populations of threespine stickleback. Evolutionary Ecology Research 17: 225-242.
Heins, D.C. and
J. A. Baker. 2008. The stickleback-Schistocephalus
host-parasite system as a model for understanding the effect of
a macroparasite on host reproduction. Behaviour 145: 625-645 .
Baker, J.
A., D. C. Heins, S. A.
Foster and R.W. King. 2008. An overview of life-history
variation in female threespine stickleback. Behaviour 145:
579-602.
Schultz, E.,
M. Topper, and D. C. Heins.
2006. Decreased reproductive investment of female threespine
stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus infected with the
cestode Schistocephalus solidus: parasite adaptation,
host adaptation, or side effect? Oikos 114: 303-310.
Heins,
D. C., J. A. Baker, G. De Silva, and E.
L. Birden. 2005. Clutch characteristics of two populations of
ninespine stickleback from south-central Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology
67: 873-878.
Baker, J. A., W. A. Cresko, S. A. Foster, and D. C. Heins. 2005. Life history differentiation of benthic and limnetic ecotypes in a polytypic population of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Evolutionary Ecology Research 7: 121-131.
Heins, D. C., B. Ulinski, J. Johnson, and J. A. Baker. 2004. Effect of the cestode macroparasite Schistocephalus pungitii on the reproductive success of ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82: 1731-1737.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and J. M. Guill. 2004. Seasonal and interannual components of intrapopulational variation in clutch size and egg size of a darter. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 13: 258-265.
Bagamian, K. H., D. C. Heins. and J. A. Baker. 2004. Body condition and reproduction capacity of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) infected with the cestode macroparastie Schistocephalus solidus. Journal of Fish Biology 64: 1568-1576.
Heins, D. C., J. M. Johnson and J. A. Baker. 2003. Reproductive ecology of the ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius (Linnaeus) from South-Central Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology 63: 1131-1143.
Joachim, R. D., J. M. Guill, and D. C. Heins. 2003. Female reproductive life-history traits of the rock darter, Etheostoma rupestre, from Flat Creek Alabama. American Midland Naturalist 150: 268-274.
Guill, J. M., D. C. Heins. and C. S. Hood. 2003. Phylogeny and body shape variation in darters. Systematic Biology 52: 488-500.
Guill, J. M., C. S. Hood and D. C. Heins. 2003 Body shape variation within and among three species of darters (Perciformes: Percidae). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 12: 134-140.
Heins, D. C. and J. A. Baker. 2003. Reduction of egg size in natural populations of threespine stickleback infected with a cestode macroparasite. Journal of Parasitology 89: 1-6.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and H. C. Martin. 2002. The "crowding effect" in the cestode Schistocephalus solidus: density-dependent effects on plerocercoid size and infectivity. Journal of Parasitology 88: 302-307.
Machado, M. D., D. C. Heins., and H. L. Bart, Jr. 2002. Microgeographical variation in ovum size of the blacktail shiner, Cyprinella venusta Girard, in relation to streamflow. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 11: 11-19.
Heins, D. C. 2001. Variation in clutch size and ovum size of the snubnose darter, Etheostoma simoterum (Cope), from two populations in Tennessee. American Midland Naturalist 145: 74-79.
Hood, C. S. and D. C. Heins. 2000. Ontogeny and allometry of body shape in the blacktail shiner, Cyprinella venusta. Copeia 2000: 270-275.
Guill, J. M. and D. C. Heins. 2000. Interannual variation in clutch and egg size of the banded darter, Etheostoma zonale. Copeia 2000: 230-233.
Heins, D. C. , S. S. Singer and J. A. Baker. 1999. Virulence of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus and reproduction in infected threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77: 1967-1974.
Heins, D. C. and J. A. Baker. 1999. Evaluation of ovum storage techniques for reproductive studies of fishes. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 8: 65-69.
Baker, J. A., S. A. Foster, D. C. Heins., M. A. Bell and R. W. King. 1998. Variation in female life-history traits among Alaskan populations of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, L. (Pisces: Gasterosteidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 63:141-159.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker and D. J. Tylicki. 1996. Reproductive season, clutch size and egg size of the rainbow darter, Etheostoma caeruleum, from the Homochitto River, Mississippi, with an evaluation of data from the literature. Copeia 1996: 1005-1010.
Guill, J. M. and D. C. Heins. 1996. Clutch size and egg size variation in the banded darter, Etheostoma zonale, from three sites in Arkansas. Environmental Biology of Fishes 46: 409-413.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, R. W. King, and K. Lahti. 1995. Evaluation of ovum fixation and storage in three-spined stickleback. Journal of Fish Biology 47: 923-925.
Baker, J. A., and D. C. Heins. 1994. Reproductive life history of the North American madtom catfish, Noturus hildebrandi (Bailey & Taylor 1950), with a review of data for the genus. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 3: 167-175.
Baker, J. A., and D. C. Heins. 1994. Effect of drying temperature on weight estimates for oocytes and eggs of the brighteye darter, Etheostoma lynceum. Copeia 1994: 821-823.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1993. Clutch production in the darter Etheostoma lynceum Hay and its implications for life-history study. Journal of Fish Biology 42: 819-829.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1993. Reproductive biology of the brighteye darter, Etheostoma lynceum, from the Homochitto River, Mississippi. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 4: 11-20.
Heins, D. C., and M. D. Machado. 1993. Spawning season, clutch characteristics, sexual dimorphism and sex ratio in the redfin darter Etheostoma whipplei. American Midland Naturalist 129: 161-171.
Ross, S. T., D. C. Heins., and J. W. Burris. 1992. Fishes of Okatoma Creek, a free-flowing stream in south-central Mississippi. Proceedings of the Southeastern Fishes Council 26: 2-10.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1992. Historical and recent influences on reproduction in North American stream fishes, p. 573-599. In: R. L. Mayden (ed.). Systematics, Historical Ecology, and North American Freshwater Fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and W. P. Dunlap. 1992. Yolk loading in oocytes of darters and its consequences for life-history study. Copeia 1992: 404-412.
Heins, D. C. 1991. Variation in reproductive investment among populations of the longnose shiner, Notropis longirostris, from contrasting environments. Copeia 1991: 736-744.
Parrish, J. D., D. C. Heins., and J. A. Baker. 1991 Reproductive season, clutch parameters and oocyte size of the Johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum from southwestern Mississippi. American Midland Naturalist 125: 180-186.
Heins, D. C. 1990. Field evidence for multiple clutches in the longnose shiner. Copeia 1990: 579-582.
Heins, D. C. 1990. Mating behaviors of the blacktail shiner, Cyprinella venusta, from southeastern Mississippi. Proceedings of the Southeastern Fishes Council 21: 5-7.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1989. Growth, population structure, and reproduction of the percid fish Percina vigil. Copeia 1989: 727-736.
Heins, D. C., and F. G. Rabito, Jr. 1988. Reproductive traits in populations of the weed shiner, Notropis texanus, from the Gulf Coastal Plain. Southwestern Naturalist 33: 147-156.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1988. Egg sizes in fishes: Do mature oocytes accurately demonstrate size statistics of ripe ova? Copeia 1988: 238-240.
Heins, D. C., and J. A. Baker. 1987. Analysis of factors associated with intraspecific variation in propagule size of a stream-dwelling fish, p. 223-231. In: W. J. Matthews and D. C. Heins (eds.). Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Stream Fishes. Univ. Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma.
Heins, D. C., and W. J. Matthews. 1987. Historical perspectives on the study of the community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes, p. 3-7. In: W. J. Matthews and D. C. Heins (eds.). Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Stream Fishes. Univ. Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma.
Heins, D. C., and D. R. Dorsett. 1986. Reproductive traits of the blacktail shiner, Notropis venustus (Girard), in southeastern Mississippi. Southwestern Naturalist 31: 185-189.
Heins, D. C., and F. G. Rabito, Jr. 1986. Spawning performance in North American minnows: direct evidence of the occurrence of multiple clutches in the genus Notropis. Journal of Fish Biology 28: 343-357.
Rabito, F. G., Jr., and D. C. Heins. 1985. Spawning behaviour and sexual dimorphism in the North American cyprinid fish Notropis leedsi, the bannerfin shiner. Journal of Natural History 19: 1155-1163.
Heins, D. C. 1985. Life history traits of the Florida sand darter Ammocrypta bifascia, and comparisons with the naked sand darter Ammocrypta beani. American Midland Naturalist 113: 209-216.
Heins, D. C., and J. R. Rooks. 1984. Life history of the naked sand darter, Ammocrypta beani, in southeastern Mississippi, p. 61-69. In: D. G. Lindquist and L. M. Page (eds.). Environmental Biology of Darters. Dev. Env. Biol. Fish. 4, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Matthews, M. M., and D. C. Heins. 1984. Life history of the redfin shiner, Notropis umbratilis (Pisces: Cyprinidae), in Mississippi. Copeia 1984: 385-390.
Heins, D. C. and D. Davis. 1984. The reproductive season of the weed shiner, Notropis texanus (Pisces: Cyprinidae), in southeastern Mississippi. Southwestern Naturalist 29: 133-135.
Heins, D. C. 1981. Life history pattern of Notropis sabinae (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in the lower Sabine River drainage of Louisiana and Texas. Tulane Studies in Zoology Botany 22: 67-84.
Heins, D. C., G. E. Gunning, and J. D. Williams. 1980. Reproduction and population structure of an undescribed species of Notropis (Pisces: Cyprinidae) from the Mobile Bay drainage, Alabama. Copeia 1980: 822-830.
Bresnick, G. I., and D. C. Heins. 1977. The age and growth of the weed shiner, Notropis texanus (Girard). American Midland Naturalist 98: 491-495.
Heins, D. C., and G. H. Clemmer. 1976. The reproductive biology, age and growth of the North American cyprinid, Notropis longirostris (Hay). Journal of Fish Biology 8: 365-379.
Heins, D. C., and G. H. Clemmer. 1975. Ecology, foods and feeding of the longnose shiner, Notropis longirostris (Hay), in Mississippi. American Midland Naturalist 94: 284-295.
Heins, D. C., and G. I. Bresnick. 1975. The ecological life history of the cherryfin shiner, Notropis roseipinnis. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 104: 516-523.
Book
Matthews, W. J., and D. C. Heins (eds.). 1987. Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Stream Fishes. Univ. Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. 310 p.
Strobel,
H., F. Alda, C.G. Sprehn, M.J. Blum
and D.C. Heins. 2016. Geographic and
host-mediated population genetic structure
in a cestode parasite of three-spined
stickleback. Biological Journal of the
Linnean Society 119:
381-396.
Kurz, M.L., D.C. Heins, M. A. Bell and F.A. von Hippel. 2016. Shifts in life-history traits of two introduced populations of threespine stickleback. Evolutionary Ecology Research 17: 225-242.
Heins,
D.C., H.
Knoper and
J.A. Baker. 2016.
Consumptive and
non-consumptive
effects of
predation by
introduced
northern pike on
life history
traits in
threespine
stickleback. Evolutionary
Ecology Research
17: 355-372.
Heins, D. C., K. A. Barry and L. A. Petrauskas. 2014. Consistency of host responses to parasitic infection in the three-spined stickleback fish infected by the diphyllobothriidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 113: 958-968.
Lee,
J.S., D.C. Heins, A.F. Echelle, and A.A.
Echelle. 2014. Annual ovarian cycle and other
reproductive traits of female red river pupfish (Cyprinodon
rubrofluviatilis) in the Red River drainage of
Texas. Southwestern Natrualist
59: 9-14.
Hughley, M. C., Heins, D. C., Jelks, H. L., Ory, B. A., Jordan, F. 2012. Variation in reproductive life history traits between two populations of blackbanded darters (Percina nigrofasciata). Copeia 2012: 714-721.
Heins,
D. C.
and
J. K. Ecke.
2012. The rise and fall of an epizootic of the
diphyllobothriidean cestode Schistocephalus
pungitii infecting the
ninespine stickleback. Journal of
Parasitology 98: 1-5.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and D. M. Green.
2011. Processes influencing the duration and decline of epizootics in Schistocephalus
solidus. Journal of Parasitology 97:371-376.
Heins, D. C., J. A.
Baker, M. A. Toups, and
E. L. Birden. 2010.
Evolutionary significance of fecundity reduction in threespine
stickleback infected by the diphyllobothriidean cestode Schistocephalus
solidus. Biological Journal of the Linnean
Society 100: 835-846.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, G. De Silva, and E. L. Birden. 2005. Clutch characteristics of two populations of ninespine stickleback from south-central Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology 67: 873-878.
Heins, D. C., B. Ulinski, J. Johnson, and J. A. Baker. 2004. Effect of the cestode macroparasite Schistocephalus pungitii on the reproductive success of ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82: 1731-1737.
Bagamian, K. H., D. C. Heins and J. A. Baker. 2004. Body condition and reproductive capacity of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) infected with the cestode macroparasite Schistocephalus solidus. Journal of Fish Biology 64: 1568-1576.
Heins, D. C., J. M. Johnson and J. A Baker. 2003. Reproductive ecology of the ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitus (Linnaeus) from South-Central Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology 63: 1131-1143.
Joachim, R. D., J. M. Guill, and D. C. Heins, 2003. Female reproductive life-history traits of the rock darter, Etheostoma rupestre, from Flat Creek Alabama. American Midland Naturalist 150: 268-274.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and H. C. Martin. 2002. The "crowding effect" in the cestode Schistocephalus solidus: density-dependent effects on plerocercoid size and infectivity. Journal of Parasitology 88: 302-307.
Heins, D. C., S. S. Singer and J. A. Baker. 2000. Virulence of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus and reproduction in infected threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77: 1967-1974.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker and D. J. Tylicki. 1996. Reproductive season, clutch size and egg size of the rainbow darter, Etheostoma caeruleum, from the Homochitto River, Mississippi, with an evaluation of data from the literature. Copeia 1996: 1005-1010.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, R. W. King, and K. Lahti. 1995. Evaluation of ovum fixation and storage in three-spined stickleback. Journal of Fish Biology 47: 923-925.
Heins, D. C., and M. D. Machado. 1993. Spawning season, clutch characteristics, sexual dimorphism and sex ratio in the redfin darter Etheostoma whipplei. American Midland Naturalist 129: 161-171.
Parrish, J. D., D. C. Heins, and J. A. Baker. 1991 Reproductive season, clutch parameters and oocyte size of the Johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum from southwestern Mississippi. American Midland Naturalist 125: 180-186.
Heins, D. C., and F. G. Rabito, Jr. 1988. Reproductive traits in populations of the weed shiner, Notropis texanus, from the Gulf Coastal Plain. Southwestern Naturalist 33: 147-156.
Heins, D. C., and F. G. Rabito, Jr. 1986. Spawning performance in North American minnows: direct evidence of the occurrence of multiple clutches in the genus Notropis. Journal of Fish Biology 28: 343-357.
Rabito, F. G., Jr., and D. C. Heins. 1985. Spawning behaviour and sexual dimorphism in the North American cyprinid fish Notropis leedsi, the bannerfin shiner. Journal of Natural History 19: 1155-1163.
Haas, T. C., G. Derryberry, D. C. Heins, and M. J. Blum. 2021. Chronosequence of morphological change in a stream fish following impoundment. Freshwater Biology 66: 1721-1735
Gagne,
R.B., D.C.
Heins, P.B.
McIntyre, J.F.
Gilliam and M.J.
Blum. 2016. Mutual
dilution of
infection by an
introduced
parasite in native
and invasive
stream fishes
across Hawaii. Parasitology
143:
1605-1614.
Strobel, H., F. Alda, C.G. Sprehn, M.J. Blum and D.C. Heins. 2016. Geographic and host-mediated population genetic structure in a cestode parasite of three-spined stickleback. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 119: 381-396.
Heins,
D.C., D. M. Eidam, J. A. Baker.
2016. Timing of infections in the
threespine stickleback by Schistocephalus
solidus in Alaska. Journal of
Parasitology 102: 286-289.
Sprehn, C.G., M.J. Blum, T.P. Quinn and D.C. Heins. 2015. Landscape genetics of Schistocephalus solidus parasites in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Alaska. PLoS ONE 10: e0122307. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122307.
Haas,
T., D. C. Heins, and M. J. Blum.
2015. Predictors of body shape among
populations of stream fish (Cyprinella
venusta, Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).
Biological Journal of the Linnean
Society 115: 842-858.
Heins, D. C., E. L. Birden, and J. A.
Baker. 2010. Host mortality and variability in epizootics of Schistocephalus
solidus infecting the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus
aculeatus. Parasitology 137: 1681–1686.
Haas,
T. C., M. J. Blum, and D. C. Heins.
2010. Morphological responses of a stream fish to water
impoundment. Biology Letters 6:
803-806.
Heins, D. C., J. A. Baker, and J. M. Guill. 2004. Seasonal and interannual components of intrapopulational variation in clutch size and egg size of a darter. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 13: 258-265.
Joachim, R. D., J. M. Guill, and D. C. Heins, 2003. Female reproductive life-history traits of the rock darter, Etheostoma rupestre, from Flat Creek Alabama. American Midland Naturalist 150: 268-274.
Guill, J. M., D. C. Heins and C. S. Hood. 2003. Phylogeny and body shape variation in darters. Systematic Biology 52: 488-500.
Guill, J. M., C. S. Hood and D. C. Heins. 2003 Body shape variation within and among three species of darters (Perciformes: Percidae). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 12: 134-140.
Machado, M. D., D. C. Heins, and H. L. Bart, Jr. 2002. Microgeographic variation in ovum size of the blacktail shiner, Cyprinella venusta Girard, in relation to streamflow. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 11: 11-19.
Guill, J. M. and D. C. Heins. 2000. Interannual variation in clutch and egg size of the banded darter, Etheostoma zonale. Copeia 2000: 270-275.
Guill, J. M. and D. C. Heins. 1996. Clutch size and egg size variation in the banded darter, Etheostoma zonale, from three sites in Arkansas. Environmental Biology of Fishes 46: 409-413.