Dr. Margaret Docker

Dr. Docker’s research interests include conservation genetics of fishes (particularly lampreys and the underappreciated freshwater fishes in Manitoba), the genetic basis of parallel phenotypic evolution (particularly the evolution of non-parasitism in lampreys), and the use environmental DNA (eDNA) for cost-effectively and non-invasively monitoring aquatic organisms.

Since completing her PhD in 1992 under the supervision of Dr. Bill Beamish at the University of Guelph, Margaret has also been trying to understand the mystery of the sex determination system in lampreys. With funding from NSERC and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and collaboration with Drs. Phil Grayson, Colin Garroway, Sara Good, Alison Wright, and PhD candidate Tamanna Yasmin, lamprey sex determination is finally starting to become a little less mysterious.