Hayat Mahdjoub

PhD Student

Contact Information

Department of Biology
Concordia University (Loyola Campus)
7141 Sherbrooke St. W. H4B 1R6
Montreal, QC, Canada
Lab: SP434

(514) 848-2424 (ext. 4021) 

hayat.mahdjoub@concordia.ca 

  

Education 

2024 – Present: PhD in Biology at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 

2010-2012: MSc Ecology at 08 Mai 1945 University, Guelma, Algeria 

2007-2010: BSc Biology at 08 Mai 1945 University, Guelma, Algeria 

My Project 

 The impact of abiotic and biotic stressors on sexual selection  

Background 

 Organisms are subject to both natural and sexual selection, and they must balance their responses as they adapt to the new environmental conditions. During mate selection, males and females assess the fitness advantages of their mates based on different types of phenotypic traits. These traits are shaped by their underlying genes and environmental conditions. Most studies have neglected the role of climate change along with other anthropogenic stressors and biotic interactions as drivers of sexual selection. These stressors can affect both the survival and functional traits, thereby influencing the fitness of sexual traits. Establishing the link between different stressors and sexual selection may be a crucial step towards unraveling the underlying mechanisms that modulate sexual selection in nature. Furthermore, the exploration of this avenue will shed light on the implications of sexual selection for population viability facing environmental changes.  

Objectives 

My main objective is to explore the underlying mechanisms of mate selection under different stressors to unravel how environmental changes shape sexual selection and its consequences on population viability, using insect as model organisms. 

Publications 

  • Mahdjoub H., Khelifa R., Roy J., Sbilordo S.H., Zeender V., Perdigón Ferreira J., Gourgoulianni N. & Lüpold S. (2023) Interplay between male quality and male-female compatibility in female choice across episodes of selection. Science Advances 9: eadf5559. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf5559. 
  • Mahdjoub, H., Zebsa, R., Amari, H., Bensouilah, S., Zouaimia, A., Youcefi, A., Samways, M.J. Khelifa, R. (2023). Density-dependent and sex-biased survival but not dispersal in an endangered endemic damselfly: implications for conservation. Scientific Reports. 13(1), 21819. 
  • Mahdjoub H., Zebsa, R., Amari, H., Bensouilah, S., Zouaimia, A., Youcefi, A. Khelifa, R. (2023) Potential fitness consequences of roosting spatiotemporal selection in an endangered endemic damselfly: conservation implications. Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1267705 
  • Mahdjoub H, Baaloudj A, Chaib S, Ramírez-Castañeda V, Barragan Contreras L. A., González-Tokman D., Villada-Bedoya S., Rocha-Ortega, M. Córdoba-Aguilar A., Rassim Khelifa R. (2023). A case study of the benefits and limitations of international collaboration. Frontiers in Education. 8, 1281219