Hi! My name is Sarah Young-Veenstra. I am a Master’s of Science student, specializing in marine biology and ecology, at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada. My research is centred around exploring aspects of animals’ physiology that make them well suited for their ecological niche. In my undergraduate thesis I investigated how an air-induced elevation of cortisol levels is beneficial to an amphibious fish as it enhances their aerobic metabolic capacity on land.  In my Master’s, I am researching the mechanisms that facilitate freshwater tolerance in Atlantic stickleback species, an ancestrally saltwater-exclusive lineage, and investigating ecological factors that potentially limit these species’ ability to colonize freshwater environments.