Shellfish responses to global environmental change - implications for aquaculture and marine conservation

Scientific background
Coastal habitats provide important socioeconomic resources, yet they are experiencing unprecedented pressures. Overharvesting, pollution and introduction of invasive species resulted in a major decline of the native oyster that required a shift to the introduced Pacific oyster in commercial aquaculture. Current conservation programmes including ENORI, aim to restore self-sustaining populations of native oysters to increase ecosystem services, sustainable fisheries and biodiversity.

In-situ mariculture of either of the two oyster species, and restoration of the native oyster, critically depends on successful spawning, settlement and/or collection of juvenile oysters. Thresholds of water temperature drive the variation in the timing of these events but this is unpredictable due to increasing temperature variation.

This project will address the sustainable expansion of oyster production and native oyster restoration through the application of remote sensing for shellfish spawning, behaviour and survival. You will direct the project's research emphasis and develop scientific hypotheses to assess the ecophysiological diversity of oysters. You will start investigating native and introduced oysters and quantify:
1. The inter-population variation in metabolic and behavioural responses to temperature.
2. The release of reproductive cells in the field and during laboratory incubations.
3. The inter-individual variation in oyster larvae and their settlement success under different temperatures and habitat types.

Research methodology
Supported by a research assistant funded via the £4.4 million UK Aquaculture Initiative, you will conduct laboratory incubations and collect scientific data in the Colne/Blackwater estuaries. Optode respirometry quantifies the metabolic activity and novel valvometry sensors measure growth, gaping, spawning and survival. Settlement assays and imaging tools can quantify larval behaviour and growth.

Training
You will join the EEM Group to work with marine biologists, electronic engineers and aquaculturists, and receive specific training on field/laboratory experimentation, oyster biology and conservation, electronic sensor networks, and the management of oyster fisheries. This will expose you to diverse disciplines and sectors, gaining professional skills in fieldwork, sensor technology and aquaculture. The ARIES DTP will provide generic training.