Shellfish Health Research Group
Shellfish productivity in the Irish Sea: working towards a sustainable future (SUSFISH)
Objective:
The aim of the project is to investigate the biological (bivalve physiology, bivalve population genetics, bivalve disease and development) and environmental impacts of climate change (temperature, salinity, acidification) in several shellfish species (the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, the soft shell clam, Mya arenaria, the razor clam, Ensis siliqua/E. arcuatus, the edible cockle, Cerastoderm edule, and the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis (wild and cultured stocks)) in the Irish Sea. The research carried out at University College Cork will focus on field and laboratory based trials.
Location:
The SUSFISH project is a three year collaborative project between University College Cork, and Bangor, Swansea and Aberystwyth Universities in Wales.
Sponsor:
IRELAND WALES PROGRAMME 2007 – 2013 - INTERREG 4A. European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). INTERREG is an inter-regional programme that promotes cross-border co-operation addressing issues related to innovation, entrepeneurship, the knowledge economy, climate change, sustainable development and providing more and better jobs.
Research team:
Team leader and supervisor- Dr Sarah Culloty
Supervisor- Dr Ruth Ramsay
Postdoctoral researcher- Dr Sharon Lynch
PhD students- Ms Maud Cross, Emer Morgan
Further information:
http://www.cams.bangor.ac.uk/project-test.php?Project_ID=6
Current Research Group Activities
45th European Marine Biology Symposium 23-27 August, 2010
Keynote Speaker: Dr Sarah Culloty "Impacts of Disease on Marine Ecology"
Poster Presentation: Dr Sharon Lynch, Ms Maud Cross, Ms Emer Morgan
National Shellfisheries Association (NSA) Annual Meeting 27-31 March, 2011
The National Shellfish Association (NSA) is an international organisation of scientists, management officials and members of industry that is dedicated to the biology, ecology, production, economics and management of shellfish resources. The Association is based in the USA, but has membership of Canada, and 32 other nations. Each year a conference is held on either the West or East coast of the United States. On March 27-31, 2011, the 103rd annual meeting was held in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Sharon Lynch and Maud Cross attended this meeting, presenting two talks and four posters on different aspects of SUSFISH research at University College, Cork, Ireland (UCC). PhD student Maud Cross was subsequently granted the Thurlow C. Nelson award for her oral presentation: ‘Aspects of the Biology of the softshell clam, Mya arenaria, in the Irish Sea’, by the Presentation Awards Committee of the NSA Student Endowment fund. The Thurlow C. Nelson Award is given for the outstanding oral presentation of research that represents a distinctive and valuable contribution to shellfisheries science, and is named after the distinguished shellfish biologist who served as the NSA President from 1931-1933. The presence of Dr. Lynch and M. Cross at this conference generated much interest in aspects of shellfisheries in the Irish Sea, and useful contacts for future work.
SUSFISH Project Meeting 9-11 May 2011, Swansea University
A recent SUSFISH project meeting took place at Swansea University, UK Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th May. All researchers presented their work to date and future work plans were outlined and discussed.
