About the project
The marine and freshwater regions encompassing Skagerrak, Kattegat, Øresund and the North Sea are biologically highly productive and contain plentiful living aquatic resources that are important for the region. At the same time the coastal areas are densely populated and industrialized, fish and shellfish resources are heavily harvested, and waters are subject to pollution and eutrophication. The region is also markedly affected by the ongoing global warming, with sea temperature rising nearly 2 degrees C during the last 40 years.
These environmental pressures call for investigations into the consequences for aquatic organisms, their potential for adapting to environmental changes, and for identifying management strategies that could mitigate deteriorating environmental conditions, using stateof-the-art methodology.
The revolutionizing developments in genomics now allow for mapping of entire genomes for virtually any organism. A parallel development has occurred within microelectronics, leading to advanced tags that record abiotic and biotic data. Recent advances in computer modeling allow for increased spatio-temporal resolution in ocean circulation and habitat models, and for integrating data into more comprehensive analyses of environmental challenges to aquatic organisms and ecosystems.
Objectives
Advances in these and related areas have so far lead to the realization that individual differences need to be appraised and future research should focus on the level of individual organisms.
Specific examples include the following:
Are fish locally adapted to conditions within the Skagerrak, Kattegat and Øresund and how do they differ from North Sea fish?
Do individual "personalities" of fishes have consequences for population dynamics and the fishery? What behavioral and physical characteristics distinguish those individuals that are successful in producing surviving offspring from those that are less successful?
Are individual characteristics inherited and could they represent a resource for evolutionary adaptation to changing environmental conditions?
Do different individuals and populations utilize aquatic habitats differently and are they harvested differently?
What genetic effects do fisheries have on the target populations?
What genetic and ecological effects do supplementary releases of artificially reared fish have on wild populations? How could such effects be mitigated through better management strategies?
These and related research questions will be addressed in the project through a cooperative effort, linking universities and aquatic and marine research institutes within the ØKS region.
Cooperation
The ØKS region harbor leading scientific environments within the aquatic, marine and genomics sciences that are complementary with respect to research and education and that would strongly benefit from better integration and networking. This proposal aims to establish a research cluster and expand the number of active PhDs, postdocs and senior researchers within the region that focus on applying technological advances to key questions in ecology and applied science.
By integrating marine genomics, microelectronic tagging techniques and computer modeling, we aim at fostering an innovative research and educational network in the ØKS region that can grow and persist into the future. The present group has, through its pilot project (MarGen), reviewed state-of-the-art of the field and questions and topics of particular importance for the stakeholders and the region.
The synergy of gathering top level researchers from each of the Scandinavian counties, with complementary expertise, in a common project will enable us to reach for top level international research. PhD and post docs would benefit greatly from combining novel techniques and increasing their network. This would greatly enhance their chances to stay active and be productive as researcher in the years to come.
Financing
INTERREG v/Havforskningsinstituttet
Period
01.07.2015 - 30.06.2019