Marine Bivalves
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine 91̽»¨s. Degree projects at the Department of Marine 91̽»¨s are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Main Subject: Marine Biology
Suitable level: Bachelor’s and Master’s
Suitable length: Both shorter and longer projects
Supervisors: Mats Lindegarth (Professor), Per Bergström (Principal research engineer), Youk Greeve (PhD student), Cruise Speck (PhD student)
Background
At the Department of Marine 91̽»¨s there is a research group that has actively been working with marine bivalves in a wide range of research questions for more than ten years.
The group works with questions related to bivalves in general and blue mussels and oysters in particular, including aquaculture and natural populations.
Examples of ongoing fields of research
- Fouling on low-trophic aquaculture
- Other mussel farming related questions (growth, site-selection etc)
- Interaction between sub-populations of Blue mussels in/from various habitats (natural and artificial), causes and consequences of changes in distribution and abundances
Members of the Marine Bivalves Research Group
- Mats Lindegarth, Professor
- Per Bergström, Principal research engineer
- Youk Greeve, PhD student
- Cruise Speck, PhD student
Ideas for projects
We have ideas for shorter and longer student projects. We are also open to specified projects on subjects related to bivalves based on students' interest and wishes.
To provide the best available supervision, the primary supervisor may vary depending on main subject, timing, availability of the researchers within the group, placement, and wishes from the students.
Shorter projects
- Transport of empty oyster shells – how and to what extent are dead shells transported under various environmental conditions. There is a miss-match between the distribution of living oysters and dead shells along the coast. Causes and consequences of this can influence the management and conservation of oyster areas and is thus of interest to study further.
- Spatial patterns of fouling organism within mussel farms.
- Pontoons as a blue mussel habitat
Longer projects
- Studies on larval settlement and recruitment
- Small-scale spatial growth patterns – how does the growth vary at small scale within a bay and are there differences among different depth intervals
- Growth patterns within mussel farms - Edge vs middle of farm, close to surface vs deeper etc
- Effect of filamentous algae on settlement, recruitment and survival of bivalves in shallow habitats.
- Effects of predations on survival and distribution of infaunal bivalves
- Studies on how the use of protective nets (against bird predations) affect the growth and conditions of farmed mussels.
- Benthic effects of low-trophic aquaculture
91̽»¨
Mats Lindegarth, Professor
Email: mats.lindegarth@marine.gu.se,
Per Bergström, Principal research engineer
Email: per.bergstrom@marine.gu.se,
Youk Greeve, PhD student
Email: youk.greeve@gu.se,
Cruise Speck, PhD student
Email: cruise.speck@gu.se