Bachelor thesis - 15 credits

Bachelor project (15 ECTS) or Master project (30/60 ECTS) in biology

Fish welfare: Physiological responses to anaesthisia in brown trout

This research project aims to explore how brown trout respond to different anaesthetics. When set in water with an anaesthetic agent, fishes initially respond with increased activity. This results in  a cascade of physiological processes in the fish. In this project some of these responses will be investigated.

Background

There is a wide array of different teleost species used in scientific research world-wide. These fish are frequently anaesthetised for various procedures and previous studies suggest that there is a divergence in the response to different anaesthetics among species. The use and efficiency, from a practical point of view, of anaesthetics in different species have been studied and reviewed. However, the fish welfare aspect and the in depth understanding of the pharmacological mechanism of action and effect in different species are largely unknown. In view of our increased awareness of animal welfare, also regarding fish, along with an increased use of fish as experimental animals, standardised anaesthetic protocols that are species specific is a necessity to assure best practices with focus on fish welfare.

In earlier experiments we have shown that the stress (cortisol) response in brown trout appear to be higher in more acid water; non-buffered tricaine methanesulfonate lower the pH.

Methods

This project we will attempt to investigate thes further by comparing the response of juvenile brown trout to four treatment (non-buffered tricaine methanesulfonate, buffered tricaine methanesulfonate., river water and river water with pH=3 (using hydrochlorid acid).

Blood sample will be taken from about 80 trout and the blood will late be analyzed.

Depending on the number of credits the student wish to achieve the brains of the trout will also be sampled and analyzed for monamines (such as dopamine and noradrenaline).

Contacts

Erik  Petersson
Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua)
erik.h.petersson@slu.se 010-4784239

Svante Winberg
Uppsala University
svante.winberg@neuro.uu.se
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry
Svante.winberg@slu.se

Bachelor level (15 ECTS) or Master level (30/60 ECTS) in biology 

Fish welfare: Physiological responses to anaesthesia in zebrafish

This research project aims to explore how zebrafish respond to different anaesthetics. When set in water with an anaesthetic agent, fishes initially respond with increased activity. This, in turn, onset a cascade of physiological processes in the fish. In this project some of these responses will be investigated.

Background

There is a wide array of different teleost species used in scientific research world-wide. These fish are frequently anaesthetised for various procedures and previous studies suggest that there is a divergence in the response to different anaesthetics among species. The use and efficiency, from a practical point of view, of anaesthetics in different species have been studied and reviewed. However, the fish welfare aspect and the in depth understanding of the pharmacological mechanism of action and effect in different species are largely unknown. In view of our increased awareness of animal welfare, also regarding fish, along with an increased use of fish as experimental animals, standardised anaesthetic protocols that are species specific is a necessity to assure best practices with focus on fish welfare.

Zebrafish is the second most common laboratory aninmal in Sweden right now and knowledge about zebrafish behavior and physiology are important for future care and housing of the species.

In earlier experiments we have gathered information about the stress response in zebrafish to metomidate and tricaine methanesulfonate. We now like to investigate the response to three other  anaesthetic methods: eugenol, benzocaine and rapid cooling.

Methods

Zebrafish will be anaesthetized with the three methods mentioned above, the fish will thereafter be sampled for cortisol (whole –body). This require that the cortisol is extracted, i.e. you will spend many days in the laboratory.

Depending on the number of credits the student wish to achieve the brains of the zebrafish will also be sampled and analyzed for monamines (such as dopamine and noradrenaline).

Contact

Erik  Petersson
Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua)
erik.h.petersson@slu.se 010-4784239

Svante Winberg
Uppsala University
svante.winberg@neuro.uu.se
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry
Svante.winberg@slu.se

Bachelor's level (15 ECTS) or Master's level (30 ECTS)

Developing a socio-ecological model for risk assessment in the Baltic Sea

Thesis work in biology or sustainable development at the Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Within this project you will have the opportunity to develop a socio-ecological model for the Bothnian Sea that can be used for future management decisions in collaboration with stakeholders, managers and scientists.

Background

A key aim in ecosystem-based management (EBM) is to establish common goals among stakeholders, as this is expected to enable the continued delivery of ecosystem services, while reducing user conflicts. Socio-ecological models are often used to support this aim. The models help increase the understanding between stakeholders and scientists and investigate how management actions could affect the ecosystem and the people who depend upon it. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has initiated an EBM pilot project in the southern Bothnian Sea to involve stakeholders in developing an ecosystem-based management that integrates environmental goals with societal goals for the region.

Project

As part of the pilot EBM project, you will develop a socio-ecological model for the Bothnian sea in collaboration with stakeholders, managers and scientists. This, so called fuzzy cognitive model can be used in preparing future management decisions and increase the understanding between managers, stakeholders and scientists of the ecological and societal processes that affect environment status.

Practical work includes conducting interviews with managers and stakeholders and contributing to workshops within the southern Bothnian Sea EBM project. You should be familiar with R, interested in ecosystem-based management and comfortable interacting with people of different backgrounds. No previous modelling experience is necessary.

Contact

Bachelor's level (15 ECTS) or Master's level (30/60 ECTS)

Round goby – turning risk to resource

Thesis work in biology or environmental science at the Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

The round goby is native in the Black sea and Capian Sea but has probably come by ballast water to the Baltic Sea. It was first reported 1990 in the bay of Gdansk where ot is now the most common coastal fish species. In 2008 it was reported in Sweden for the first time, in the archipelago of Karlskrona. It now occurs from Kalmar Sound up to Gävle and also around Gotland and in Gothenburg.

The round goby is an invasive species with high reproduction speed and highly tolerant for environmental stressors. There is a risk that it will compete with other bottom dwelling species and also consume eggs & fry of native species but it can also be a resource for predatory fish and humans. One concern is that it may invade freshwater systems and knowledge about its migrating capability and potential barriers to stop it from entering rivers is needed. In order to utilize the species and develop efficient fishing gear knowledge is needed about the behavior of the fish around different fishing gears. The suggested projects below are experimental studies contributing with knowledge in both these important areas and they are part of the Research project Round goby – turning risk to resource.
All experiments are conducted in Älvkarleby, by the river Dalälven south of Gävle, either at SLU Fisheries Resaerch Station (FFS) or at the Vattenfalls experimental facility Laxeratorn. Depending on your skills and interest the thesis can either be within biology or environmental science with room for personal research questions. The work is flexibel and can be either on candidate or master level.

1. Migration ability (15-60 ETCS), ), practical work is done during 3-6 weeks between August to September in Vattenfall Laxeratorn with potential complementing studies at FFS in October for the 60hp work. In this experiment the ability to migrate in an artificial fisheway at different speed of the water and with different barriers is studied for round goby, trout and bullhead. The study can be done on one or several species depending on the number of credits of the thesis. The work can also be done later in the year on recorded videomaterial from the experiments.
   
   
2. Behaviour around fishing gear (15-60 ETCS), practical work is done during 2-3 weeks in September in the Laxelerator. In this experiment the behehaviour of round goby in the vicinity of a fishging gear is studied with the objective to create efficient methods to catch round goby. The work can also be done later in the year on recorded videomaterial from the experiments.
   
   

Contact

Round goby – turning risk into resource

Bachelor (15 ECTS) or Master level (30/60 ECTS)

Thesis projects about salmonids in river Dalälven

SLU:s Fisheries research station in Älvkarleby produce around 140 000 salmon and trout per year for river Dalälven. A prerequisite for environmental friendly and ethical aquaculture is that reserach is conducted on breeding and rearing of fish. Here we have ongoing reserach and environmental analsysis, and we have aquarieas, creeks and streams for experiments and in addition skilled personel.

We are looking for students for the following projects:

1. Survival of salmon and trout smolt. The cormorant has been identified as a potentially important predator on smolt (salmonid juveniles) but scientific estimates from todays situation in river Dalälven is missing. Since some of the smolt is tagged with pit‐tags it is possible to look for these tags in cormorant colonies. The project involves scanning after pit‐tags in cormorant colonies along the coast but may also include investigations of regurgitates from cormorants or other fisheating birds. The field part is conducted after the breeding season of the birds, i.e. sep‐nov 2020
   
   
2. Enhanced quality of stocked fish. It is desirable that the stocked fish similar to wild fish, but a common problem is that reared fish have damaged finns and also grows to fast and becomes to fat compared to wild fish. In this project the effect of different feedingregimes on condition, survival and fin damage is investigated. Also experiments with different densities of fish can be included. The project can take place almost anytime between march and december.
   
   
3. Historic trends of spawning fish in river Dalälven. Breeding and rearing has taken place at the fisheries resaerch station for amlost 100 years. During this time data on the wild fish migrating from the sea has been collected which makes it possible to study changes in salmon and trout populations in the river in for example size, condition eggsize etc. This project can either be fully theoretical and take place anytime during the year or involve some practical work during either the fishing (aug) or breeding (oct) season.

Depending on previous education and interest the thesis can either be in ecology or environmental analysis and there is room for reserach questions of your own making. The extent is flexibel and the thesis can be done either on candidate or master level.

Contact

Bachelor (15 ECTS) or Master (30/60 ECTS)

Energy content of the diet of Common guillemots in the Baltic Sea

Common guillemots Uria aalge L. (Am. Eng.: Common Murre) are marine piscivorous top predators with a circumpolar Arctic distribution. Long-term studies have shown that they can be important indicators of changes in marine food webs and ecosystems. The largest Common guillemot colony in the Baltic Sea (~ 15 000 pairs) is at the island of Stora Karlsö. Since 1997, a long-term research program is following this colony and collects annual data on survival, reproduction and diet, among other things.

Obtaining high energy food is a prerequisite for successful breeding and survival in Common guillemots. Several studies have shown that the main food in the Baltic Sea is sprat Sprattus sprattus. New data however show that herring Clupea harengus can also be a significant part of the diet. The energy content of herring of different sizes, and the possible energy content differences between sprat and herring is today unknown. The knowledge is important for evaluating the conservation status of Common guillemots in the Baltic Sea and how much fish that must be left in the sea to ensure survival of seabirds.

The degree thesis focusses on analyzing the energy content of the prey fish of Common guillemots. The fish has already been collected by the Institute of Marine Research in Lysekil. The fish will be analyzed using a bomb calorimeter by the student. This work will take place in Ultuna, Uppsala. The data obtained will be analyzed statistically. The project is planned for Bachelor's level (15 ECTS) but can be expanded into a Master's project as well (30–60 ECTS).

Links
www.balticseabird.com
www.storakarlso.se

Contact

Bachelor projects in biology (15 ECTS)

Ecology and management of the European eel, several projects available!

Background

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is red listed as critically endangered due to a steep population decline. Current management efforts aim to reverse this negative development. There are many knowledge gaps regarding everything from ecology, behaviour, and physiology to development of stock assessment parameters. You can help us fill these knowledge gaps!

We have a great variety of bachelor degree projects and research training/internship related to evaluating and synthesizing information about ecology, management and data collection of the European eel. There are also opportunities to assist in lab work and field activities, such as tagging, fyke-net fishing, dissections, and more (although keep in mind that this can
be difficult to fit within a 15 hp project!).

Project examples

• Evaluating tagging and tracking data of eels in river systems, lakes and in the sea. Students can be involved in the tagging and tracking procedures, depending on time availability. Topics that can be addressed include survival (fisheries induced survival, hydropower induced mortality), movement, long distance migration, etc.
• Improve data collection programs. To monitor the eel stock, data is collected on a number of variables, such as landings, individual length, parasite prevalence, age, etc. Since data collection is time consuming and costly it is important that it is efficient. Any improvements that can be made to the monitoring programs are highly valuable, including 3R aspects.
• Evaluation of management activities such as restocking and fisheries regulations.
• Behavioural and physiological studies.

The work will be supervised by Dr Josefin Sundin and Dr Philip Jacobson. Depending on the project, the student should have an interest in fish ecology, behavioural ecology, fisheries science, data analysis, statistics, and scientific writing.

Location

At the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU Aqua) in Drottningholm (Stockholm), Uppsala-Ultuna, or Öregrund. Several projects can also be done online.

Does reed harvesting affect insect production?

In this project you will compare insect biodiversity between two Baltic bays, one where the reed (Phragmites australis) bed has been harvested, and the other un-changed as a control. Over the past years, we have compared changes in bird, fish and macrophyte communities. Now, we will additionally survey insect biodiversity in the same locations. We are looking for a motivated student to collect, process and analyse insect samples, dependent on timing of your thesis.

Background

The common reed (Phragmites australis) is a habitat forming emerging plant found on Baltic and freshwater shorelines. Reed, like trees in a forest, many important ecological functions such as structure, shelter and a source of food for numerous fish, birds, insects and mammals. However, increasing eutrophication has caused reed to invade new habitats and form large monocultures with low biodiversity. The harvesting of reed has the potential to combat monoculture formation and restore habitat heterogeneity, thereby benefiting ecosystems functions and services where reed has become too dense and/or invaded.

Method

In this project, we investigate the impact of reed harvesting on biodiversity by performing surveys of fish, bird, insect and macrophytes in a reed harvested area, and comparing this with the same surveys at a nearby control site. For insects, we will use emergence ans/or swimming traps to collect insects in the two contrasting areas. We are also happy to discuss new or other ideas within the topic of reed harvesting effects on the ecosystem.
Field studies are based in Harg, near Östhammar, with office space available at Ultuna, Uppsala. Feel free to contact with any questions, or if you are interested in doing a bachelor thesis within this project!

Contacts