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Freshwater Biology QUB

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Freshwater Biology QUB

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    1. Freshwater Biology @ QUB Chris Harrod School of Biological Sciences, Queens University of Belfast c.harrod@qub.ac.uk

    3. School of Biological Sciences: outline Organised into 2 separate research clusters: Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour and Environmental Economics Molecular Biosciences Microbial ecology & functional biology Identification, characterisation and function of aquatic toxins Parasitology

    4. Freshwater research in EEBEE 8 academics & > 15 postgraduate research students active in freshwater biology across Ireland, the UK, Europe and further afield Broad scale Molecule to ecosystem Many different taxa (animal bias)

    5. Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour & Environmental Economics Ecology Invasion ecology Autecology Limnology Ecosystem function Conservation Fisheries management Scientific support to Lough Neagh eel fishery Environmental impact assessment Theoretical biology Taxonomy Water quality Evolution Phylogeography Speciation & rapid evolution Population genetics Conservation genetics Margaritifera margaritifera Pollan Arctic charr Brown trout Life history specialisation in invasive species Divergent migratory components Eels Trout Lampreys

    6. Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour & Environmental Economics Behaviour Individual specialisation Interactions between native & invasive species Functional response curves Telemetry Acoustic & radio GPS Depth & accelerometer Foraging ecology of piscivorous predators Environmental Economics Economic valuation of environmental and natural resources. Willingness to pay for ferox trout conservation

    7. Undergraduate aquatic ecology research

    8. Current activities

    9. Support for Lough Neagh fishery: Few fisheries-independent data available for management and conservation 122 random purse seine samples distributed across the main bed of the lough Species abundance per haul Individual length ( 1 mm) First quantitative estimates to include eels since the ban on trawling (1980s)

    10. Lough Neagh: fish community

    11. River lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) in Lough Neagh Evidence of freshwater feeding Scarring of resident fishes, e.g. pollan Relative impact of parasitism on different prey? Evidence for anadromous v freshwater feeding?

    12. Evidence for freshwater foraging

    14. Isotopic variation in Lough Neagh

    15. Isotopic variation in Lough Neagh & Strangford Lough

    16. Cormorants: energetic conduits between aquatic habitats

    17. Relative importance of freshwater v marine feeding in breeding cormorants Bird Island breeding colony Subset forage on L. Neagh (70 km) Why? Freshwater provisioned chicks have greater condition factors

    18. Invasive species

    19. Invasive Aquatic Species in Irish water bodies Funded through EPA STRIVE Collaboration with National Biodiversity Data Centre, & Central Fisheries Board QUB leading on WP2: Invasive species impacts on community structure and function Lagarosiphon major in Lough Corrib Leuciscus cephalus in the River Inny

    20. Lough Corrib and Lagarosiphon major

    21. Marked habitat shift

    22. Growth rates differ in fish captured in invaded and native habitats

    23. Hemimysis anomala (another Ponto-Caspian invader)

    24. Lough Ree: found at 4 sites (north, south, east and west of the lough). considered widespread. Also present in Lough Key Lough Boderg (Dr Dan Minchin) no evidence of Hemimysis in Loughs Allen, Scur, Garadice, upper / lower Lough Erne or Lough Neagh. Future work More study sites Examine relative abundance at invaded sites. Public awareness campaign The current distribution and status of Hemimysis in Ireland

    25. Hemimysis examining feeding behaviour

    26. Invasive freshwater plants in Ireland: Distribution, spread and physiological responses to climate change

    27. Evolutionary ecology of the three spined stickleback in Ireland Important (and undervalued) ecological role Key model for evolution of new species Almost unstudied in Ireland Mark Ravinet (PhD student) mravinet01@qub.ac.uk

    28. Stickleback phylogeography

    29. Stickleback phylogeography

    30. Funding bodies

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