Wallace Coffee Talks - 26 July 2018

Wallace Coffee Talks - Summer 2018

26 July 2018 - 1pm - Zoology Museum

Tamsyn Uren Webster (Swansea University, UK)
Exploring the fish microbiome: links with stress and disease in aquaculture

There is growing recognition that microbial communities associated with the gut and other mucosal surfaces have a critical influence on host health. The microbiome enhances immunity, pathogen defence, digestion, nutrient acquisition and metabolism, but is also sensitive to disruption by environmental stressors which may adversely affect host health and disease susceptibility. I will talk about our recent research examining how conditions experienced in aquaculture influence the fish microbiome. This includes a fundamental difference in the microbiome of wild and hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon fry, reflecting environmental and genetic diversity. We found that while the gut microbiome is strongly influenced by diet, prior environmental conditions have a lasting influence on microbiome structure. I will also talk about the effects of aquaculture-related stress on the fish microbiome. This includes how faecal cortisol levels are associated with abundance of beneficial Lactobacillus in the gut and how early life stress causes persistent effects on the microbiome including abundance of opportunistic pathogens. 


Peter Jones (SwanseaUniversity, UK)
Physiological, morphological and behavioural determinants of fish passage success

Artificial barriers such as dams and weirs are causing severe impacts on river ecosystems worldwide, reducing connectivity, causing habitat fragmentation, and reducing gene flow. A key mitigation strategy is the construction of fish passes to ease migration past barriers, but these often perform poorly. My research seeks to shed light on potential factors contributing to fish pass inefficiencies. I will discuss experiments currently being undertaken in CSAR looking at interspecific and intraspecific variation in passage of an experimental fish pass setup. I will also discuss experiments to identify potential influences on passage success, including swimming metabolism, behavioural traits, and morphological variation. Some preliminary results will be presented, as well as some of the potential implications of the work.