Wallace Coffee Talks - 07 May 2019

Wallace Coffee Talks - Spring 2019 

07 May - 1pm - Zoology Museum

Priscila Fernandes (Swansea University, UK)

Zebrafish as a model for alcohol research

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) has attracted scientific attention in recent years as a promising animal model for biomedical research, including alcohol research. The genetic similarity with humans, the small size, high fecundity and short time development are some of the practical advantages of this species. To be used as a translational model, the species must present similar phenotypical alterations to those of mammals (face validity), the mechanisms behind these alterations should also be similar (constructive validity) and the behavioural and physiological changes promoter (e.g. drugs) should have the same effects in the model and humans (predictive validity). Here, I will show few data demonstrating how zebrafish respond to alcohol and how this species can contribute for the understanding of alcohol effects.

Ben Whittaker (Swansea University, UK)

Shaping sustainable aquaculture: variation in lumpfish body morphometry across populations and between the sexes

Commercial stocks of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) are internationally transported and released onto salmon farms, from which they may escape and breed with native populations. Though there are known genetic differences between stocks, the level of phenotypic variation is largely unknown. In this talk, we assess the morphology of lumpfish from different geographic locations to evaluate the consequences of translocation practise in aquaculture. We also assess sexually dimorphic features in lumpfish, identifying traits which aquaculture could use to select individuals to form breeding programmes.

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