Postdoctoral Postdoc Position Artificial Diets for Bivalve Aquaculture

A post-doctoral Research Associate position in Department of Zoology, located in Central Cambridge, is available from 28 January 2019 up until 31 December 2019, to work with Dr David Aldridge on testing microencapsulated diets for commercial shellfish production. There is a global need to sustainably increase aquaculture production to meet the needs of a growing population. Bivalve shellfish aquaculture is highly attractive from a human nutrition, economic, environmental and ecosystem standpoint. However, growth in bivalve aquaculture is falling behind fish aquaculture due to critical defects in the production process. Feed defects, disease, and quality issues are throttling production. This project will develop a highly nutritious bivalve feed product, in the form of microencapsulated particles, and known as BioBullets. This feed aims to increase bivalve hatchery production rates through uplift in the quality of broodstock and higher survivorship and growth of juveniles. We have already demonstrated that our microencapsulates can be ingested by a commercially farmed bivalve, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. This project will source nutritional encapsulates from waste streams, providing economic and sustainability benefits through a circular economy.

The PDRA will i) engage with partners in Switzerland to identify nutrients that can be sourced from waste streams, with a particular focus on plant-based origins; ii) engage with manufacturing partners in the UK to characterise encapsulated particles using scanning electron microscopy and dissolution profiling; iii) engage with partners in Iceland and Spain to assess growth and survivorship of bivalve larvae and brood stock in commercial hatchery settings; iv) engage with formal consumer perception and sensory evaluation trials; v) contribute to assessments of commercial viability.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available up to 31 December 2019.