Research on sea trout & river restoration

At WTT, we’re keen to ensure that all the advice we give and practical techniquers we demonstrate are underpinned by sound science. It’s Jonny Grey’s role to keep us abreast of current academic thinking as our Research & Conservation Officer, and he has been passing it on to you in various formats, including the blog.

Here, he gives us an update on two projects that will hopefully bear some fruit this year, primarily because the grunt work has been taken on by two keen MSc students, Abbie & Charlotte, both from Queen Mary University of London.

Interestingly, they both also started out at University of Portsmouth in Marine Biology. To give you a bit of background:-

Abbie conducted her final year research projects on the nesting behaviour of loggerhead sea turtles in Greece working with a sea turtle research and conservation project. She also did some volunteering with the Solent oyster regeneration project, restocking the Solent with native oysters. She moved to QMUL to expand her scope from marine to freshwater, although working with sexy sea trout covers a bit of both worlds.

Charlotte looked at identifying biomolecular markers related to the metabolic adaptation to stress in meagre (Argyrosomus regius), a new species for Mediterranean aquaculture during her BSc dissertation. She chose to study the Freshwater and Marine Ecology course at QMUL specifically to develop skills in freshwater ecology, as well as hone her field skills for future work in consultancy or conservation. Great opportunity working with WTT & Ribble RT then! 

Keep a look out for regular updates from them on the blog