Research Education

To ensure the development of a skilled workforce that will support the growth, diversification and competitiveness of the BC shellfish aquaculture industry, a primary objective of the CSR is to facilitate the education of students interested in shellfish aquaculture.

Creating Highly Qualified Personnel

To remain competitive, the BC shellfish aquaculture industry will require a continual influx of competent people with knowledge of the most recent concepts in shellfish aquaculture production, management and marketing.

By situating the CSR adjacent to both the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Department of Biology , Vancouver Island University (VIU) has created a unique opportunity to facilitate the early stage development and streaming of bright and enthusiastic students toward careers and upper level studies in shellfish aquaculture.

The CSR laboratory and field facilities provide an enriched and stimulating training environment for undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. The combination of undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and established researchers provides a continuum of research progression in which each level acts as mentor and role model for the one below.

Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research

The shellfish industry and its environment provide a nexus for many disciplines. This mix of disciplines creates the opportunity for stimulating cross-disciplinary studies. Disciplines contributing to the expansion of shellfish aquaculture-related knowledge include:

• physical and biological oceanography
• site capacity studies
• environmental studies
• physiology
  • growth and energetics studies
    
  • biochemical stress indicator studies
• Marine ecology
  • environmental issues studies
  • polyculture studies
• immunology
  • stress indicator studies
  • invertebrate disease studies
• engineering
  • development of advanced culture systems
• microbiology and microbial ecology
  • growing environment studies
  • nutrient cycling studies
• social sciences

Educational Programs Offer Research Opportunities

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of VIU offers both Technology Diplomas and Bachelor of Science degrees. The two-year technology diploma program ladders directly into the BSc. During the second year of their applied studies program, technology diploma students are offered the opportunity to conduct modest research trials.

Students in the degree program undertake a two-semester research project. The VIU Biology Department also offers a BSc degree in which all students undertake a challenging research project.

Under recent Provincial legislation, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department may soon offer graduate degrees.

Graduate Student Opportunities

The CSR and VIU have developed a network of partnerships with educational institutions - with especially close ties to the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Agricultural Science . Through collaborative arrangements, graduate students from these institutions are able to conduct their research projects at CSR facilities.

 

PhD Student Finds Opportunities at CSR

“I couldn't have done this work without the assistance of [VIU] and a big thanks goes to the CSR for the use of their facilities.” - Daphne Munroe, PhD

Supervisor: Dr. R. Scott McKinley
Center for Aquaculture and Environmental Research
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC

Thesis Project
The Effect of Predator Netting on Clam Recruitment to Beaches in Baynes Sound , BC

Little is known about the effects of intertidal predator netting on the recruitment of bivalves. It is believed by some that there is an increase in wild recruitment to areas of beach covered by netting, yet no studies have addressed this question directly.

Research Methodology
In the summer of 2002, a sampling program was initiated to address this question. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 small sediment core samples were taken from intertidal beach plots in Baynes Sound , BC . Four different intertidal sites were used and at each site one of the plots was covered with predator netting while the other plot was not. Samples were taken over 4 low tide events between August and October each year to coincide with the timing of settlement of clam larvae. The samples were taken to the lab and the number of recently settled juvenile clams (<500 um shell length) in the samples was determined. In addition, data is being collected on the sediment characteristics of each plot. Controlled settlement choice experiments using competent larvae was started in the winter of 2005.

Undergraduate Student Opportunities

CSR research activities have provided practicum, project and directed studies opportunities for many undergraduate students registered in the VIU Fisheries and Aquaculture Program. Students from the VIU Biology program and the Camosun College Environmental Technology Program have also benefited from the expertise and research capabilities of the CSR.

Bill Heath , Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (lt) and Winnie Friesen, CSR Technician in Environmental Interactions Research Program (rt) with students from Camosun College