I am looking for a strong PhD candidate to apply for a very competitive fellowship with the willingness to join my team. The proposed thesis project deals with “precision aquaculture” in the Mediterranean, and if granted, the candidate would work with me in Mallorca. So I am looking for a student (MSc), with a good CV, who meet the requirements of the scholarship and who could be interested in this offer. More details below.
Pablo Arechavala-Lopez
LaCaixa PhD fellowship call:
https://fundacionlacaixa.org/en/inphinit-doctoral-fellowships-incoming
Phd Position:
Precision aquaculture: monitoring fish behavior and welfare in captive conditions.| IMEDEA - CSIC - Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados
HOST ORGANIZATION
IMEDEA - CSIC - Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados
AREA OF KNOWLEDGE: Life Sciences Panel
GROUP OF DISCIPLINE: Agriculture, Veterinary Studies, Animal Production, Forest Sciences
GROUP LEADER: Dr. Pablo Arechavala-Lopez (arechavala@imedea.uib-csic.es)
RESEARCH PRODUCT / RESEARCH GROUP
The Marine Research in Ecological and Social Systems group (MARES) aims to understand the functioning, structure and dynamics of marine living resources and essential habitats, and assess their stability and resilience to cope with future changes due to anthropogenic activities, such as fisheries and aquaculture.
https://imedea.uib-csic.es/en/research/marine-research-in-ecological-and-social-systems/
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Research Project / Research Group Description
Aquaculture production of finfish has seen rapid growth in production volume and economic yield over the last decades, and is today a key provider of seafood. As the scale of production increases, so does the likelihood that the industry will face emerging biological, economic and social challenges that may influence the ability to maintain ethically sound, productive and environmentally friendly production of fish. It is therefore important that the industry aspires to monitor and control the effects of these challenges to avoid also upscaling potential problems when upscaling production. The application of control-engineering principles to fish production, thereby improving the farmer's ability to monitor, control and document biological processes in fish farms, it is called Precision Aquaculture.
Precision Aquaculture contributes to moving commercial aquaculture from the traditional experience-based to a knowledge-based production regime, through the use of emerging technologies and automated systems. The proposed research plan implies the development, application and validation of advanced technologies (i.e. sensors and other observing technologies) to provide data-driven insight and decision that promotes sustainable and responsible Mediterranean aquaculture activities. In particular, the work is mainly focused on monitoring the behavior and movement of fish in captivity, key elements of fish welfare, since represents a reaction to the environment as fish perceive it. In addition to advanced monitoring systems, the application of modelling, prediction, and analysis tools are also seen as fundamental part in the project. Precision aquaculture has the potential to improve operations, and alleviate challenges facing the industry, such as ensuring good fish welfare. Therefore, the project combines partners from industry, technology, and academia.
Job position description
The PhD student will be a member of the Marine Research in Ecological and Social Systems group (MARES) at the Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies (IMEDEA-CSIC). In particular, the student will join the multidisciplinary and dynamic group focused on studying the ecology, behavior and welfare of fish in aquaculture environments. The work will be divided between IMEDEA's head-quarters and the marine research and aquaculture laboratory (LIMIA), both in Mallorca, Spain.
We are looking for a PhD candidate with a collaborative, enthusiastic and motivated attitude towards fish behavior, welfare and applied science and technology. Candidates with background on aquaculture, technology or modelling is desirable. The student should have good communication skills, and be particularly proficient in fish rearing or experimentation, as well as in advanced technologies and scientific writing.