Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Microbial management in RAS for sustainable aquaculture production" "Peter Bossier" "Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology" "In RASbiome, we aim at improving the sustainability of fish production in freshwater recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). We will investigate microbiomes in RAS in relation to chemical and microbial water quality in commercial RAS, and implement two fundamentally distinct biological water treatment strategies to improve the management of nitrogen compounds in RAS. The first strategy involves anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria in a process expected to remove nitrogen from the water without addition of organic carbon, at reduced energy and water consumption and CO2 production. The second strategy takes advantage of heterotrophic bacteria which assimilates nitrogen. This approach allows for harvesting nutrient rich sludge and is therefore compatible with recovery and recycling of nitrogen from in RAS water. Both biological treatment processes will capture dissolved N and lead to a reduced N-footprint. Furthermore, we will optimize microbial water quality by reducing the risk for blooms of opportunistic/pathogenic bacteria by implementing these new biological treatment approaches in well-considered treatment designs. The project is highly transdisciplinary, and involves experts from Belgium, Denmark, and Norway in fields like environmental engineering, biotechnology, microbiology, microbial ecology, and aquaculture. Industry partners, including two large commercial producers of salmon smolt and rainbow trout, and Krüger Kaldnes, supplier of RAS technology, play a crucial role in the project. We expect the proposed project to promote sustainable fish production by improving fish welfare and productivity due to stable and optimized chemical and microbiological water quality, by reducing environmental impact through nitrogen removal from discharged water, and by reducing operational costs. Thus, the project contributes in developing European aquaculture in a direction characterized by the 3R principle: reducing, reusing and recycling of waste material." "Microbial resource management of aquaculture ecosystems to prevent pathogen invasion" "The increasing demand for high-quality protein supplied through aquatic animal products causes aquaculture to be the fastest growing food production sector in the world. A further sustainable expansion of the sector is hampered by the frequent outbreak of bacterial diseases. The current solutions include the use of antibiotics, which is unsustainable due to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance, and the use of biological control measures (e.g. probiotics), which currently provide insufficient protection. This urges the need for development of effective, sustainable management strategies. An integrated approach where the microbial community is monitored and manipulated has been suggested as a promising solution. Although some studies have addressed this issue, in depth knowledge on how the microbial community is influencing the invasion potential of opportunistic bacterial pathogens and in which way the community should be steered to avoid invasion are lacking. By means of this project we want to gain insight regarding the invasion susceptibility of aquaculture systems. We will focus on the diversity of the community, while taking into account the typical environmental conditions of aquaculture systems and the opportunities that this provides to opportunistic pathogens. We aim to reveal which community properties are to be targeted to steer the microbial community, and in this way we will provide a framework for development of novel management strategies." "ASEM Aquaculture Platform" "Aquaculture has evolved from an artisanal farming sector to a technology-based bio-industry. In order to reconcile mutual Asian-European interests in production & consumption, a dialogue on a common research strategy serving sustainable, safe and healthy aquaculture production is essential.The ASEM Aquaculture Platform, established in 2003, will develop valuable partnerships, using the driver of consumer needs and expectations to improve product processes, quality and value in both markets." "Fatty acid pathways at the basis of marine food webs: a baseline for sustainable use of marine food resources" "Ann Vanreusel" Biology "In order to obtain more sustainable aquaculture practices taking into account global change, solid knowledge on the transfer efficiency of biomass and energy from primary producers to mesoconsumers is crucial. For that, this research project will study the biosynthesis and bioconversion of fatty acids by primary consumers at the basis of marine food webs under various conditions." "Novel feed ingredients from sustainable sources" "Lennart Martens" "Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Biochemistry" "This project aims to develop novel functional feed ingredients for the aquaculture industry through facilitating the recovery and utilization of valuable bioactive peptides from the Norwegian salmon industry and the Italian sea bass/sea bream industry. State of the art peptidomics and bioinformatics techniques will be used to identify peptides with predicted anti-inflammatory, immunostimulatory or anti-microbial properties in the by-products." "Engineering sustainable marine ecosystems for environmental and human health" "Jana Asselman" "Biology, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Plants and Crops, Department of Civil engineering, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Flanders Marine Institute" "The requested infrastructure, a high-tech saltwater waveflume, is integrated in the multidisciplinary marine andmaritime research facility of Ghent University at OstendScience Park (OSP). It will help to bridge the gap betweensmall-scale, artificial lab studies and complex,multidisciplinary, expensive field studies, bringing the oceaninto the laboratory and engineering sustainable marineecosystems for environmental and human health. Thiscontrasts the majority of the wave flumes, which are oftenonly focussed on maritime engineering disciplines andrarely bridge the gap to life science. This flume combines 3crucial aspects: (1) using seawater instead of freshwater,allowing to work with marine organisms, (2) a removablefalse bottom to facilitate installation of sediment beds,vegetation models and coastal structures and (3) able tosimulate the production of marine aerosols. Thecombination of producing high-quality waves and currentswith the ability to perfectly mimic oceanic conditions isunique in Europe. This flume will be a step forward,allowing to tackle key interdisciplinary research topics inthe field of 'Oceans and Human Health', such as combiningsustainable aquaculture with habitat restoration, 'nature-based solutions' for coastal protection (e.g. biogenic reefs,seagrass vegetation, coastal dune functioning), the impactof metal corrosion and anti-fouling agents onenvironmental health and of marine aerosols on humanhealth." "The role of bacteria in copepod feeding behavior to steer the energy flow at the basis of marine food webs" "Marleen De Troch" "Biology, Department of Biotechnology" "Worldwide, natural environments are increasingly disturbed by climate change, land-use change and pollution. There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the overall functioning of earth’s marine ecosystems. Interactions at the basis of marine food webs are yet to be fully understood. Determination of the role of bacteria in the microbial food web and their interactions with first-level consumers, i.e. harpacticoid copepods, are pivotal for benthic ecosystems and aquaculture applications. Aquaculture experiences growing pressures to increase sustainable practices. Therefore, the effects of bacterial biofilms on copepod feeding ecology and energetic value, in particular polyunsaturated fatty acids, needs to be investigated. Especially fecal pellets are of interest to understand copepod coprophagic behavior and to quantify the importance of bacteria-assisted degradation of food sources, so-called microbial gardening. This proposal aims at the possibility of steering the energy flow at the basis of marine food webs by the development of artificial and modified carriers with selected biofilms. The new insights can support the development of sustainable feeding alternatives to Artemia including associated biofilms for aquaculture applications." "Unravelling the effects of individual coping style and long-term glucocorticoid up-regulation on cardiac remodelling in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)." "Gudrun De Boeck" "Ecosphere, University of Manchester, Ghent University, Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "Chronic stress in fish due to the intensification in aquaculture can lead to reduced performance (metabolism, growth, reproduction) and a compromised immune system, resulting in a decline in fish production yield and fish welfare. In this framework, quantification and subsequent mitigation of chronic stress was shown to be pivotal in a more sustainable aquaculture. Non-specific mortality of salmonids in the seawater-rearing phase is one of the major recurring problems in the aquaculture industry and especially the sudden stress-related mortality of fish ready for slaughter and subsequent economic losses. However, knowledge on the underlying factors causing this mortality are lacking, though it is attributed in large part to cardiac disease which could be linked to chronic stress. Indeed, it was demonstrated that cortisol responsiveness in salmonids is associated with pathological remodelling of the heart and that this stress hormone directly induces such remodelling. The main objective of this study is to unravel the effects of individual coping style and long-term cortisol up-regulation on cardiac remodelling in one of the most important aquaculture species, the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, look at the consequences for fish performance and test a potential mitigation strategy." "Critical success factors for fish larval production in European Aquaculture: a multidisciplinary network" "The aim of this COST Action is to contribute to the scientific knowledge basis as to support a sustainable development of aquaculture. This requires identifying critical success factors and gaps in knowledge in order to overcome the present limiting predictable mass supply of quality juveniles. The multidisciplinary network of researchers and producers intends to achieve this through integration of knowledge obtained in national and European research projects and practical experience." "Effects of El Niño and mangrove deforestation on extreme high water level dynamics in a tropical delta." "Stijn Temmerman" "Ecosphere, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, Ecosystem Management" "River deltas are hotspots of human activity, but their vulnerability to flood risks is increasing due to climate warming and worldwide conversion of natural floodplains into human land use (LU). Although previous studies have demonstrated that natural wetlands can play a key role in reducing extreme high water levels on small to intermediate scales (~1 – 10 km²), limited knowledge exists on how wetland conversion to human LU affects amplification of high water levels at the scale of whole deltas (~10² - 10³ km²). This particularly holds true for tropical deltas, where mangrove conversion to aquaculture is widespread and where extreme high water levels are caused by specific climate fluctuations such as El Niño. This project aims to yield a fundamental understanding on how the spatial configuration of mangrove versus aquaculture areas impacts the distribution of high water levels in the Guayas delta (Ecuador), where El Niño is the main driver of extreme high water level events. A combination of field measurements, analysis of existing data and hydrodynamic modelling will be used to reach novel scientific insights on the effects of El Niño and mangrove deforestation on high water levels in a tropical delta. Such knowledge is relevant to support sustainable development of delta societies."