Towards new biomarkers of seafood quality and provenance
Seafood provides a range of nutrients essential to human health, yet its quality largely depends on local environmental conditions. Furthermore, seafood provenance is often prone to uncertainty due to mislabelling of imported products or illegal fishing practices.
This project will test the usefulness of different biomarkers to assess the links between seafood provenance (e.g., through stable isotope analysis) and quality (e.g., omega-3 fatty acids, contaminants, microplastics) in order to support improved seafood quality and promotion of local seafood products.
This project will offer opportunities for field and lab work, and collaboration with the Australian seafood industry. Key study species could include (but are not limited to) barramundi, garfish, prawns, snapper and oysters.
Supervisor
Co-supervisors: Dr Patrick Reis Santos and Prof Bronwyn Gillanders
Research areas: quantitative ecology and marine biology
Recommended Honours enrolment: Honours in Ecology and Environmental Science