The EU project CONTRAST (CONTRAST Project) aims to provide solutions to monitor how chemicals of emerging concern are affecting the oceans. In connection with this project, we are offering two MSc projects to investigate effects of CECs particularly on the diversity and ecophysiology of natural plankton communities. The projects will involve a field and experimental component.
Natural plankton communities (phyto- and zooplankton) will be collected from the Oslofjord and taken to NIVA research station in Solbergstrand. Plankton will be exposed to selected CECs for several days and changes in diversity will be evaluated via image analysis (Imaging FlowCytoBoot, ZooScan), eDNA and proteomics. CECs will be selected based on a prioritization scheme done by collaborators within the project. The student projects will focus on the image analysis and microscopy.
We can offer two (or more) master projects within the scope of this project. It is envisioned that one project focuses on phytoplankton and another on the zooplankton component, but both students will closely work together. Experiments will be done in close collaboration with NIVA.
Plankton images from Imaging FlowCytoBoot (left) and ZooScan (right)
Besides diversity, there is the possibility of exploring physiological responses to CECs. For zooplankton, side experiments could be conducted in certain groups, particularly copepods. This additional knowledge on the direct (sublethal) impacts on metabolism or reproduction would be very useful to complement and better interpret the observed trends in diversity.
If you’re interested about these projects, please contact Ketil Hylland (ketilhy@uio.no), Wenche Eikrem (wenche.eikrem@nhm.uio.no) or Marta Moyano at NIVA (marta.moyano@niva.no).