HEA funding approval
for antifouling project (September 2007)
In December 2007 CAMBio were informed that their
application for funding of €399,793 under the Higher Education
Authority Technological Research Strand III Programme had been
approved. The project team behind the grant application comprised
the two CAMBio Principal Investigators, Dr. John Slater and Dr.
Brian Carney; the CAMBio Project Manager, Dr. Wolfram Brück
and external collaboration with Dr. Philipp Hess from the Marine
Institute and Professor Russell Kerr, Canadian Chair of Marine
Natural Products at Prince Edward Island University, Canada.
The project will focus on the identification
of natural marine antimicrobials as effective solutions to biofouling.
Millions of Euros are spent annually by marine industries, aquaculture
and shipping addressing the problem of biofouling, the settlement
of both plants and animals on submerged man-made structures. Current
treatments often involve coating surfaces with paints containing
highly toxic chemicals unleashing untold damage on the environment.
The CAMBio team will investigate whether some marine plants and
animals, which remain free from fouling organisms, produce their
own natural antifoulants. Funding will support the recruitment
of a post-doctoral researcher and a post-graduate student for
a three-year period, provide new research equipment, research
materials and consumables, and support travel to world class facilities
undertaking similar research programmes for collaborative work
Why do
some man-made structures become covered in marine biofouling,
yet some natural creatures
in a similar environment remain comparatively free of biofouling?
Success in securing funding from this competitive programme in
both 2006 and 2007 demonstrates the calibre of the research projects
emanating from the CAMBio team. Last year the CAMBio research team
received approval for €298,235 to undertake a research project
on the molecular identification of shellfish larval diets. The objectives
of this programme were to determine precisely what different bivalve
shellfish and their larvae eat in nature. Understanding their dietary
requirements may allow the design of tailor-made diets for the different
shellfish species in hatcheries and lead to improvements in the
production of shellfish seed.
