University Marine Biological Station Millport
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Research at UMBSM
UMBSM maintains an active research programme, undertaking high quality research, much of which involves national and international collaboration. The Station's small core of academic staff has produced over 500 scientific publications in the last 20 years. They have also been remarkably successful in gaining research grants, generating a total income of £2.8 million over the last 10 years. The research carried out at UMBSM has always comprised both pure and applied aspects; in recent years, there has been greater emphasis on fisheries-related themes of direct practical and socioeconomic significance.
Principal topics of research at UMBSM
- • Sustainable fisheries exploitation:
- – problems of discards and by-catch in nationally important fisheries;
- – high-resolution mapping of fishing effort;
- – understanding behavioural determinants of changes in catchability;
- – investigating the utility of closed areas;
- • Ecological impact of human activities on key marine habitats:
- – developing methods for assessing impacts of otter trawling on the seabed;
- – effects of scallop dredging on sensitive seabed habitats, such as maerl beds;
- – efficiency and impacts of hydraulic dredging for bivalves;
- • Behaviour and ecology of benthic organisms:
- – ecology of thalassinidean decapod Crustacea;
- – activity patterns, reproductive and agonistic behaviour of Norway lobster;
- • Regional marine biodiversity:
- – functionally important taxa (e.g. Protozoa, amphipods) and scarce habitats (e.g. maerl beds);
- • Benthic and water column microbiology:
- – developing methods of forecasting harmful algal blooms;
- – ecology of benthic amoebae;
- – water quality surveying
Research Strategy
A key element of the UMBSM Research Strategy is to continue to secure external funding for research in the key areas in which UMBSM has established expertise: fisheries-related biology, biodiversity (including conservation, deep-sea and tropical issues), benthic ecology, coastal zone management, and marine microbiology.
The current UMBSM Research Strategy emphasises the following themes:
New approaches to improving the sustainability of fisheries and reducing their environmental impacts;
Functional and evolutionary aspects of marine biodiversity, especially in the Clyde sea-area, in relation to local and global environmental change;
Key processes influencing regional sea-water and environmental quality, with particular emphasis on microbial and chemical dynamics;
Issues and implementation of marine conservation and coastal zone management programmes both in the UK and overseas