Protecting oyster aquaculture from heatwaves and flooding rains

Project Member(s): Scanes, E.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC DECRA Scheme)
Australian Research Council (ARC DECRA Scheme)

Start year: 2024

Summary: This project aims to grow our understanding of disease in oysters following extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods. Working with industry partners, I will use field and lab-based to determine the underlying causes of oyster mortality following extreme weather. Critically, this project will test real solutions such as selective breeding and multi-trophic aquaculture to reduce disease. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the causes of bacterial disease in aquaculture and real progress towards solutions to mitigate oyster disease following extreme weather events. This project expects to enable the iconic Australian oyster aquaculture industry to grow despite the extreme weather brought by climate change.

FOR Codes: Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology), Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation, Microbial ecology, Animal adaptation to climate change , Aquaculture oysters, Expanding knowledge in the agricultural, food and veterinary sciences

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.