The application period is now open for the JAE Intro 2024 fellowship, which allows you to undertake a seven-month stay at the Fisheries Advisory Service of ICATMAR.
- Requirements: Final-year BSc or MSc students with an average grade of 7.5
- Deadline: May 19, 2024
- Funding: €4,200 (€600/month)
- Call for applications and registration: https://sede.csic.gob.es/intro2024
Job description
Marine fishery resources constitute a significant percentage of the global economy; knowledge of the state of their populations is crucial for the proper management of these resources. This field of study becomes even more relevant in a context of global change, where resources can change in abundance and distribution, adapting to climate change. A prime example in the Spanish Mediterranean coast is the deep-water rose shrimp, Parapeneus longirostris. This species benefits from increasing temperature and salinity, making it one of the most important fishery resources for the current bottom-trawling fleet (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115838).
Studying it is of great importance for proper and sustainable fishery management, while maintaining the socioeconomic status of the fishing sector. Therefore, the aim of this project is to understand the reproductive health and any affections or pathogens that deep-water rose shrimp populations may present on the Catalan coast. At the same time, we aim to compare these parameters in locations with different levels of anthropogenic impact (Barcelona and La Ràpita) to detect possible indicators of environmental degradation.
The following activities will be carried out as part of this project: 1) Thirty specimens will be collected seasonally over a year from two fishing zones on the Catalan coast (Barcelona and La Ràpita) using ICATMAR’s continuous monitoring via trawling vessels. 2) The specimens will be processed fresh. Measurements of length and weight will be taken, sex will be determined, as well as the weight of the females’ gonads and gonadal stage. A portion of each organ will be fixed for histology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and molecular analysis. 3) Histological sections will be made to determine gonadal development in females and to detect parasites, pathologies, or anomalies in the tissues. 4) In case parasites or pathologies are found, they will be studied together with specialists through TEM and molecular analysis.
This project will be carried out in collaboration with Dr. Carmen Gilardoni, a postdoctoral researcher at ICM-CSIC with experience in the field of marine parasitology. If you have any questions regarding the offer, please contact Dr. Eve Galimany at galimany@icm.csic.es.
