Research
Through the Diverseafood project, our researchers are investigating how seafood can contribute to sustainable, healthy diets.
They are assessing the best methods to transition to more diverse seafood intake by looking at the impacts of sustainable aquaculture at the levels of business models, policy, and consumer acceptance.
Our One Bin to Rule Them All research programme has drawn on our Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub in our Henry Royce Institute, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Sustainable Consumption Institute to work with 17 industry partners and local authorities to address key challenges in the plastics lifecycle.
Researchers from our Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub are also working with the manufacturer Callaly to develop alternative sustainable materials for menstrual hygiene products to help combat the growing need for natural-renewable alternatives for plastics.
Learning and students
Our undergraduate students have assisted a study into the effects of warming ocean waters on the small-spotted catshark embryo’s freeze response: a technique whereby the embryo stops moving so that predators won’t detect them.
The research found that with a 5°C water temperature increase there was a seven-fold decrease in the length of time the embryos froze for in the presence of a predator stimuli, indicating that as oceans warm, many shark and ray species may reduce in number due to increased predation.
Our Geography undergraduates study an Environmental Pollution unit covering water control strategies.
Life science undergraduates take units on biodiversity, conservation biology and marine biology, including fieldwork examining organisms living on shores and the seabed.
At master’s level, our Pollution and Environmental Control programme prepares students for a career in environmental management and resource conservation.
Public engagement
At our Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, we partnered with IncredibleOceans to deliver outreach talks and programmes to raise awareness of how oceans are facing threats from development and overfishing, climate change, pollution, acoustics and more.
We teamed up with scientists, creatives, community organisations, campaigners, companies and broadcast media to maximise the impact of this educational outreach activity.
Life below water, in rivers and at sea, is threatened by waste flowing from urban river channels into the oceans.
We’ve been highlighting the effect of microplastics – very small pieces of plastic debris including microbeads, microfibres and plastic fragments – on river systems and marine life through a range of pro-active media coverage, engagement with water companies and input into UK legislation on water management.
Operations
All our Food on Campus outlets and catered student halls serve Marine Conservation Society approved fish.
Leading the way in achieving the University’s pledge to eliminate avoidable single-use plastic usage by 2022, staff in our School of Biological Sciences are reducing single-use plastics in the lab through adoption of a 6R approach.
This has included:
- refining protocol and optimising waste management;
- reducing single-use items;
- re-using materials, plastic containers and gloves;
- using recycled material;
- replacing plastics where possible with glass, paper or wood.