Services

About USTIR: The University of Stirling’s National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub (NATIH) includes tropical and temperate recirculated aquarium facilities within the Institute of Aquaculture on the main university campus, and larger aquarium systems in two remote locations. The first of these is the Niall Bromage Freshwater Research Facility which is at Buckieburn, to the South of Stirling City. The other external facilities is Machrihanish Marine Environmental Research Laboratory (MERL) which is in Machrihanish, Argyll. These sites are very closely integrated, and their activities are entirely complementary. Fish can be moved between sites for experimental and management purposes.

Services:

The offered research aquaria are part of the National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub, which includes the Institute of Aquaculture, which has around 40 academic staff with full technical and administrative support and a large cohort of PhD students, providing a very supportive and stimulating environment for visiting researchers.

The Institute of Aquaculture laboratories cover a wide range of analytical capabilities for water quality and nutritional analysis, and advanced imaging. The range and quality of research undertaken at the Institute, together with Collaborative projects include:

• Development of commercial and trial vaccines against fish pathogens;

• Development of diagnostic reagents, chemotherapeutants and genetic probes against fish pathogens;

• Selective improvement programmes based on genetic and genomic technologies;

• Development of cloned lines of fish;

• Improved polyunsaturated fatty acid nutrition of marine fish larval feeds and antioxidant protection;

• Fish oil substitutions in salmonid diets;

• And evaluation of the mechanisms underlying the control of sexual maturation in salmonids and marine finfish.

  
  

The Institute plays host to a range of national and international visitors each year who stay to carry out research for periods ranging from 5-90 days, particularly through the H2020 - AQUAEXCEL2020 project.

The Marine Environment Research Laboratory (MERL) has 150 tanks providing 375 m² experimental area; and a marine fish hatchery with live feed production. Species held on site include salmon, ballan and goldsinny wrasse. There is a filtered sea water supply and temperature and photoperiod-controlled systems are available.

The Marine Environment Research Laboratory at Machrihanish has around 150 tanks from 0.1 to 13 m3 hosting academic and contract trials. The site is primarily flow-through, but bespoke recirculating systems can be built.

The Stirling campus offers an environmentally controlled facility and can support a wide diversity of aquatic species both tropical and temperate:

• Multiple freshwater RAS systems are available distributed across 6 independent CT rooms, ranging from replicated single RAS systems.

• 6 RAS, each with 500L triplicate tanks in a single CT room to smaller zebrafish-style tank systems providing maximum flexibility for experimental design.

Support offered

The Institute has hosted many visiting scientists and is therefore experienced in providing support and assistance, particularly to Early Career Researchers.

All visiting scientists are attached to a senior member of staff who assists them in developing their research and dealing with administrative matters. In general, visitors will be invited to work in one of the three active research groups that cover most aspects of research devoted to developing a sustainable aquaculture sector globally. Depending on the nature of the study, we can offer multidisciplinary research collaboration opportunities that are unavailable in many other Institutions. With many existing programs in place, we can attach visiting scientists to work alongside Institute staff with training skills in the required techniques as well as access to a wider network of collaborators.

When the academic support and training, specialist fish holding facilities, defined fish strains, and well-equipped modern laboratories focused on specific research themes are combined, the visiting scientist is getting a world-class research experience moulded to their exact requirements.