University of Gothenburg announces a two-year post-doc position in Zoophysiology for a multidisciplinary research project carried out on the Indian south-west coast. The project, financed by the Swedish Research Council, deals with the effect of climate change parameters on the marine trophic chain and how it influences human health. The geographical site of focus is Mangalore in south-west India, a coastal town by the Arabian Sea.

More precisely, the physical-biological links investigated are how increased temperature and sea surface salinity affect abundance and fitness of marine pelagic pathogens and harmful algae. Also, the researchers will study the effect of the same parameters on the susceptibility of bacterial infection, toxin accumulation and depuration of bivalves. Ultimately the effects on human health will be dependent on consumer behaviour, and therefore an assessment is made on the influences of rapid urbanization, institutional-, and infrastructural vulnerability. The intention is to create a synthesis of the biological risks and socio-economic vulnerability factors.

The project is a collaboration between four academic institutions: The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Global Studies at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Department of Fishery Microbiology at Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries Sciences University in Mangalore, India, and finally the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Chennai, India. The team consists of four senior researchers with complementary skills. One technician and two PhD students are already enrolled. The postdoc will mainly be responsible for implementing a base-line study of algal toxicity and bacterial load of wild bivalves along the SE coast of Arabian Sea. The post-doc will also conduct manipulated experiments investigating physiological responses of bivalves and cultivated prawns under climate change scenarios. Full information about the position.

More information about the previous research collaboration between the Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences in Gothenburg, and the Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries Sciences University in Mangalore.