In Swansea the WISE Network is situated in the School of the Environment and Society (SOTEAS). Over 20 scientists primarily from Biological Sciences and Geography are actively involved in contacts and collaborative projects with small and medium sized businesses.
Main areas of expertise in Swansea are:
Aquaculture - Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research (CSAR)
CSAR is a new state-of-the-art facility to research methods of cultivating fish and shellfish under environmentally friendly conditions. It is developing new approaches to fish and shellfish farming and fish food production, focusing on the highest standards of animal health and welfare, without risk to the natural environment.
The 750 square meter controlled environment facility provides a world-class platform for research on the sustainable aquaculture of practically any tropical or coldwater marine or freshwater fish or invertebrate. Water recirculation technology provides optimal growing conditions for livestock, to prevent both disease and the discharge of wastes back to the environment.
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Water analyses
We offer water analyses ranging from water chemistry, specifically with respect to nutrients, to phytoplankton and zooplankton, i.e. microscopic organisms such as algae, small crustaceans, juvenile fish, bacteria and viruses, free-living in fresh or marine water. Field tests and laboratory experiments can be carried out, and there is considerable expertise in developing models that describe the behavior and trophic interaction of plankton. Such interactions include the occurrence of harmful algal blooms and similar events that adversely affect the aesthetic and health qualities of water bodies, including ponds, reservoirs, lakes, coastal waters, together with commercial activities associated with aquaculture and fishing / angling.
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Sediment / Soil Analyses
We offer a range of sediment and soil analyses ranging from organic carbon and nitrogen content, organic compound identification, hydrophobicity, magnetic properties, particle size and heavy metal content. We are able to undertake experiments involving simulation of rainfall over soils or sediments. This controlled system allows general infiltration behaviour, overland flow and erosion to be measured for different rainfall scenarios. The simulator is fitted with auto-logged moisture sensors which allow wetting front propagation and preferential flow to be detected. The wetting rate system allows automated measurement of the water uptake of porous media, such as soils and sediments, through matrix suction. The soil laboratories also house a large capacity climatic simulation chamber which is computer controlled and can simulate a wide range of temperature and humidity scenarios, allowing, for example, materials to be exposed to a series of freeze-thaw or humidity cycles. The laser particle sizer, with autosampler, allows size, shape and surface area of heterogeneous particle mixtures to be determined. Size distribution is one of the most fundamental parameters in soil and sediment analysis. Minerals present in soils and sediments can have distinctive magnetic properties. These properties may be used to assign a unique signature or fingerprint to a soil or sediment, which in turn allows the source tracing of such materials after they have been transported in the environment by, for example, fluvial erosion.
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Marine surveys
The R.V. Noctiluca is a versatile research vessel for a wide variety of surveys, such fishing with different types of gear, taking samples of the sea floor (sediment, benthos) and water samples (water quality, plankton), underwater video and bathymetric studies.
The twin-hulled design combines speed, maneuverability and efficiency with a flexible work platform. The research vessel has a range of 500 nautical miles and operates at a top cruising speed of 16 knots. The wide aft deck and A-frame allows housing of trawling and grab gear, and smaller instruments and samplers can be deployed between the hulls. It operates a highly accurate professional multi purpose fish finder (Simrad ES60), linked to an Olex 3D chart plotter and it offers a state of the art underwater video system.
The marine biologists in the department offer their knowledge on all aspects of the biology and ecology of marine mammals, fish, benthos (animals such as crabs, worms or mussels that live in or on the sea floor) and plankton. Swansea has a long tradition of species identification of all marine animals. Currently we are involved in a number of commercial studies, e.g. the monitoring of oyster beds, media work with the BBC, marine mammal surveys, and the latest project is an environmental impact assessment of submerged power generators on the marine environment.
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Animal behaviour and physiology - Remote sensing
The development of new remote-sensing and data-logging technology is now so advanced that it allows detailed bahavioural studies of free-living marine and terrestrial species, which have long been considered intractable. The new technology is now being developed for a broad suite of animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Current work thus involves shellfish and fish as well as terrestrial and marine mammals, birds and reptiles.
The remote sensing and data-logging equipment is tailor made in the department for a wide variety of applications. While the prime interest focuses on animal behaviour, the equipment can be used to study non-biological objects, e.g. the ‘behaviour’ of fishing gear on the sea floor.
Committed field biologists also offer are a wide range of skills including trapping and handling a variety of mammal species, species identification, animal track and sign identification and dietary analyses. There is an active interest in the ecology of the water vole, otter, polecats, American mink, dormouse and all British bat species.
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Botany, Horticulture and Wetlands
The development of pest controls in horticulture is a main research subject in Biological Sciences. Research covers several areas including: fungal infection processes, the production, formulation and application of inoculum, risk assessment and the development of integrated pest management strategies. Current projects include the development of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae as a biological control agent in horticulture.
Beside this applied research keen field botanists and are actively involved in wild plant survey work in conjunction with the Botanical Society of the British Isles. Expertise in the field includes vascular plants, bryophytes and macrofungi.
Swansea also offers considerable knowledge in applied wetland ecology, wetland habitat restoration and construction, design and process within functional wetlands, optimisation of wastewater treatment and habitat value and the use of wetlands and hydroponics in the treatment and re-use of waste material.
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Isotope analyses
Stable isotopes can be measured in a wide variety of substances, including soils, sediments, wood, fungi, algae and archaeological artefacts. Information obtained can be used in palaeoclimate studies, trophic foodweb studies and carbon tracing. The isotope laboratory is equipped to measure isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen in bulk samples such as a soil or organism. Carbon and hydrogen isotopes of individual organic compounds extracted from sediments or soils and identified from a known source, such as algae are also able to be measured.
Radiocarbon dates of organic materials can be obtained from the radiometric (conventional) Radiocarbon dating laboratory. The set up of the laboratory allows for small samples containing as little as 0.8 grams of carbon to be used.
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Environment-related education and training programs
We offer expertise in national and international environmental policy development and in the development of educational and training material, particularly in the subject of sustainable development and in wetlands. Currently a group is preparing "Professional Practice for Sustainable Development" (PP4SD) training materials and programmes targeted at small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and trainers in the aquaculture, conservation management, fisheries and land-based sectors.
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