Our research scientists are currently engaged in research involving shellfish breeding programs, bacterial infections in salmon, ocean acidification, thermal acclimation and the resilience of aquatic species to climate change-related impacts, issues important to fisheries and aquaculture production.
Visit the Faculty profiles for a full list of past and present research experience and interests among the faculty.
Dr. Dan Baker is a fish physiologist working to understand the long-term issues associated with rearing conditions in species of aquatic organisms of conservation and cultural significance. In particular, he is interested in the impact of warming and thermal stress, and how increased survival can be achieved by increasing thermal resilience. He is working in collaboration with Dr. Tim Green, CFI and the BC Shellfish Grower's Association on: The role of thermal acclimation on resilience to warming oceanic environments in different families of Pacific Oyster.
Dr. Tim Green is VIU’s Canada Research Chair in Shellfish Health and Genomics. He is working with researchers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to breed an oyster more resilient to climate-related threats. Dr. Green is studying the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of shellfish adaption to these stressors. He is examining the response of the Pacific oyster to two climate-change exacerbated threats, ocean acidification and Vibrio bacteria, in BC.
Dr. Spencer Russell is a Fish Health Veterinarian working to understand and manage the disease caused by Tenacibaculum bacterial infections in salmon. His research aims to improve fish welfare, mitigate the use of antibiotics in aquaculture and identify key species for future vaccine development. He received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - Alliance, and a Mitacs grant for his research.
Fish and Aqua in the news
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Scholarly research articles
Find scholarly research by VIU scholars, and selected scholarly and creative works by VIU students in the Library's VIUSpace.