【Topic】：Climate  change impacts on the spread of disease in shellfish aquaculture 

     【Time】：  10:00am-11:30am, September 28th, 2016

      【Venue】：D05-209

      【Lecturer】：Professor  Sarah Culloty

【Introduction】：

      Shellfish are an important commercial and cultural food product  in Ireland and the European Union. However in recent years production has  been impacted on by a range of shellfish pathogens including viruses and  bacteria. This has resulted in significant mortality rates but also impacts  in the greater environment due to the important role of bivalves in the  ecosystems in which they are found. Of particular interest is the speed at  which these diseases have spread globally. The focus of the presentation will  be on the impacts of climate change on the spread of disease and how an  understanding of host:parasite dynamics in marine environments can help  elucidate some of the important drivers of ecosystem dynamics.

【Profiles】：

Sarah Culloty

Head

School of  Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Enterprise  Centre, Distillery Fields, North Mall

Cork,

Ireland

T: 00 353 21  4904646

F: 00 353 21  4904664

E:  s.culloty@ucc.ie

Director

Environmental  Research Institute

University  College Cork

Ireland

T: 00 353  214901946

Prof.   Sarah Culloty is Head of the School of Biological, Earth and  Environmental Sciences and Director of the Environmental Research Institute  at UCC. Prof. Culloty's main area of research interest is in ecological  parasitology with a particular focus on molluscan diseases. Research centres  on pathogen life cycles, epidemiology, diagnostics and approaches to  ameliorate impacts of disease.

Research Interests

The main emphasis of my research is  in the area of ecological parasitology and immunology. Much of the   research focuses on diseases of commercially significant bivalve shellfish  (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, cockles) but research is also ongoing on  other groups (crabs, polychaetes, gastropods, tunicates) on general aspects  of invertebrate biology such as reproduction. Disease research is on  host:parasite interactions, epidemiology, parasite life cycles, diagnostics  and mathematical modelling of host:parasite interactions.