About the Project
This project will apply genetics and remote sensing to a large-scale study on the whale shark to investigate key unknown aspects of the species’ biology, movement patterns and the likely impact of ocean warming. The project is in collaboration with the University of Oulu, Finland and the Marine Megafauna Foundation.
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest, yet one of the least understood fish species in the world. The species is a high conservation priority, with a significant decline in global sightings linked to targeted fisheries and other human impacts. Although found in all three of the world’s major ocean basins, whale sharks appear to inhabit a narrow range of sea temperatures making ocean warming an additional, and growing threat to the species. Very little is known about the biology of whale sharks and the genomic consequences of their recent decline in numbers. Only relatively recently was it discovered that whale sharks form 14 large aggregations around the world in response to plankton productivity. These temporal aggregations form ecotourism hotspots, which are of considerable economic importance. They are estimated to generate $46,700,000 (2014) per annum, much of this in regions with few alternative livelihoods. So far, most research has focussed on these aggregations, but this approach is biased, as the aggregations are almost entirely made up of juvenile males. Individuals of breeding age are rarely seen, so very little is known about whale shark reproduction. Recent research has suggested that aggregations are size segregated, with individuals of similar age forming cohorts and moving to offshore habitats as they mature. Effective conservation management therefore requires international agreements about population management across the species’ range. However, this is impeded by a paucity of information on distribution, connectivity and migration pathways, and the extent of genetic differences between populations. Previous genetic studies imply low genetic differentiation between putative populations in the three major ocean basins, but these suffer from few neutral loci and limited sampling. Migration between the major basins is deemed unlikely as the cooler southern oceans are thought to form a thermal barrier to migration. The previous bottom-up approach to whale shark research, focusing on individual aggregations, captures only a small proportion of the species’ life cycle.
This collaborative project between Manchester Metropolitan University, the Marine Megafauna Foundation and the University of Oulu, Finland will take a broader, integrative approach. The project will combine remote sensing MODIS satellite data with genetics to identify the biotic and abiotic factors driving whale shark aggregations to determine the likely impact of ocean warming on these aggregations. Further, molecular genetic analysis will examine the amount of gene flow and potential adaptive differences between populations and to quantify the genomic consequences of the recent population decline. The Marine Megafauna Foundation is one of the leading organisations conducting research on whale sharks worldwide; the project will utilise MMFs, and their collaborators, biobank of whale shark skin biopsy samples from every tropical ocean.
The objectives of the project are:
1) To investigate the biotic and abiotic factors driving the temporal formation of whale shark aggregations using MODIS images to derive sea-surface chlorophyll concentration as a proxy for plankton concentrations and MODIS data on sea surface temperature.
2) To conduct a population genetic study using 18 microsatellite loci and the MMF biobank to examine; a) connectivity between aggregations, b) relatedness within and between aggregations c) reconstruct parental genotypes to examine the reproductive behaviour of the species.
3) To screen a suite of candidate genes associated with fitness; e.g. variation in globins will be targeted as genetic differences may be linked to distribution and thermal environment, while quantifying diversity at immune genes will be used to study possible effects of loss of adaptive diversity associated with population bottlenecks.
The new understanding generated by this integrative project will ensure high quality academic outputs which will inform global marine conservation and marine tourism strategies.
Supervisory Team
Manchester Metropolitan University: Dr. Bradley Cain (Director of studies), Dr. Matthew Sullivan
Marine Megafauna Foundation: Dr. Simon Pierce
University of Oulu, Finland: Dr. Phill Watts
The PhD candidate would join a growing team of researchers in MMU’s Environmental Science Research Centre. It is expected that the findings of the PhD research will form the basis of a series of publications in high impact, international journals. Excellent written, communication, and analytical skills are therefore essential.
Funding Notes
Deadline for receipt of applications: 9am, 21st March 2016.
A full PhD Scholarship for full-time study provides:
• Payment of approved Tuition Fees
• An annual maintenance grant of £14,142 (2016/2017)
The applicant should have:
• a good Honours and Masters degree in Biology or a related subject.
• extensive experience in marine biology and conservation and experience in data analysis, preferably using R.
• excellent written, communication, and analytical skills