Protistology and Aquatic Ecology

Department of Biology< Faculty of Sciences

Personnel

• Wim Vyverman
• Koen Sabbe
• Elie Verleyen
• Katleen Van der Gucht
• Victor Chepurnov
• Pieter Vanormelingen
• 10-15 PhD students (resident)

Activities

Since 1996 our group has been conducting research on the functioning of freshwater and marine ecosystems, with a strong focus on micro-algae, the base of aquatic food chains. A central research theme is to understand the dynamics of micro-algal populations and communities in both natural and artificial systems.

Building on a long-standing expertise in micro-algal biodiversity, the group integrates organismal and population-level studies with ecosystem-level approaches, focusing on ecologically and/or economically important key groups.

Topics of particular relevance within the context of Aquaculture include:

• Aquatic ecosystem health and water quality [effects of eutrophication, food web modifications, toxic bloom dynamics (e.g. Pseudo-Nitzschia, Microcystis)]
• Productivity and stability of micro-algal populations and communities
• Ecophysiology (e.g. mixotrophy, salinity tolerance)
• Cell and life cycle regulation.
• Experimental evolution and breeding

Contact

• Website:
  • http://www.pae.ugent.be/
• email:
  • Wim.Vyverman@ugent.be
  • Koen.Sabbe@ugent.be

• Tel. +32 9 264 85 01
• Fax. +32 9 264 85 88

• Mailing address:
  • Laboratory of Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000 Gent, Belgium