Funding from FORMAS

We have been fortunate to receive two grants in this year’s FORMAS Swedish Research Council annual call, announced today. Congratulations to the project leaders, Jake Martin and Eli Thoré! See the announcement here, and read about the projects below.

Research Project for Early-Career Researchers (2023-00656)

Thoré, E.S.J., Bertram, M.G., Brodin, T., Hellström, G., Sundin, J.

‘Pharmaceutical cocktail: uncovering the impacts of drug mixtures on the threatened European eel’ – The aim of this project is to combine controlled laboratory experiments with state-of-the-art field tracking approaches to elucidate whether and how the behaviour of juvenile and adult European eels (Anguilla anguilla) is impacted by the single and combined effects of two common pharmaceutical pollutants, which are known to dangerously interact in humans. This project will yield valuable new insights into the impacts of dangerous drug cocktails on eels and other aquatic wildlife, enhancing our ability to conserve aquatic environments, and their ecological and societal value.

Research Project for Early-Career Researchers (2023-01253)

Martin, J.M., Bertram, M.G., Brodin, T., Kolm, N., Larsson, D.G.J., Thoré, E.S.J.

‘Antibiotic rivers: impacts of antibiotic exposure on the gut microbiome of fish and consequence for health, behaviour, and cognition’ – The gut microbiome is critical for the health and behaviour of most animals, and the disruption of the microbiome can lead to disease and poor health outcomes. Despite this, the potential impacts of environmentally relevant antibiotic exposure on the gut microbiome of aquatic wildlife, and potential consequences for host health and behaviour have not been investigated. This project aims to address this knowledge gap by connecting the effects of antibiotic exposure on the gut microbiome, to host metabolism, neurotransmission, behaviour, and cognition.