6th Malaysian International Seminar on Antarctica (MISA6 2013)

ONLINE REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACT/PAPERS CAN BE DONE AT

http://misa6.webstarts.com

Field Work at Sedim River & Air Itam River

On 10th November 2012, we were given an opportunity to help 22 undergraduate students with their field work for BAT 201 class (Limnology). We departed from USM at 8.30 am  and headed to Air Itam River in Penang before going to Sedim River in Kedah. There, we measured all parameters (DO, TDS, temperature, velocity, depth, pH, conductivity) at three different areas (shaded area, open area, and under the bridge). We also took water samples triplicate at each area for water quality analysis. 

 Air Itam River

We spent 1 hour at the first location, and by the time we arrived at our second location, it was 11 am.

Sedim River

There, we measured all same parameters at two different areas which were the pool area (deeper, flows at slow velocity & turbulence) and the riffle area ( shallow, flows at high velocity & turbulence).

Students prepared to measure parameters

Once we completed our tasks, we took the opportunity to walk on the Tree Top Walk, the world's longest canopy walk.

Tree Top Walk

River view on Tree Top Walk

memory on Tree Top Walk

At 6.00 pm, we happily went back with a memorable experience.


p/s : more pictures

Seminar : '' Better Bread " An Environmental Genomic Challenge

Seminar: Comb Jellyfish, Corals, and Mangroves of the Caribbean Sea

                       Speaker: Dr. Ulrich Niermann
                       Date: 6 July 2012
                       Time: 3.00 p.m.
                       Venue: Meeting room 107,
                                    School of Biological Sciences
                                    Universiti Sains Malaysia

Abstract: 

The sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi), a comb jellyfish, was transported accidently in ballast water of petrol ships from its native habitat America to Europe. It invaded the Black Sea during the late 1980’s. It spread over the Caspian and Mediterranean Sea in subsequent years and conquered the northern European Seas during 2006. Dr. Niermann studied behavior of this comb jelly in one of its native subtropical habitats in the waters off Belize a little state south of Mexico. This state owns not only extended Mangrove areas but as well the second largest barrier reef of the world (after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia). Dr. Niermann will introduce these unique coral - and surprisingly colorful Mangrove ecosystems and will inform about their basic structure, their meaning for the human and of changes during the last decades due to climatic impacts and extensive anthropogenic exploitation.

Seminar: Dispersants Use in Oil Spill Response

                    Speaker: Professor Roger Green

                    Date: 4 July 2012

                    Time: 9.30 a.m.

                    Venue: Meeting room 107
                                 School of Biological Sciences 

                                 Universiti Sains Malaysia

Title: Dispersants use in oil spill response – lessons learned?

Abstract: I discuss the use of chemical dispersants in oil spill response. There are two aspects: efficacy and toxicity. First, do chemical dispersants work, that is, do they significantly increase dispersion of oil under realistic natural conditions? Under what conditions? What kinds of oil? Do they enhance subsequent biodegradation of oil? (Dispersion and enhancement of biodegradation are often assumed without any real evidence.) How narrow is the window for effective dispersants use? The effectiveness of conventional and currently available dispersants is poor at low salinities (below 20 o/oo), and weather conditions severely restrict spill response using dispersants.

New Culture Site

       Hello readers! (If there's any) Today, I am going to share with you my new culture site. Previously, I have cultured my microalgae, Isochrysis, in a semi-open hatchery located at the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), USM. Based on my research project entitled ‘Production of High Nutritional Microalgae for Aquaculture Feed’, I have decided to culture my Isochrysis at the semi-open hatchery using natural resources such as sunlight in order to reduce the production cost. The nutritional value obtained was quite good, too. However, there were two major problems encountered during the experiment:

  

1. Contamination caused by protozoa and ciliates that might affect the growth rate of the algae as well as decrease the algal's biomass.

-->Isochrysis cultured at culture room

-->Isochrysis cultured at semi-open hatchery

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2. Difficulties in manipulating the parameters for optimization of the culture. It was very difficult to control the essential parameters for the algae growth such as temperature and light because these parameters depend on sunlight. Principally, the biochemical compositions of algae such as fatty acids, protein, carbohydrates can be manipulated by modifying the culture parameters.

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Isochrysis cultured in 300 liters aquarium at semi-open hatchery

-->Isochrysis cultured in 1000 liters tank at semi-open hatchery

Therefore, I decided to culture my microalgae in a closed room equipped with an artificial light, hoping to resolve the aforementioned problems. The results obtained will be compared to the semi-open hatchery culture site as to determine the proper site to produce a better nutritious microalgae. First of all, I needed to get the equipment to set up the lighting system.

Equipment	Quantity	Price/unit (RM)	Actual price (RM)
- 2 x 40W F/L Fitting	8	19.00	152.00
- Fluorescent tube	16	5.00	80.00
- Starter S-10	2	13.00	26.00
- Light dimmer	2	0.50	1.00
- 2 x 40 Metal     reflector	8	9.50	78.00
- Flexible wire	12m	2.60	31.00
TOTAL:			RM 366.00

-->2 x 40W F/L Fitting and Fluorescent tube 

Starter S-10, light dimmer and flexible wire    

2 x 40 Metal reflectors

Once the equipments were mounted together, here is the lighting system...

Four fluorescent tubes for each rows (5000 - 6000 Lux)

Light dimmer installed to control the light intensity

I will update again once the new culture site is fully completed and ready for microalgae culture. See you guys soon!

Prepared by : Mohammad Basri Eshak

Credits to : Shahidan (CEMACS staff)

Alginate Beads (Immobilised algae)

          We use alginate beads to preserve our microalgae stock for a long period of time. Most researchers believe that it can last for at least 9 months, so its usage saves time and cost as we do not need to frequently subculture the stock. Preparing alginate beads is very simple - all that we need are sodium alginate, calcium chloride and glycerol. Below is our Nannochloropsis sp. encapsulated with sodium alginate:

 

  Calcium chloride and sodium alginate

Nannochloropsis sp.

Nannochloropsis sp.

Prepared by   : Mohammad Basri Eshak

Pictures by     : Mohd Adip Fadhil

Credit to          : Mr Soh Chee Weng (Texchem researcher)