- Aquaculture
- Microalgae and their applications
- Ecology of marine and lacustrine environments
- Automation of water quality parameters
- Bioenergy
Marine biology, aquaculture and algae biotechnology. This will be of direct interest to improve industries relevant to Ecuador, such as shrimp and tilapia, and to develop new aquaculture products, eg. Novel nutritional supplements from algae and plants. In addition, algae biomass will be exploited for the evaluation of biofuel-grade lipids and nanostructured materials. The development and implementation of “in situ” instrumentation to monitor the water quality of culture ponds will allow establishing the best production parameters (24 according to the production conditions) as well as helping to predict production in each cycle. Basic understanding of marine ecosystem dynamics, anthropogenic impacts (e.g. plastic pollution), and evolution directly influence studies of iconic habitats, such as the Galapagos Islands, in close cooperation with the School of Earth Sciences, Energy and Environment, with direct impact on both conservation biology and ecotourism. Biomass conversion, biorefinery and bioenergy, a key research area within the new circular bioeconomy that is important for a clean environment along with a sustainable energy future and food security in Ecuador. The lignocellulose in plant cell walls represents by far the largest renewable organic raw material on Earth and can be exploited on non-arable land to give rise to entirely new biochemical, material, and green energy industries that will progressively replace those of fossil origin. In addition, other biomass sources such as agri-food residues and algae (including Pacific Coast seaweed) will be evaluated through the biorefinery concept for the production of biofuels, platform chemicals and high-value ingredients. A major effort will be made to link biomass valuation to primary food production.