Hello, my name is Alexander and this year I will be starting a QUADRAT studentship at QUB. My project involves studying the methylotrophs from the unusual Movile Cave in Romania. The Movile cave ecosystem has been sealed from the surface for 5.5 million years and is dependent on the products of chemosynthesis not photosynthesis. I was drawn to the project because of its use of synthetic communities and metagenomics, tools I became interested in as an undergraduate however I’m also fascinated by Movile Cave itself at least in part owing to my hobby of caving. However the bounds of this project don’t lie completely within the confines of Movile Cave, methane is a potent greenhouse gas, understanding the organisms that metabolise it may help us reduce its impact on the earth’s climate in the future. After a year out of academia, I can’t wait to get stuck in, just not stuck in Movile Cave.
QUADRAT Sponsors and Partners

Ireland Brownfield Network

Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR)

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

SAERI

Shetland Amenity Trust

National Trust for Scotland

Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research

Environment Agency

The R&A

Ulster Wildlife

Causeway, Coast & Glens Heritage Trust

CB Dennis Trust

Tilhill Forestry

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research

DAERA

Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

NI Water

James Hutton Institute

Scottish water

Botanaeco

National Biodiversity Data Centre Ireland

Wildbyte Technologies

Siskin Asset Management

Pacific Seafoods Group

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)

Aberdeen Harbour Board

JNCC

Marine Scotland

NFU Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland

Forestry and Land Scotland

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

RSPB Scotland

Aberdeen City Council

National Trust

Forest Research Scotland

BGS

RSPB NI

Belfast City Council

Loughs Agency

3DEO

Northern Ireland Environment Link

National Trust NI

Mourne Heritage Trust

The Crown Estate

SEPA

Geological Survey NI

Ulster Farmers’ Union

Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute

Arup

NOAA Fisheries

Bioversity International

SAERI Falklands Limited

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Syngenta