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
National Trust
Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR)
Belfast City Council
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Tilhill Forestry
Shetland Amenity Trust
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Causeway, Coast & Glens Heritage Trust
Arup
Scottish water
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Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd
Bioversity International
Ireland Brownfield Network
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
SEPA
Geological Survey NI
SAERI Falklands Limited
RSPB NI
NFU Scotland
3DEO
Botanaeco
Syngenta
SAERI
National Trust for Scotland
CB Dennis Trust
Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Pacific Seafoods Group
Aberdeen Harbour Board
The Crown Estate
JNCC
The R&A
Mourne Heritage Trust
James Hutton Institute
NI Water
BGS
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Ulster Wildlife
DAERA
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Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute
National Trust NI
Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research
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NOAA Fisheries
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Ulster Farmers’ Union
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Wildbyte Technologies
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