The 2010 edition of the annual Biology Symposium organised by the University Department of Biology was held on November 13 in the John Borg Hall on campus. The symposium serves as a showcase of undergraduate and postgraduate research undertaken by the department.
One Ph.D, three M.Sc. and 22 B.Sc. projects were presented, which covered a wide range of topics, including aquaculture, botany, plant pests, conservation biology, population genetics, freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecology, pollution, and the use of plant extracts against microbes and tumour cells.
One project concerned growth trials on the Amberjack (Seriola dumerili), or aċċjola in Maltese, a fish currently being studied in Malta for its great potential as a new fish farm species.
In a botany project, three local orchid species were successfully propagated artificially in a laboratory using special media.
Another two projects focussed on aphids, commonly known as ‘plant lice’, which are parasites of plants, including many commercially important crop species. In one of these studies, no fewer than 52 species of aphids were recorded for the first time in Malta, including 10 that occur on crops.
A study on the conservation biology of the Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus), or xaħmet l-art in Maltese, demonstrated that the preferred habitat for this protected reptile is rubble walls, and that the largest populations occur in coastal areas.
Another conservation study showed that the Miġra Ferħa area supports several rare species of plants and animals of high conservation value.
One population genetics project concerned the local endemic race of the honey bee and provided evidence that three genetically distinct populations occur.
Another such study suggested that different local populations of the common red starfish (Echinaster sepositus), or stilla tal-baħar ħamra in Maltese, do not seem to be very genetically different.
The ecology of Maltese freshwater rock pools was the subject of the Ph.D study, the results of which contribute new data on the seasonal occurrence and growth patterns of aquatic plants that inhabit these microcosmsof high ecological importance; temporary freshwater rockpools are protected habitats in the EU.
Other terrestrial ecological projects included studies of the vegetation of Tarġiet Għomor and Wied Għollieqa, and of the fungal microbes associated with the carob (Ceratonia siliqua), or ħarruba in Maltese.
In the area of marine ecology, projects included studies of the influence of the alien alga Caulerpa racemosa on rocky seabeds, of cephalopods as food items of fish, and of the influence loss of beach sand on theecological characteristics of Armier Bay.
No fewer than six projects dealt with pollution studies, and included assessments of the use of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, or rizza in Maltese, and of its embryos and eggs, of the seagrass Posidonia oceanic, or alka in Maltese, and of the Murex Shell (Hexaplex trunculus), or bekkun in Maltese, as indicators of pollution.
Other pollution research projects were concerned with assessments of the environmental quality of Il-Magħluq in Marsascala, and of the Grand Harbour and Marsaxlokk Bay.
The use of extracts from native plants to combat tumour cells and disease-causing microbes was highlighted in three projects that featured Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), or bajtar tax-xewk in Maltese, and marine algae, or ħaxix tal-baħar in Maltese, as potential sources of bioactive substances.
The symposium was partly funded by the Environment Protection Directorate of the Malta Environment andPlanning Authority.
Copies of a booklet featuring abstracts of the research studies, which is edited by David Dandria and includes a foreword by the head of the department, Prof. Victor Axiak, may be purchased from the Department of Biology.
Dr Borg is a senior lecturer at the University’s Department of Biology.