SeaSolutions aims to research and provide evidence for using seaweed feeds for the reduction of methane emissions from farm animals. The project will combine the talent of internationally recognised scientists and the agrifood industry with the use of ICT in animal-feeding studies (LRCpH system, metabolic chambers equipped with gas chambers and data acquisition systems, use of RFID tags in feeding trials and remote monitoring of methane emissions using GreenFeed systems).

While previous research has focused on housed ruminants, this project will seek to reduce methane emissions in pasture-raised animals. The generation of data (economic and scientific) should provide a business model, encouraging further developments in this area. Economic and life-cycle analysis will be looked at in depth. 

Working towards the development of seaweed feeds that are both nutritious and palatable, bioactive and dose-specific, the project will enhance precision-feeding approaches that could be adapted by farmers. There will also be an emphasis on more efficient use of local seaweed in any future livestock feeding. 

Although microorganisms dominate almost every ecological niche in our planet, it has only been during the past 10-15 years that we have begun to gain insights into the composition and function of microbial communities (microbiomes) as a consequence of major advances in High Throughput DNA Sequencing (HTS) technologies.

These approaches have allowed a comprehensive analysis of microbiomes, but most of this research has been in the clinical space. In contrast, far less is known about microbiomes across complex foodchains.

MASTER aims to improve the quantity, quality and safety of food, across multiple food chains, to include marine, plant, soil, rumen, meat, brewing, vegetable waste, and fermented foods, on a global scale.

This will be achieved through mining microbiome data relating to the foodchain, developing big-data management tools to identify inter-relations and generating applications which promote sustainability, circularity and contribute to waste management and climate-change mitigation.

The aim is to harness microbiome knowledge to significantly enhance the health and resilience of fish, plants, soil, animals and humans; improve professional skills and competencies; and support the creation of new jobs in the food sector and bioeconomy.

Broiler chicken production is big business, with an average of 20M broilers slaughtered per month in the UK. Public perception of broiler welfare can be poor and, with no legal requirements for environmental enrichment, broiler producers are creating their own 'higher welfare' systems to meet a growing consumer demand. Over the last decade, Prof O’Connell and her team have worked closely with leading industry producers to provide evidence-based advice on ways to enhance broiler housing. 

One large-scale study by this research group revealed the benefits of providing windowed housing, with access to natural light leading to improved litter condition, an increase in broiler activity levels and improved walking ability. This was the first peer-reviewed study of its kind and is widely referred to globally in animal-welfare policy and advocacy documents. This was influential in the move by one of Europe's largest chicken producers, NI-based Moy Park, to install windows in all its chicken houses.  Subsequent research demonstrated health and welfare benefits associated with the use of straw bales, pecking objects and dustbaths.

A different project in collaboration with Skea Eggs Ltd explored the ability of aerial perches to reduce aggressive behaviour and improve laying hen welfare under free-range conditions. The results demonstrated a clear benefit.  

The research has directly informed animal-welfare standards, including:

• Red Tractor standards for meat chickens; RSPCA Australia standards for meat chickens  

• RSPCA Assured standards for laying hens  

• Major NGO-led initiative ('the Big Ask') 

With Dr Jonathan Houghton as academic lead and founding director, the company successfully closed a funding round led by QUBIS Ltd, the commercialisation arm of Queen’s, and a number of private investors, on the back of securing ‘Aid for Start-up’ support from InnovateUK.

Fjordstrong, based at Queen’s Marine Laboratory in Portaferry on the shores of Strangford Lough, has developed a patented zero-impact biodiversity underwater survey system called Auto-release Baited Underwater Video (ABUV), designed to survey high-conservation-value species and protected marine areas.

The start-up was founded in 2019 after taking part in Innovate UK’s programme to accelerate the commercialisation of research from universities across the UK. It is now engaged with international NGOs and UK government agencies on projects supporting the conservation of critically endangered skates and rays. Additionally, and in collaboration with Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), Fjordstrong is now working with BlueWise (previously SmartBay) in Galway to explore how marine renewable energy infrastructure can play a role in protecting our most vulnerable wildlife.

FjordStrong’s work addresses several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals including Life Below Water and Climate Action.

Climate change is making nutritional resources from grazing more unpredictable, and at the same time increasing threats from parasitic and other diseases. Investing more money to stave off these threats is out of the question for most subsistence farmers. This project seeks to build on successful previous work, in which targeted treatment of individual sheep and goats achieved substantial uplift in health and productivity with much lower costs than standard whole-herd treatment.

Further improvements to the system would be to replace chemical anthelmintics with plants shown to reduce parasite burdens. These plants grow locally and could be cultivated or sustainably harvested. Research on such plants shows a long list of candidates but evaluation of effects under real farming conditions is limited, therefore more research such as this project is urgently needed.

As a result of this project, tools will be created for rapid evaluation of and adaptation to disease and nutrition threats throughout Africa, to support sustainable production and food security in the poorest areas. The benefits of healthier livestock for household livelihoods are potentially immense and these socio-economic effects will also be researched, alongside projections of epidemiological risks and benefits across other farming systems in Africa.