A Georgia Southern University biology alumna moved to Hólar, Iceland to conduct aquaculture research and earn a master’s degree at Hólar University.

Amber Monroe is a 2016 graduate who moved to northern Iceland in May to fulfill a childhood dream of conducting research in the field of aquaculture and fish biology research.

“I absolutely love attending Hólar,” Monroe said. “It is a small university, so we know each other well, and we often get together to do group activities such as swimming and hanging out at our local pub. We are also supportive of everyone’s research projects, so we often work together to help each other out.”

The experiments Monroe conducts are designed to understand the growth and metabolism of lumpfish and coldwater fish that help control sea lice.

“This is important because a few studies on other fish species have suggested that low levels of ammonia can actually be beneficial to the growth of the fish,” Monroe said. “Additionally, if lumpfish are shown to tolerate higher water levels of carbon dioxide and ammonia, it is potentially useful for higher stocking densities in aquaculture programs.”

Monroe says lumpfish are resilient creatures and that they are unbothered by carbon dioxide in the water.

“I think it will be interesting to observe how the carbon dioxide and ammonia interact when used together,” Monroe said. “I’m looking forward to working with them in this new project.”

Tori Collins, The George-Anne Daily Reporter, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu