PhD Training

 
I. Biotechnology Component

1. PhD Nguyen Thi Hai Thanh

Nguyen Thi Hai Thanh has completed the data processing from all of her experimental work, and most of the data analysis for completion of manuscripts. She came back to UiB to finish her course requirements and prepare her manuscripts and thesis outline. An extension into 2019 for submission of her thesis was granted. She attended two international conferences in 2018, presenting one poster paper and one oral paper. One of her thesis papers is now published, and a second is now submitted for review. The third manuscript is in an advanced state and the thesis introduction/synthesis is in progress. Than is on track to complete and defend her thesis by the end of 2019.

Publications:

  • Hai-Thanh T. Nguyen, A-Nga T. Tran, Le Thi L. Ha, Dang N. Ngo, Binh T. Dang, Audrey J. Geffen (2019). Host choice and fitness of anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) living with host anemones (Anthozoa:Actiniaria) in captive conditions.  Journal of Fish Biology 1– 11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13910

Submissions:

  • Hai-Thanh,T. Nguyen; Binh, T. Dang; Glenner, Henrik; Geffen, Audrey J. Cophylogenetic analysis of the relationship between anemonefish Amphiprion (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) and their symbiotic host anemones (Anthozoa: Actiniaria). Submitted March 2019 to Marine Biology Research

Manuscripts:

  • Hai-Thanh T. Nguyen, Min Zhao, Tianfang Wang, Binh T. Dang, Scott F. Cummins, Audrey J. Geffen. Sea anemone symbiosis: Behaviour and mucus protein profiling.

 

Presentations:

  • Hai-Thanh T. Nguyen, A-Nga T. Tran, Le Thi L. Ha, Dang N. Ngo, Binh T. Dang, Audrey J. Geffen (2018). Host choice and fitness of anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) living with host anemones (Anthozoa:Actiniaria) in captive conditions. FSBI conference, the UK, July, 2018. - Paper
  • Hai-Thanh T. Nguyen, T.Long Do-Than, Julie Skadal (2018) Otolith increment formation reveals growth patterns in early life history of tropical clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris. The International Otolith Symposium, Taiwan, April, 2018 – Poster
  • Hai-Thanh T. Nguyen, Luong Thi Tuong Vi, Dang Thuy Binh (2016) Classification of anemonefish species in Khanh Hoa, Vienam: Morphological and genetic characters. The eight international Climate Change conference, Ha Noi, 2016. - Poster
II. Economic component 

Project title: Macro and Micro-level impacts of climate change on Vietnamese aquaculture: A case study in central and southern parts of Vietnam

Activities have been done until in 2018- May 2020

Presented 02 presentations at IIFET conference and at an international training course:

Other activities while in home institution:

  • Rewritten first paper based upon the comments and feedbacks.
  • Had a presentation of 1st paper of PhD study at NTU in June with NTU colleagues.
  • Worked with meta frontier analysis and wrote codes in both R and Stata and presenting the comparison of results between Stochastic frontier analysis and meta frontier in first paper. Rewrite and sent results to main supervisors.
  • Worked on data analysis of second paper and start to write second paper (the introduction, data variables description of the key determinants affected for shrimp disease outbreak)
  • Conducted shrimp farming visit to four provinces (Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Ben Tre, Kien Giang) in Mekong river region for learning super/high intensive shrimp farming system (2 phases farming techniques and green house farming) and searching how they cope to climatic events effects, disease control and adaptive measures for write second and third papers.
  • Had focus group discussion and face to face interviews with shrimp farmers, shrimp cooperative, shrimp collectors, agents of input suppliers, processing plant (Viet Uc company), aquaculture local staffs in October 2018 in Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang provinces
  • Participated in UNCTAD training course in Nha Trang city, Viet Nam from 29 October-9 November 2018 on harnessing the potential of the fisheries sector for socioeconomic development in the least developed countries.
  • Presented the topics of an application of shrimp value chain: a case study of Vinh An cooperative, Ben Tre province.
  • Return to Tromso from Jan 2020 till now

Presented the following papers in conferences:

1- Ngan Thi Thanh Le, Eivind Brækkan Hestvik (2018, July) Climatic events, environmental impacts and farming inefficiency: Evidence from shrimp farming in the Mekong River Area, Vietnam, IIFET 2018, Seattle, USA.

2- Ngan Thi Thanh Le, Eivind Brækkan Hestvik, Claire Armstrong, (2019, Sep) “The probability of disease occurrence in aquaculture sector under climatic events effects: Evidence from shrimp farms in Mekong region, Vietnam”. Oral presentation at REACT international conference, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

3- Kim Anh Nguyen, Curtis Jolly, Ngan Thi Thanh Le; (2018 Nov) “Supply chain in shrimp industry: Case study of Vinh An coroperation, Ben Tre, Vietnam. Oral presentation at UNTACD training course, Nha Trang, Vietnam.

      Remaining budget

  1. Travel expenses (visa + air ticket) between Tromso and Vietnam: 20300 (5300+ 15000) NOK for defending Phd dissertation.
  2. Social science data collection and analysis expenses: 2600 NOK for proofreading service PhD used
  3. Fellowship (5 months) in Vietnam: 12500 NOK. From April 2020 to Sep 2020

Tentative Activities in 2020

  1. Submitting manuscript of paper 1 to Aquaculture Economics and Management journal in June 2020
  2. Submitting manuscript of paper 2 to Aquaculture journal in Oct 2020
  3. Submitting manuscript of paper 3 to Marine Resoruce Econoimcs journal in June 2020

For full report, please click here

2.  PhD Cao Thi Hong Nga

–Thesis Topic: Climate change, economic performance and poverty in small scale fisheries in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam
–Supervisor:
Prof Arne Eide
Prof Claire Armstrong
Dr Le Kim Long
–The supervisor has approved for the topic of three expected papers
 
•Paper 1: Economic performance and capacity utilization in a Vietnamese purse seine fishery

   Finished: published in the Asian Fisheries Science journal in March, 2020.

Cao Thi Hong Nga, Eide Arne, Amstrong W. Claire, Le Kim Long. Economic performance and capacity utilization in a Vietnamese purse seine fishery. The journal Asian Fisheries Science (2020).  https://www.asianfisheriessociety.org/publication/abstract.php?id=1289

•Paper 2:  Comparison of capacity utilization in fisheries using physical versus economic data

–   The Double bootstrap DEA method applied to a Vietnamese purse seine fishery.

     Progress: on going, just received the comments from my supervisor and will be submitted to the journal in the coming time.

•Paper 3: Fishers’ perceptions of natural and anthropogenic events affecting fishing activities. A case study of a Vietnamese purse seine fishery

     Progress: on going, sent the drafted version to my supervisor, revising the Introduction and Method parts and will be submitted my supervisors again by the middle of May, 2020.

Presented the following papers in conferences:

•Cao Thi Hong Nga, Eide Arne, Amstrong Claire, Le Kim Long, 2019. Comparison of capacity utilization in fisheries using physical versus economic data –   The Double bootstrap DEA method applied to a Vietnamese purse seine fishery. The NAAFE conference (on 22-24 of May), Halifax, Canada.

•Cao Thi Hong Nga, Eide Arne, Amstrong Claire, Le Kim Long, 2018. Economic performance and capacity utilization in a Nha Trang purse seine fishery in Vietnam. The IIFET conference, Seattle, Washington, USA.

•PhD dissertation: writting the Introduction part.

•Defend the PhD thesis: by the end of  October/December, 2020

For full report, please click here

III. Aquaculture Component

Project title: Effect of elevated temperature and feeding frequency on clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris

Project objective: To get an insight to the effect of global thermal rise on feed intake, appetite, growth, survival rate and welfare of the fish to determine their thermal tolerance

Specific objective: In this study, fish are cultured in different temperature and feeding frequency. Then, feed intake, oxygen consumption, growth and survival rate will be determined to understand how the metabolic rate, energy demand, growth, survivorship and the energy trade-off of the fish at early stages correspond to the thermal stress under limited availability of  food.

In addition, the relation between feed intake and the changes of appetite controled hormone (located in fish brain) levels when fish are acclimated to different temperatures will be studied. Results from this observation will be useful for understanding the consequences  of global warming effect on coral reef fish welfare.

•Fieldwork:  Conducted 3 experiments in Vietnam, but the experiment on larvae was failed so that data collected only from juvenile experiments.
•Labwork:  Molecular analysis in MDB lab in UiB
•Writing: Neuroendocrine control of appetite in clown anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris, exposed to elevated temperature and restricted feeding – submitted
•Courseworks:
•Data exploration, regression, GLM&GAM with introduction to R
•PhD for Inovation: Interdisciplinary problem solving and creativity
•How to publish in peer-reviewed journals
•Conference: 
•Delivering an oral presentation of expriment results at SEB annual meeting in Seville July 2019

Linh delayed the time arriving Norway from January 2018 to May 2018 to finish all experiments delaying due to the effect of Typhoon 2017. Her staying in Norway has been extended to complete all the labwork and writing. She herself has faced a challenge in conducting experiment, analysing the data and writing. She may need to extend the time to 2020 for preparing for thesis defense.

For full report, please click here