(Home based) Do climatic conditions affect the success of closure periods for octopus fishing in southwest Madagascar?

No fieldwork in Madagascar required.

A number of factors could influence octopus capture on opening day. This project will analyze if weather, tide height, and temperature data on reserve opening days correlate to reserve effect. The student will be provided with octopus catch for a range of reserves which have been implemented since November 2004. This data needs to be correlated with daily weather data, tidal height and sea surface temperature. A literature review of ocean currents and larval transport range of Ocotpus cyanea in the region could also be made to determine whether this may have an impact upon the success of the reserves. Need to check if the IHSM has upwelling/current data.

Project Requirements

• No fieldwork is required for this project

Student Requirements

• Students should be familiar with Microsoft Access and Excel. Students will also need knowledge of multivariate statistical analyses.