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- Northern data: scientists will increase fish production with the help of AI and clone birch trees
Northern data: scientists will increase fish production with the help of AI and clone birch trees
Specialists from Petrozavodsk State University are rearing the first breeding stock of trout, caviar for the production of which was previously purchased abroad. AI and innovative feeds help them in this. Scientists are also creating a method to combat hogweed and study the population of dangerous ticks. Read more about the research carried out by Karelian scientists and the first popular scientific route through the region in the Izvestia article.
AI will increase trout production
The Scientific Research Center for Aquaculture of Petrozavodsk State University (Research Center for Aquaculture of PetrSU) is growing the first breeding stock of Kamloops trout in Karelia. This fish is considered one of the best for growing in the region. Until recently, caviar was purchased in Finland for its production. Now, in order to replace imports, it is extremely important to raise your herds for reproduction.
— We already have the first generation here, which we have received. Some of the fish are already growing in natural conditions," Tamara Kucko, director of the Institute of Biology, Ecology and Agrotechnology at the National Research Center, told Izvestia. — Karelia did not have its own breeding herds. Because for a very long time we have been buying caviar from abroad, it was economically profitable. And there were no problems with the purchase of this caviar, already fertilized. And now the task is to form our own Karelian population. And we are working using modern genetic technologies.
In order to carry out breeding, scientists use genetic analysis. And this allows you to quickly select the fish that grows more efficiently. In addition, researchers are introducing AI into their work. Thanks to the joint efforts of scientists, biologists and specialists in the field of information technology, the intelligent FishGrow Platform system has been created here. It is a hardware and software complex that takes into account the influence of a large set of factors on the growth and development of fish.
— The system helps farms save money and record the indicators of both fish and water directly. And you can also remotely control the feeders and the lights. In other words, we can create feeding plans, and the feeder will automatically open, and food will be removed from it," Anastasia Bodryakova, a junior researcher at the Center for Artificial Intelligence at the National Research Center, told Izvestia.
Another important innovation that Karelian scientists are using to increase the productivity of fish farms is feed quality control and the creation of new ones with an increased protein component. For example, original feed products have been created here from the larvae of the tropical Black Lion fly, which, according to researchers, can increase the muscle mass of fish by 11%.
Fighting hogweed and dangerous mites
Another traditional area of work for scientists in the region is parasitological research. They have been conducted at the Institute of Biology of the KarSC RAS for more than 70 years. The specialized laboratory conducts research on parasites of various groups of animals and plants in the conditions of the European North. One of the most important objects of research is ixodes ticks, which can be a source of the most dangerous diseases for humans.
— We are working with a carrier. Our task is to estimate the species composition and abundance. To determine which factors influence it, and to make certain predictions in order to understand how stable or unstable this current spread of ixodes ticks is," said Sergey Bugmyrin, head of the Laboratory of Plant and Animal Parasitology.
According to him, the movement of dangerous ticks to the north and west is now noticeable, which is attributed, among other things, to global warming.
— The taiga tick, which was previously found only in the east and has never been found in the west, only in Central Karelia. Now it is being found in Sweden and Norway," the scientist said.
Scientists are using modern technologies to explore the pool of infections that ticks can carry, which will allow them to create vaccines and test systems on time in the future.
Scientists are fighting not only against parasites, but also against invasions — species whose spread threatens biological diversity. The invasive species includes hogweed of Sosnovsky. Here, at the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, unique experiments are being conducted to combat hogweed. Scientists have been able to show that a widespread herbicide in Russia is capable of destroying an insidious plant. Good results were also obtained with special treatment, when plants are covered with a dark, dense plastic film.
— After two treatments, the hogweed is completely dead. There were no seedlings by the end of the growing season. And now, next year, we no longer cultivated, we did not do anything, it is gone, the site has been replaced by other vegetation," said Anna Sushchuk, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Parasitology at the Laboratory of Plant and Animal Parasitology at the KarSC Institute of Biology.
Cloned Karelian birches
Anyone can visit scientific laboratories, as well as other facilities, as part of the first scientific and tourist route in Karelia. In total, 87 such routes are operating in 28 regions as part of the Popular Science Tourism initiative of the Decade of Science and Technology. You can see not only institutions, but also the work of existing enterprises. In Karelia, there is an opportunity to visit the Onega Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant (JSC OSSZ).
Kivach Waterfall, one of the largest plain waterfalls in Europe
A large number of natural sites can also be seen along the popular science route. For example, the Devil's Chair geological monument, Girvas paleovolcano, Marcial Waters resort, Zaitsev Valley, Kivach Waterfall and others.
On the territory of the Kivach Nature Reserve, in the riverbed of the Suna River, there is a beautiful waterfall, the fourth largest among the lowland waterfalls in Europe. A nature reserve was established here in 1931, where work is underway to restore the Middle Taiga flora and fauna.
In particular, the world's first cloned Karelian birches were planted here. This tree has special properties that make its wood unique and highly sought after. However, now breeders have to wait at least eight years until the tree shows its characteristic external signs. Now, the possibility of artificial cultivation of seedlings on plantations has been opened.
— Previously, in order to get a "karelochka", it took a lot of time to select its seeds, and at best 20% of the trees from these seeds grow with a Karelian sign, and all the rest become tall hanging birches. And now they take several birch cells and get seedlings in test tubes. And we already have such first plantings of local "Dolly sheep" here, there are about 30 of them," said Daria Shaudvite, a guide at the Kivach Reserve.
The presentation of the popular scientific route through Karelia took place within the framework of the Decade of Science and Technology in the Russian Federation. On November 26-28, 2025, the key annual event of the decade, the V Congress of Young Scientists, will be held on the federal territory of Sirius.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
