Small Research Grants
The FSBI funds a number of small research projects each year to support members of the Society to undertake novel research into any aspect of fish biology and fisheries science that is relevant to the Society’s objectives. Applicants can bid for up to £7,500 to support their projects.
The Small Research Grant scheme is open to bids for up to £7500 per project and the current budget for Small Research Grants is £66,000.
Research grant competitions are open to any member of the Society, regardless of their geographical location, but to be eligible you must be a paid up FSBI member at the time of making a grant application.
Examples of recent awards can be seen in the reports on previously-awarded grants below.
How to apply
The closing dates for applications are midnight GMT on the closing dates for applications on 07 January, 01 June and 01 October each year. Late applications will not be considered. If you do not receive an acknowledgment within 48 hours please contact admin@fsbi.org.uk
Subject-related enquires should be addressed to the chair of the Research Grant sub-committee.
Reports on FSBI Small Research Grants

Hayley Suter
University of Glasgow
The affects of maternal steroids and spawning order on juvenile brown trout.

Iain Barber
University of Wales
Ontogeny of parasite-mediated behaviour change in sticklebacks.


Gordon Copp
Cefas Lowestoft
A preliminary study of non-native species impacts: how do clandestine introductions of goldfish impact pond ecosystems?

Lucy Odling-Smee
University of Edinburgh
A collaborative study between Edinburgh University and the University of British Columbia to compare spatial learning in benthic and limnetic stickleback species pairs.

Adam Andrews
Tromsø, Norway, M.Sc. Student
The origin of boreal species invading Arctic waters, Northeast of Greenland
Previous grants
GRANTS AWARDED IN 2018
Dr Antonia Ford - Reproductive isolation on the edge: investigating species barriers in the hottest fish on earth
Dr Catrin Williams - SPIROSCOPE - Utilising non-lethal methods to assess the reservoir potential of wild salmonids for pathogenic Spironucleus infections
Christopher Doble - Using a novel environmental DNA approach to survey Lake Tanganyika’s fish species.
Christopher Payne - Exploring the effects of prebiotic and antibiotic on the gut microbiome and host response in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Emma Kenyon - Structure and function of cupulae of the lateral-line neuromasts
Kevin Schneider - High-Density Population Genomics of Sympatric Divergence with Gene Flow of Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) into Ecologically Distinct Morphotypes
Imants George Priede - Buoyancy of oil-filled livers of deep-sea sharks: measurement of the compressibility and viscosity of squalene and related oils at deep ocean pressures and temperatures.
Chrysila Gubili - Species composition of the Greek ray trade
Joanna Miest - The role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in setting thermal limits of fish and the interaction between ER stress and mitochondria at increased temperatures.
Marta Moyano - POLISH. Protists and larval fish: new methods to unravel larval feeding in Atlantic herring
GRANTS AWARDED IN 2017
Dr. Alec BM Moore - Ray of light - uncovering Yemen's unique elasmobranch biodiversity
Lewis Eaton – An Assessment of stress in the global transportation of ornamental fish and potential welfare improvements
Lewis White - Life in extreme environments: adaptation and evolution of African soda lake fishes
Maria George Nayfa - Domestication in aquaculture fishes-elucidating the genetic consequences in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Will Sowerby - A comparative study of the trade-off between growth and senescence in killifishes with alternative pace-of-life strategies
Adam Andrews - The origin of boreal species invading Arctic waters, off Northeast Greenland
Alyssa Maree Budd - Is environmental temperature driving early male to female sex change in barramundi (Lates calcarifer)?
Ana Cristina Pimenta Veríssimo - Ana Cristina Pimenta Veríssimo
Michael Jarrold - How does the duration of peaks during diel CO2 cycles affect the behavioural sensitivity of coral reef fish to elevated CO2?
Miss Molly V Czachur - Using environmental DNA metabarcoding approaches to characterise fish biodiversity in marine ecosystems in South Africa
Andrew Griffiths - Investigating the sale of shark steaks and fins in the UK
Isla Keesje Davidson - Alarm calling behaviour in coral reef fish in response to predator threat
Lauren Victoria Laing - The role of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmc) DNA methylation in mediating epigenetically inherited increased tolerance to copper in three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
Natalie A Welden - Analysis of microplastic (MP) uptake by plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, in areas of varied fishing intensity in the Irish Sea
Samantha Simpson - Ontogeny of skate (Rajidae) feeding ecology and maternal foraging using Stable Isotope Analysis of δ15N and δ13C