University of Gothenburg
University of Gothenburg
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Ellika Faust

Researcher

Department of Marine
Sciences
Telephone
+46 31-786 90 03
+46 766-22 90 03
Mail
ellika.faust@gu.se
Visiting address
Carl Skottsbergs gata 22 B
41319 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 461
40530 Göteborg

About Ellika Faust

Ellika Faust received her MSc in biology from the University of Gothenburg in 2017 and started her PhD in 2018.

Using genetic methods, I try to understand and describe ecological and evolutionary processors in the ocean. My fundamental research interest originates in the conservation of natural populations and promoting a sustainable use of aquatic resources.

My research is largely focused on different species of wrasse and lumpfish which are used as cleaner fish. Cleaner fish clean the salmon by eating salmon lice and other small parasites that sit on it’s skin. The use of cleaner fish in salmon farms has increased exponentially over the last decade. This great commercial interest has led to an increasing fishing pressure. In addition, many millions of fish are transported to farms far from where they were caught. In my research I mainly examine the genetic structure and composition of the wild populations, with a main focus on Scandinavia. I want to know more about what populations exist, how much connectivity there is between them and how they adapt to the different environments they live in. This will help improve the understanding of the species and provide important information to the management to be able to pursue sustainable fishery.

I also have a great interest in how species and populations can adapt to new environments and how hybridization may effect the local populations. A large part of my research is directed towards being able to identify cleaner fish which escape from salmon farms and better understand the effects it has on the local ecosystem.

In the past, I have done some work on the invasive Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). I examined wild populations in Scandinavia and Europe to investigate the origin and potential route of establishment of the invasive Pacific oyster in Sweden and Norway.