Rate My Professor Mark Cyrus

Dr. Mark Cyrus serves as Senior Lecturer in Aquaculture Macroalgae and Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture at James Cook University in the College of Science and Engineering. He earned his B.Sc. in Botany from the University of Cape Town between 2004 and 2006, followed by a B.Sc. Honours in Ecology in 2007, and a PhD in Biological Science with a focus on Aquaculture and Phycology from 2008 to 2012, also at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Before joining James Cook University, he was employed by the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in the Directorate of Aquaculture Research and Development, based at the Marine Research Aquarium in Cape Town.

Dr. Cyrus's research centers on macroalgal cultivation, environmental sustainability in aquaculture, bioremediation, and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), with particular emphasis on low trophic species development such as echinoderms, including the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla. His work encompasses innovative culture technologies, larval rearing techniques, system design, and nutritional studies on feeds and additives like probiotics and seaweed-supplemented diets to improve aquaculture productivity and sustainability through seaweed integration and nutrient recycling. He currently coordinates and lectures in AQ5012 Aquaculture: Hatchery Techniques and BS1001 Introduction to Biological Processes, and supervises honours and research students on topics like cryopreservation of Asparagopsis taxiformis and effects of broodstock diets on sea urchin gamete quality. Active in projects such as SEAPRO - Seaweed Environmental Action for Pollution Reduction and Algae Protein Optimisation (2024–2025) and the Seaweed National Hatchery Network - Tropical Research Hub for Asparagopsis taxiformis (2023–2025), his contributions advance sustainable aquaculture practices. Key publications include 'Effect of basket height and stocking density on production of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla: insights and recommendations' (2024, Aquaculture International); 'Combining computer vision and standardised protocols for improved measurement of live sea urchins for research and industry' (2023, Aquacult); 'Dietary effects on the reproductive performance of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla I: Implications for broodstock conditioning' and 'II: Implications for offspring performance' (2022, Aquacul); 'The effect of fresh seaweed and a formulated diet supplemented with seaweed on the growth and gonad quality of the collector sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla, under farm conditions' (2020, Aquacu); and earlier works on Ulva seaweed applications, such as 'Why grow Ulva? Its potential role in the future of aquaculture' (2016, Perspectives in Phycology) and 'The role of the green seaweed Ulva as a dietary supplement for full life-cycle grow-out of Tripneustes gratilla' (2015, Aquaculture).