Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrometer with Graphite Furnace
La Trobe University Department of Environmental Management and Ecology (Albury-Wodonga campus) and the MDFRC have jointly funded the acquisition of a Varian Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) with Graphite Furnace capabilities. Valued at $90k.
This acquisition enables the MDFRC NATA accredited laboratory to not only maintain its core capabilities in the analysis of major constituents of natural waters but enhance our capacity to study and measure total metals/metalloids within the Murray-Darling Basin.
The instrument is a ‘fast sequential' AAS that allows simultaneous analysis of up to ten elements, giving significant time savings in multi-element analysis, allowing faster laboratory throughput and more reliable analysis. The Graphite Furnace unit allows metals analysis at trace (ppb) levels and will open new research opportunities in minor element analysis.
Joint project collaborations between DEME and MDFRC will also enable students the opportunity to use modern instrumentation and techniques that are standard in the water industry, and will allow DEME to foster greater involvement in the VCE chemistry program, part of which is the use of a range of analytical instruments, including AAS.
Ewen Silvester (DEME)
Honours Projects
For an outline of Honours Projects offered with the La Trobe University Department of Environmental Management and Ecology and The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, download the document here.
Elliott Newspaper Group Honours Scholarship 2010
The Elliott Newspaper Group, in conjunction with the Murray Darling Environmental Foundation and The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, will be providing an Honours student scholarship in 2010.
The scholarship supports current Honours level students conducting research into issues important to the sustainability of river systems within the Murray-Darling Basin.
The scholarship is valued at $4700 to fund both the research ($2200) and the student ($2500).
Download further information and application form here
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PhDs Submitted
Shane Perryman submitted his thesis “Microbial community structure and function: the response of denitrifiers on an environmental gradient - stream urbanization” in December.
Nicole McCasker also submitted her PhD in late December, titled “Of life and death in a lowland river; investigating mortality during the early life stages of Murray-Darling fishes”.
Nick Whiterod submitted his PhD thesis on 30 March on “The bioenergetic implications for Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) below a large hypomnetic-releasing impoundment”.
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Environmental Watering Workshop: Impacts on Red Gum and Spike Rush
The Murray Darling Ltd held a workshop on the 24 February on the La Trobe Wodonga Campus. Deb Nias organised the workshop, which was attended by people including Keith Ward, Matt Colloff, Ian Davidson, Judy Frankenberg, Emma Wilson and Rick Webster. Ben and I also attended.
The particular focus for the day was wetlands within The Living Murray sites, where watering Red Gums has seen a monoculture of Spike Rush occur. The pros and cons of watering brought up some interesting discussions regarding processes such as increased/decreased biodiversity, flow impacts, sedimentation impacts and so forth. Watering can provide opportunities for weed plant and pest species to spread and/or to dominate. These problematic species can include both native and non-native species. The vegetation work the MDFRC does, across the Murray and Darling catchments, has shown several species that can spread due to watering activities. Thus we are active in informing our clients when we do notice issues with species (rare or threatened, noxious etc).
Ultimately the discussion surrounded the idea of how to identify and address the detrimental effects of watering with management agencies, i.e. what watering regimes will produce a better outcome.
Christine Reid
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CSIRO Land and Water Science Retreat
Darren Baldwin, Daryl Nielsen, Gavin Rees, John Pengelly, Garth Watson, and I participated in a CSIRO Land and Water Science Retreat which was held at the Ecopoint Murramarang resort, South Durras, NSW on 9 to 12 November.
The retreat aimed to provide an informal opportunity for staff to learn about the science that is being conducted by colleagues now and into the future. Participants were invited to actively participate in the retreat, explore the wealth of research being carried out and brainstorm new possibilities of collaborative research.
Over 100 delegates from CSIRO Land and Water attended from across the country. Garth Watson, was involved in a ‘hands on science session' displaying the exciting methods and potential of metagenomics. Darren Baldwin participated in the retreat debate, “Science Will Save us” with a resounding victory for his side. Whereas, I participated in the ‘post doctoral session' by giving a 5 min talk on Flow variability & food webs: the carbon connection and also helped arranged the retreat by being on the science retreat organising committee.
Key highlights included a keynote address by Mike Raupach discussing Climate Change and the role of science, hearing about the new technologies available for our scientific endeavours and an indigenous session in which we learned about the native Koori cultures who originally resided in the location where the retreat was based.
Sally Hladyz
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MDFRC Visual Arts Award
The MDFRC at Mildura will provide an annual award of $3000 to a Bachelor of Visual Arts Honours student enrolled at the Mildura campus of La Trobe University beginning in 2010.
The $3000 award will be an acquisitive award offering recognition of high achievement at Honours level and encouragement to continue with further postgraduate study. Each time the award is offered the MDFRC will acquire an art work created by the recipient of the award and will hold full reproduction and exhibition rights to the work.
From the MDFRC perspective, the objectives of the new award are:
· To strengthen links with La Trobe University Mildura Campus.
· To support research in another field.
· To recognise that the arts/science relationship has potential for raising community awareness of the issues faced by ecological researchers and the threats to ecosystems.
· To enhance the opportunity for any science Honours students based at the Mildura laboratory in the future to network with other locally placed Honours students.
The new award was announced at the Visual Arts Honours Exhibition in Mildura on the evening of Friday 13November. The first announcement of the recipient of the award will be made at the annual Honours group exhibition held in November next year.
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Local freshwater researchers scoop 2009 Limnological Awards
The successful ongoing relationship between The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (MDFRC) and La Trobe's Albury-Wodonga campus was highlighted at the 2009 Congress of the Australian Society for Limnology, where staff connected to both institutions won three of the four major awards.
The Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) is an Australian–based scientific society whose focus is the study and management of inland waters. Members have a strong professional interest in inland aquatic issues, including the maintenance of biodiversity, the maintenance and/or restoration of water quality, and the wise use of aquatic resources. Approximately 250 delegates attended the 2009 Congress, held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre from 28th September to 2nd October.
The MDFRC and La Trobe's Department of Environmental Management and Ecology work collaboratively and independently on a wide range of research projects associated with freshwater ecology, river health and water resource management.
Dr Terry Hillman, currently Adjunct Professor at La Trobe Albury-Wodonga and former Director of MDFRC from 1993 to 2001, was awarded the ASL Medal at the Congress dinner. This Medal, commemorating Hilary Jolly [a founding member of the ASL], is presented to a person who in the opinion of the Society, has made an outstanding contribution to Australian limnology. The ASL Medal has become ASL's, and arguably Australia's, most prestigious prize in limnology, considered by members to indicate overall scientific excellence and outstanding achievement.
The ASL Medal is awarded where an outstanding contribution to Australian limnology can be demonstrated by any or all of the following: Research excellence, Education and/or communication excellence, and Management excellence.
Janice Williams, a PhD candidate at La Trobe Albury-Wodonga won the Best Oral Presentation from a PhD or Masters student for her talk on “The importance of fungi in the food webs of floodplain wetlands”. Janice is co-supervised by Gavin Rees and Darren Baldwin (MDFRC) and Phil Suter and Ewen Silvester (La Trobe University).
The Best Oral Presentation from an Honours student was awarded to Stephanie Suter who spoke on “Aquatic fungi in an alpine stream of south-eastern Australia”. Stephanie completed her Environmental Management and Ecology Honours degree in May 2009 and was co-supervised by Roger Croome (La Trobe University) and Gavin Rees (MDFRC). Stephanie is currently working at the MDFRC on a project that is examining flooding and the health of floodplain forest soils.
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2009 Jonathan Mann Memorial Lecture
The 2009 Jonathan Mann Memorial Lecture will be presented by Mr Joe Ross on Thursday 15 October, commencing at 6:15pm titled: Changing ways for changing country - engaging Indigenous expertise in Australia's responses to climate change. The Memorial Lecture will be held in the main lecture theatre at La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga campus, with the possibility of the lecture being videoconferenced to Mildura – more details later.
Joe is currently Chairperson of the Indigenous Water Policy Group (IWPG) (NAILSMA) and a member of the Bunuba people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Joe is Chair of the Northern Land and Water Taskforce and has extensive work and policy experience in the areas of environmental and natural resource management. He is also currently involved in coordinating the activities of the National Indigenous Climate Change Project, a national dialogue for Indigenous people on issues relating to climate change and economic development.
Synopsis of Lecture
Land use and management has been a central part of Australian history for tens of thousands of years. While the expansion pastoral activities and industrial agriculture in recent history has brought new farming practices and systems and produced a strong rural economy and benefits for contemporary Australia, it has also exposed our country to vulnerability through land clearing, irrigation and unsustainable practices.
Increasingly Australia is faced with an unprecedented challenge – a changing climate and its associated impacts on our environment and ecosystems. Climate change is predicted to exacerbate challenges for land users and managers, particularly in terms of its contribution to changing rainfall patterns, water scarcity, storms, fire, drought and cyclone frequency and intensity.
As many people living on and working with the land appreciate, now more than ever the ways of the past must be revisited and changed. Ironically, innovative or ‘new practices' that are needed stem from ancient knowledge, understandings and practices. Crucial lessons can be learned from Indigenous people who have been caring for country and whose knowledge of landscapes, seasons and species variation spans tens of thousands of years. The time has come to more appropriately value and engage this expertise in responding to what has become a significant shared crisis.
My discussion will present the ways in which Indigenous Australians have been contributing to sustainable land use and ecosystem management over many years and how our knowledge of this country is an imperative part of helping to restore the health of our country, while creating and reinvigorating economic development and enterprise in regional and remote Australia.
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Conference Presentations
The following presentations will be given at the 48th Australian Society for Limnology Congress to be held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre from 28 September to 2 October [presenting author underlined]
Darren Baldwin , Jessica Wilson, Gavin Rees, Tara Pitman, Todd Wallace, Chris Hardy, Anthony Chariton, Matt Colloff, Leon Court, Dianne Hartley, Garth Watson, Rachael McEvoy, Yvonne Parsons, Shannon Dillon, Simon Southerton
Exploring Hyperdrought: How long can a flood plain survive without a drink?
B. Gawne, R. Cook, H. Gigney, L. Vilizzi, N. Ning, A. Richardson D. Nielsen and R. Petrie
Influence of flow on river communities: A comparison among 4 rivers in NE Victoria.
B.J. McCarthy, P. McGuffie, S. Walters, D. Chapman, R. Rehwinkel
Tareena Billabong: Maintaining ecosystem values in a landscape of salinisation and sulfidic sediments.
Christine Reid
The distribution and micro-habitat variables of Vallisneria australis in a lowland river.
Stephanie Suter and Gavin Rees
Aquatic fungi in an alpine stream of south-eastern Australia.
Sam Walters, Todd Wallace and Mel Tucker
Ecological outcomes of managed flooding and control structure's at Webster's Lagoon, Lindsay Island, Part II.
Janice Williams, Gavin Rees, Darren Baldwin, Philip Suter and Ewen Silvester
The importance of fungi in the food webs of floodplain wetlands.
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Positions Vacant
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Honours Projects (665 KB)
Elliott Scholarship 2010 Application form (133 KB)
