AQUEST

Wishing our AQUEST delegation of 9 members, who are heading north to Townsville for @SETAC_AU 2023 - good conferencing! Hope all your talks go well and lots of connections are made and renewed😃

Congratulations to our PhD candidate Madara Ranatunga on the publication of her first PhD paper- A review of the toxicological impacts of synthetic pyrethroids on non-target aquatic organisms. doi.org/10.1016/j.enva… She's now busy in the ecotox lab, update to follow. Well done!

It’s been a busy time in Brisbane for Dr. Claudette Kellar, first running a workshop at SUSE6 with Prof Vin Pettigrove and then presenting at AFSS with Dr Jackie Myers. A well-earned long weekend for all. Well done. @SUSE6, @AusFreshwater @MelbourneWater @RMIT @ResearchRMIT

Hot off the press, our latest paper: Catchment sourcing urban pesticide pollution using constructed wetlands in Melbourne, Australia, Pettigrove et al. has just been released! doi.org/10.1016/j.scit… For 50 days' free access use: authors.elsevier.com/a/1gGBjB8ccuvs…

RMIT- AQUEST in collaboration with Deakin Uni are a successful grant recipient in the 2021-22 Port Phillip Bay Fund (PPBF) - Establishing a baseline of Bay condition: pollutants and ecological indicators. See: marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/grants/port-ph… @RMIT @ResearchRMIT @Deakin

Congratulations to our Honours Students David Buckles and Hannah Faraone who gave their Honours completion Talks today and to Thi Huyen Nguyen (Emily) who had her Confirmation of Candidature for her PhD early this week. Well done all!

The SETAC Asia Pacific 2022 virtual conference is currently underway. Make sure to get along to 2C: Urban and rural contaminants session @ 1:30 AEST today to hear AQUEST staff Jackie Myers and Kath Hassell present on constructed wetland contaminants. #SETACAP22

Congratulations to Pulasthi Serasinghe on the publication of his first Ph.D. paper doi.org/10.1016/j.enva… This study proposes a simplified approach for shortlisting pesticides to be included in pesticide monitoring programs for specific regions.

Litter Trackers: @RMIT_aquest are delighted to be partnering with @bellarinecatchmentnetwork and @CorangamiteCMA as part of a @Coastcare_Vic grant to launch Litter Trackers in Geelong, Bellarine, and Surf Coast waterways See rmit.edu.au/littertrackers @ResearchRMIT

Congrats Dr Sara Long, lead author of 2 chapters in Applied Environmental Metabolomics: Community Insights and Guidance from the Field elsevier.com/books/applied-…. See case studies using metabolic changes in biota following zinc exposure, as an early warning system of water pollution

With Prof Vin Pettigrove back from the SETAC Europe conference in Copenhagen and Dr Kath Hassell and Dr Claudette Kellar presenting at the Stormwater Victoria Conference in Geelong: there are lots of excited scientists sharing research in person! @ResearchRMIT @MelbourneWater

Collecting samples at stormwater treatment wetlands to look at interactions between biofilms and aquatic life (zooplankton & water bugs). Comparing sites with high and low pollution levels to inform improved management outcomes

Interested in working with us? We're looking for a passionate person, who's keen on waterbugs, zooplankton, and getting out to our waterways. Please use this fresh link: rmit.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/RMIT_Careers/j… Applications close: 12 June 2022 We'd love to hear from you.

Interested in working with us? We're looking for a passionate person, who's keen on waterbugs, zooplankton, and getting out to our waterways. See: rmit.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/RMIT_Online_Ca… Applications close: 12 June 2022 We'd love to hear from you.

Twenty Toebiters on a Tuesday! Sorting waterbug samples from Seaford Wetlands, a fine male Diplonychus eques fully loaded with eggs. The wetlands provide food and shelter for migratory and local birds, monitoring enables any issues to be identified and managed in a timely manner.

Here's a recently published video put out by our A3P research partner Melbourne Water on The Creek Project - Investigating the Health of Dandenong Creek youtube.com/watch?v=FfM8fi… featuring Dr. Claudette Kellar. Enjoy it & your break! @MelbourneWater @ResearchRMIT @bayswaterwestps

⭐️SETAC AU post-grad publication prize⭐️ @ some deserving below! Now open - apply by 10 June 2022 ⭕️ For the best HDR (PhD, Masters) published research paper in the past 12 months in ecotox and environmental chem ⭕️ Application details on our website 👇 australasia.setac.org/notice/setac-a…

On the first day of fieldwork for our new Honours student Hannah Faraone, heading out to some wetlands around Melbourne with her supervisors to begin studying the impacts of pesticides on biofilms and macroinvertebrate communities in stormwater wetlands

Perfect conditions for sediment sampling on Western Port. We look at changes in the presence of pollutants over time, as part of a long-term Sediment Quality Monitoring program with Melbourne Water.