Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Life Sciences

Department of Environmental Management & Ecology

Campus scientist attracts major research grant to identify freshwater insects.

Media release

Associate Professor and Head of La Trobe University’s Department of Environmental Management and Ecology at the University’s Albury-Wodonga campus, Dr Phil Suter, has received a major grant from the latest round of the Commonwealth Environmental Research Facilities (CERF) Funding.

The $600,000 grant will enable Dr Suter, an aquatic ecologist , and a purpose-formed University research team to do further research over three years on Australian mayflies and other aquatic macroinvertebrates seen as key indicators of aquatic health, particularly in monitoring river systems such as the Murray-Darling.

The Commonwealth has initiated this round of CERF research funding nationally to improve the ability to identify and describe relevant native and introduced species in the context of maintaining biodiversity.

La Trobe’s partners in this initiative include the CSIRO, the Australian National University, the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum.

The La Trobe research team will include a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, a PhD student, and a research technician, using advanced research technologies, including DNA sequencing to assist with species identification and description. The team will be based within Australia’s major freshwater catchment area at the Albury-Wodonga campus.

“Apart from the expected improvements in knowledge, this project will also result in web-based identification tools being developed and made available to all aquatic researchers,” Dr Suter says.

“The knowledge and tools will also be more accessible for Government agencies, Catchment Management Authorities, Landcare branches, WaterWatch groups and interested landholders.”

Dr Suter said the collaborative research into the taxonomy of mayflies would assist in the detection of even subtle changes in water health affected by water management practices, environmental flow variations and other factors attributable to climate change.

Professor David Finlay, Dean of La Trobe’s Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, said that the CERF grant success further enhanced La Trobe’s freshwater and riverine research and teaching capability.

“The CERF grant complements our strong concentration in this very important area of environmental science resulting from the recent addition to the Faculty of scientists from the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre. Other expertise in the Faculty also provides broad coverage of alpine and terrestrial ecology.”

For more information on the grant project, contact Dr Phil Suter on (02) 6024 9889.

Further media releases.