I began my career in wetlands research after completing my biology degree at  Murdoch University in 1987. Supervised by Prof. Jenny Davis, my Honour’s thesis addressed the effects of lead shot (from duck shooting) on wetland ecosystems. After my undergraduate training, I won the Neville Stanley Studentship (a Western Australia Government industry/research initiative) examining the suitability of midge (Chironomidae) larvae as tropical fish food. I commenced my Ph.D. in 1988 at Murdoch with Jenny Davis, researching the ecology and rehabilitation of Lake Monger (a large eutrophic urban wetland in Perth). After completing my Ph.D. in 1992, I took up a position as an associate lecturer at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in environmental management. I gained tenure at ECU in 1996, and have since been promoted to Associate Professor.

While at ECU, I have been the Head of the School of Natural  Sciences (2006-2012), Program Leader for Biological Remediation in the Centre for Sustainable Mine Lakes (a State Government Centre of Excellence 2004 to 2009), and I am now the Principal of the MiWER Centre. I have chaired or co-chaired two Australian Society for Limnology conferences (Margaret River and Mandurah), and the International Mine Water Association Congress in Bunbury in 2012.

I have been awarded nationally-competitive grants from the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), Australian Research Council (ARC), and Land and Water Australia worth over $1.8 M, as well as industry grants (e.g., Kemerton Silica Sands, Xstrata, Rio Tinto, city councils, Department of Water (WA)) valued at over $2 M. Many of these projects are collaborative with other researchers within ECU, the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, and state and federal agencies and the private sector; particularly the mining industry.

I am happy to discuss potential research or postgraduate projects with you.

Find me on       or at my ECU page

Research interests

• Nutrient cycling
• Wetland rehabilitation
• Tropical rivers
• Treatment of environmental acidity
• Nuisance midges
• Limnology of pit lakes

Professional societies

• Australian Society for Limnology
• International Society for Limnology
• Ecological Society of Australia
• International Mine Water Association (Member of Executive Council)

Other research projects

I have also supervised or been involved in research and postgraduate projects that have looked at waste management, science education and animal ecology/behaviour.

Past research staff

Over the years I have employed many research staff:

Postdoctoral Fellows:

• C.D. McCullough – currently Principal at Mine Lakes Consulting, Perth, Australia
• Santiago Larrañaga – currently a Lecturer at Begoñako Andra Mari Teacher Training College, Bilbao, Spain
• Naresh Kumar – currently Assistant Professor, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India
• Lu Zhao – currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Sustainable Mines Institute (Queensland).

Research Assistants:

• Sarah Brown
• Gary Ogden
• Scott Ranford
• Grant Lee
• Lorraine Wyse
• Kelli Sargent
• Darren Ryder
• Peter Bayliss
• John Eyres
• Jahir Gonzalez Pinto
• Marilyn Vasquez Quintero