Developing new ecotoxicological methods for marine ecosystems

A key hazard posed by development activities, and for which the associated monitoring and assessment capability in northern Australia is extremely deficient, is that of the impacts of contaminants on marine ecosystems. This research project will develop and apply an ecotoxicology research and assessment capability that will enable a greater understanding of the risks and impacts of contaminants in Australian tropical marine ecosystems. This capability, and the knowledge it generates, will inform improvements to the environmental sustainability of industries based on natural resources such as minerals, oil and gas, and water. 

The aims of this research project are to:

1. Develop, validate and document a suite of chronic, sub-lethal toxicity test methods for Australian tropical marine species that will be applicable to a wide range of marine contaminant issues; and
2. Use the methods to assess relevant marine contamination issues associated with the alumina industry in tropical Australia, including the derivation of regionally-relevant water quality guideline values for several key contaminants (e.g. aluminium, gallium, molybdenum).