Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Biology
Level 1 Biosciences building
Level 1 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Biology Module Ecotoxicology and Environmental Biology Research Facility
Ecotoxicology is the study of the impact of poisons and chemicals on natural ecosystems with specific interest in the organisms living in the ecosystems. Our major interest is in aquatic ecosystems, both freshwater and marine. Freshwater ecosystems are being studied in both the Ecotoxicology flow-through laboratory and the Aquaculture and large-scale tank facility in the Magee Annex. The major test species for ecotoxicology being used at RMIT include freshwater invertebrates including the yabbie and the water flea, and the crimson-spotted rainbowfish. The latter is the only continuously bred laboratory population in Australia and is being used to investigate the multiple-generation endocrine disruptive effects of various chemicals including pesticides on fish reproduction. This research program is supported by an ARC large grant.
Work using the yabbie is investigating the impact of metals and salt on yabbie growth and survival and some of this research is supported by a collaborative grant with the Arthur Rylah Institute of the Victorian Department of Conservation and Environment.
The flow-through wet laboratory facility in Level 1 is provided with continuous supply of clean charcoal-filtered controlled temperature water to provide 95% molecular turnover in all 108 custom-built glass aquaria presently being utilised. Photoperiod is controlled and all tanks are provided with clean filtered compressed air. Live food is raised to provide high-nutrient food to breeding and larval fish.
Academic available:
Professor Douglas Holdway (d.Holdway@rmit.edu.au)
A final year International Scholarship PhD student (Ms Kelly Ryder) will be available along with an ARC-funded research technician (Ms Anna Smith).
Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Biology Magee Annex Aquaculture facility
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growth areas in agriculture in the world today, with over 20% of all fish, crustacean and mollusc products now coming from aquaculture. The Department operates a significant research program to assist this emerging industry.
The aquaculture facility in the Magee Annex is provided with clean charcoal-filtered controlled temperature water and large and small tanks for experiments on a variety of species. The facility has the capacity for 250,000L of flow-through freshwater per day.
The Department also has a large-scale marine facility at Lakes Entrance, with flow-through charcoal filtered seawater to 36 replicate 2000L tanks. This facility is soon to be upgraded to a full-scale aquaculture and marine ecology research centre with a $4 million grant from the State Government.
Past research in freshwater aquaculture in the Department has included studies on reproduction in freshwater crayfish, with the long term aim of improving growth rates in commercial ponds, where excessive reproduction leads to high densities and slow growth. These studies have included aspects of basic reproduction in order to improve genetic selection and perhaps invoke sterility, hormonal treatment for modification of morphological sex characteristics with the aim of producing single sex populations for ponds, aspects of farm management (feed rates, stocking density, predation protection), and studies on the use of industrial wastes such as brewers grains in crayfish nutrition. Other minor studies have included silver perch and aquatic worms used in the ornamental fish trade as fish food.
Marine studies have included settlement processes with fouling organisms, heavy metal residence times in mussels and economics of mussel and oyster farms, predation by marine flatworms on mussels, aquaculture of black bream and nutrition studies with abalone.
Co-operative studies with other departments have included food value-adding (6 week shelf life for smoked and packaged crayfish products, separation of shell and meat from processing waste, microbiological studies in conjunction with shelf life) and engineering design of long-line aquaculture systems for growing of shellfish.
Academic available:
Mr Brian Leonard (brianl@rmit.edu.au) is teaching, and will not be available except for 11.45am to 12.15pm.
Existing RMIT marine research facility at Lakes Entrance.
Temporary only, to be replaced by new $4 million aquaculture and marine biology research centre. |
