Environmental Research Institute

• Emerging Contaminants & Ecotoxicology

• Assessing the presence of emerging contaminants in ecosystems.
• Development of analytical techniques for the quantification of emerging contaminants.
• Assessing ecosystem health in response to environmental change .

• Microbial Ecology - The presence and function of microbes in the environment
• Analytical Techniques - Development of new methods for the analysis of contaminants
• Ecosystem Changes - Effect of environmental perturbations on ecosytems, and individual organisms and cellular processes
• Environmental Monitoring - Fate of emerging contaminants in the environment
• Molecular Toxicology - Effect of contaminants on molecular and biochemical processes

• Prof. Stuart Gibb
• Dr. François L. L. Muller
• Dr. Martina Maria Burtscher
• Dr. Kathleen McDougall
• Dr. Kenneth Boyd
• Dr. Angela Squier
• Dr. Eric Grist

Current Students

• Ms. Sabine Freitag
• Mr. Gongda Yang
• Ms. Silvia Batchelli
• Mrs. Julie Graham

Graduated Students

• Ms. Raquel Falcon

Publications:

• Carolina Nebot, Stuart W. Gibb and Kenneth G. Boyd
  Quantification of human pharmaceuticals in water samples by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
  Analytica Chimica Acta, Volume 598, pp 87-94, 2007 doi:10.1016/j.aca.2007.07.029
• Ford A.T., Martins, I., Fernandes, T.F. (2007). Population level effects of intersexuality in the marine environment. Science of the Total Environment. 374, 102-111.
• Ford A.T., Read, P.A, Jones T.L., Michino, F., Pang, Y., Fernandes, T.F. (2007). An investigation into intersex amphipods and a possible association with aquaculture. Marine Environmental Research, 64(4), 443-455.
• Stone, V, Kinloch, I, Clift, M, Teresa Fernandes, Ford , A, Christofi, N, Alex Griffiths, A & Donaldson, K. (2007). Nanoparticle Toxicology and Ecotoxicology: The Role of Oxidative Stress. In: Nanotoxicology, (eds.Y. Zhao and HS Nalwa). American Scientific Publishers.
• Ford A.T., Fernandes T.F., Read P.A., Robinson C.D., & Davies I.M. (2006). Can pollution cause intersexuality in the amphipod, Echinogammarus marinus? Marine Pollution Bulletin. 53, 100-106.
• McDougall KE, Gibb SW, Boyd KG, Brown BE
  'Chlorophyll-like' compounds as novel biomarkers of stress in corals
  Marine Ecology Progress Series, 35, 137-144, 2006
• Burtscher, M.M., Koellner, K.E., Sommer, R., Keiblinger, K., Farnleitner, A.H., Mach, R.L. (2006) Development of a novel amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) typing method for enterococci isolates from cattle faeces and evaluation of the single versus pooled faecal sampling approach. J. Microbiol. Methods 67, 281-293
• Stone V., Fernandes T. F., Ford A.T. & Christofi N. (2006). Suggested strategies for the ecotoxicology testing of nanoparticles. MRS proceedings. 895, S1-6
• Muller FLL, Larsen A, Stedmon CA, Søndergaard M, 2005. Interactions between algal-bacterial populations and trace metals in fjord surface waters during a nutrient-stimulated summer bloom. Limnology and Oceanography 50: 1855-1871.
• Byamukama, D., Farnleitner, A.H., Kansiime, F., Manafi, M., Burtscher, M., Mach, R.L. (2005) Contrasting Occurance of Chromobacterium violaceum in tropical Drinking Water Springs of Uganda. J. Water Health 3 (3), 229-238
• Farnleitner, A.H., Wilhartitz, I., Kirschner, A.K.T., Stadler, H., Burtscher, M.M., Hornek, R., Szewzyk, U., Herndl, G., Mach, R.L. (2005) Bacterial dznamics in spring water of two contrasting alpine karst aquifers indicates stable autochthonous microbial endokarst communities and morphological adaptations to hydrological conditions. J. Enviorn. Microbiol. 7 (8), 1248-1259
• Ford A.T., Fernandes, T.F. (2005). Better the devil you know? A precautionary approach to using Amphipods and Daphniids in endocrine disruptor studies. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 24(5), 1019-1021.
• Ford A.T., Fernandes, T.F. (2005). Notes on the occurrence of intersex in amphipods. Hydrobiologia. 548(1), 313-318.
• Ford A.T., Roders-Gray T.P., Davies I.M., Dunn A., Read P.A., Smith J.E., Robinson C.D., & Fernandes T.F. (2005c). Abnormal gonadal morphology in intersex, Echinogammarus marinus (Amphipoda): A possible cause of reduced fecundity? Marine Biology. 148, 913-918.
• Lang et al. (2005). A scoping study to identify hazard data needs for addressing the risks presented by nanoparticles and nanotubes. Edinburgh: Institute of Occupational Medicine. DEFRA report, pp 137.
• Farnleitner, A.H., Zibuschka, F., Burtscher, M.M., Lindner, G., Reischer, G., Mach, R.L. (2004) Eubacterial 16S-rDNA Amplicon Profiling: A Rapid Technique for Comparison and Differentiation of Heterotrophic Plate Count Communities from Drinking Water. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 92 (3), 333-345
• Ford A.T., Fernandes T.F., Read P.A., Robinson C.D., & Davies I.M. (2004b). The costs of intersexuality: A crustacean perspective. Marine Biology. 145, 951-957.
• Ford A.T., Fernandes T.F., Rider S.A., Read P.A., Robinson C.D., & Davies I.M. (2004). Endocrine disruption in a marine amphipod? Field observations of intersexuality and de-masculinisation. Marine Environmental Research. 58, 169-173.
• Muller FLL, Jacquet S, Wilson WH, 2003. Biological factors regulating the chemical speciation of Cu, Zn and Mn under different nutrient regimes in a marine mesocosm experiment. Limnology and Oceanography 48: 2289-2302.
• Ford A.T., Fernandes T.F., Rider S.A., Read P.A., Robinson C.D., & Davies I.M. (2003) Reproduction in the amphipod, Echinogammarus marinus: a comparison between normal and intersex specimens. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K., 83, 937-940.
• Ford A.T., Fernandes T.F., Rider S.A., Read P.A., Robinson C.D., & Davies I.M. (2003). Measuring sublethal impacts of pollution on reproductive output in marine crustacea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 265, 303-309.
• Callaway, R., Alsvag, J., de Boois, I., Cotter, J., Ford, A., Hinz, H., Jennings, S., Kroncke, I., Lancaster, J., Piet, G., Prince, P., and Ehrich, S. (2002). Diversity and community structure of epibenthic invertebrates and fish in the North Sea. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 59: 1199-1214
• Brown BE, Downs CA, Dunne RP, Gibb SW
  Exploring the basis of thermotolerance in the reef coral Goniastrea aspera
  Marine Ecology Progress Series, 242, 119-129, 2002
• Brown BE, Downs CA, Dunne RP, Gibb SW
  Preliminary evidence for tissue retraction as a factor in photoprotection of corals incapable of xanthophyll cycling
  J. Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 277 (2): 129-144, 2002

Current:

• PhD Studentship. Carolina Nebot. Assessing the environmental presence of human pharmaceuticals. - UHI Millennium Insititute PhD with Dr. S.Lu (East China University of Science and Technology) and Kenny Black (Scottish Association for Marine Science).
• PhD Studentship. Julie Graham. Environmental fate of veterinary medicines. - UHI Millennium Institute PhD Studentship, with Dr J. McHenery (Schering-Plough Animal Health).
• PhD studentship. Gongda Yang. Endocrine disruption in Crustaceans, Linking Genes to Physiology. - Advancing Research Capacity PhD with Dr. P. Kille (Cardiff University)
• PhD Studentship. Sabine Freitag. Development of biomarker protocols to assess the impact of environmental change and genetic diversity on organism and cellular responses. - Advancing Research Capacity PhD.
• Research Grant. Assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of emamectin benzoate. - Marine Harvest.
• Research Grant. Assessment of the rate of long term sedimentary ecosystem recovery following the removal of marine fish farm cages or the cessation of farming. - Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum. With SAMS.
• Research Grant. Ecoepidemiology of coral diseases: links between environmental ontamination, bacterial loads, and coral health. - With Dr. Craig Downes (Haereticus Environmental Lab, Virginia) and Dr. Cheryl Woodley, (Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston).