Bio21 Molecular Science & Biotechnology Institute - Water
 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/tags/water%E2%80%A8 en The Drain Scene Investigators https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/drain-scene-investigators <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/sites/www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/files/styles/page/public/field/image/2016-03-22-Bio21-CAPIM-Pursuit-Drain-Scene-Investigators.jpg?itok=24Ffn4co" width="960" height="440" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><header></header></p> <p><a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/individuals/associate-professor-vincent-pettigrove" rel="author">Associate Professor Vincent Pettigrove</a>, <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/individuals/dr-claudette-kellar" rel="author">Dr Claudette Kellar</a> and <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/individuals/mr-simon-sharp" rel="author">Mr Simon Sharp</a></p> <p></p> <p><section class="with-figure"></section></p> <p><strong>By Daryl Holland</strong></p> <p>Television has made us all familiar with the key tools of the Crime Scene Investigator: fingerprints, DNA testing, hair and fibre analysis, ballistics, CCTV (closed-circuit television) and a rocking soundtrack by The Who. But what happens when your crime scene is a drain, creek, wetland or river, and the crime isn’t murder, it’s pollution?</p> <p>Send in the DSI – the Drain Scene Investigators.</p> <p>Catching water polluters is notoriously difficult. Water doesn’t stay still, and by the time pollution is reported it may already have moved downstream. Unlike many crime scenes, the fingerprints of water pollution are often liquidated before investigators arrive on the scene.</p> <p>A team of researchers at the Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (<a href="http://capim.com.au/">CAPIM</a>) have developed some low-cost, high sensitivity, and mobile water quality probes for investigations into the source of pollutants.</p> <p>Now the polluters (and pollution) have nowhere to hide.</p> <p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="Pollution comes in all different forms, and colours. Image: CAPIM" itemprop="image" src="https://res-2.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--tJ9Wl4ZR--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_700/v1/pursuit-uploads/9ce/a7d/27b/9cea7d27b2193c64919732c6c7453bc9898408e1749b3abb419018bab8f4.jpg" srcset="https://res-2.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--M9NXZhLS--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_980/v1/pursuit-uploads/9ce/a7d/27b/9cea7d27b2193c64919732c6c7453bc9898408e1749b3abb419018bab8f4.jpg 2x" /><br /><figcaption>Pollution comes in all different forms, and colours. Image: CAPIM</figcaption><br /></figure></p> <p>Whether it’s a café trying to save money by flushing their waste down an illegal connection to the stormwater drain, or a factory negligently leaching mercury into the stormwater network, CAPIM has the tools to track them down.</p> <p>Continuous water quality samplers are the CCTV of water pollution detection; they constantly record a variety of pollution indicators and can capture the moment a spike in pollution goes past. However, it is way too expensive to install these samplers everywhere they might be useful.</p> <p>This is why low-cost, sensitive and - most importantly - portable probes and samplers can be so effective at identifying the source of pollution.</p> <p>Pollution can range from human or animal waste to pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, industrial chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.</p> <p>“Once we identify that pollution is present, we need to identify the source,” said Associate Professor Vincent Pettigrove, CAPIM chief executive officer.</p> <p>The team works its way upstream, and using probes, diagnostic tools and good old-fashioned deduction, they narrow in on the perpetrator.</p> <p>“We can put one of our measurement probes in the water and get a host of water quality readings in a matter of minutes, then move up to the next site, using our knowledge of the hydrology of Melbourne’s waterways and drains to narrow in on the source,” said Dr Pettigrove.</p> <p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="Sourcing micropollutants in the Yarra River using passive samplers. Image: CAPIM" itemprop="image" src="https://res-1.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--nOgvf3gh--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_700/v1/pursuit-uploads/01d/91a/d58/01d91ad58c9ecad8f6548bf698f93e5a2fa8fba1e56b1470fee6823159fd.jpg" srcset="https://res-1.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--HTvcQnNO--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_980/v1/pursuit-uploads/01d/91a/d58/01d91ad58c9ecad8f6548bf698f93e5a2fa8fba1e56b1470fee6823159fd.jpg 2x" /><br /><figcaption>Sourcing micropollutants in the Yarra River using passive samplers. Image: CAPIM</figcaption><br /></figure></p> <p>When working at this pace, the CAPIM team can’t necessarily run all of the measurements they would like to, so they will often use easy to measure proxies to follow the trail.</p> <p>“Testing for faecal indicator bacteria takes a lot of time and money, but we know, for example, that an increase in ammonia is often related to the presence of sewage,” said Dr Pettigrove.</p> <p>“Dr Maria Ines Almeida from the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne has developed a rapid and sensitive <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00216-016-9394-2">ammonia passive sampler</a> for the field, so we can follow the ammonia to track the bacteria.”</p> <p>If the concentration of a pollutant or proxy suddenly drops, they know they’ve probably gone the wrong way. A spike means they are getting close.</p> <p>In 2013 EPA Victoria commenced <a href="http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-centre/media-releases/media/2013/november/08/epa-targets-electroplaters-in-new-compliance-strategy">a project</a> to tackle its’ commitment to improving Victoria’s water quality with a round of targeted inspections of electroplaters, with the aim to reduce heavy metals entering soils, rivers and streams. Simultaneously, the CAPIM team looked at metals in stormwaters upstream and downstream of businesses before and after EPA’s <a href="http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-centre/media-releases/media/2014/march/04/results-of-epa-electroplaters--compliance-strategy">education and enforcement program</a>.</p> <p>“Our passive samplers enabled the EPA to assess pollution risks at each site and gauge the effectiveness of their program”, said Simon Sharp, a research officer with CAPIM.</p> <blockquote><p>Cases of industrial pollution we identify are referred to the relevant authorities and can lead to fines, enforcement actions and education programs for the polluters.</p> </blockquote> <p>“In serious incidents or breaches with severe environmental impacts, polluters may be pursued in court for heavy fines and criminal prosecutions.”</p> <p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="Cameron Amos testing a stormwater drain for pollutants. Image: CAPIM" itemprop="image" src="https://res-4.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--lEfhpw5_--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_700/v1/pursuit-uploads/50d/994/5aa/50d9945aaf4181e41dd11f1afac208897280eafbf224b233a16146461103.jpg" srcset="https://res-4.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--8uB0I48b--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_980/v1/pursuit-uploads/50d/994/5aa/50d9945aaf4181e41dd11f1afac208897280eafbf224b233a16146461103.jpg 2x" /><br /><figcaption>Cameron Amos testing a stormwater drain for pollutants. Image: CAPIM</figcaption><br /></figure></p> <p>Dr Pettigrove said that with the new technologies they have developed, they can locate pollution sources entering stormwater drains even when the pollution is intermittent.</p> <p>“We are developing an array of sampling devices that will enable us to detect even more pollutants in these drains,” said Dr Pettigrove.</p> <p>These investigations don’t just find criminals; they can also ensure effective, and cost effective, management of waterways.</p> <p>CAPIM has conducted several whole-of-catchment studies that demonstrate the importance of considering all potential factors in catchments impacted by multiple stressors, rather than solely focussing on single sources like sewage discharges.</p> <p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="The work of a DSI is not always as glamorous as you’d think. Image: CAPIM" itemprop="image" src="https://res-4.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--wHbncLDa--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_700/v1/pursuit-uploads/55a/b1d/099/55ab1d099929bec46aea893b405ca2e49ba65d577f25b083badc610e28ce.jpg" srcset="https://res-4.cloudinary.com/the-university-of-melbourne/image/upload/s--Nh9xtYb3--/c_limit,f_auto,q_75,w_980/v1/pursuit-uploads/55a/b1d/099/55ab1d099929bec46aea893b405ca2e49ba65d577f25b083badc610e28ce.jpg 2x" /><br /><figcaption>The work of a DSI is not always as glamorous as you’d think. Image: CAPIM</figcaption><br /></figure></p> <p>The EPA recently found that an emergency relief structure, or ERS (which stops sewage spilling into residential properties by allowing emergency discharge to the storm water system), in the Upper Dandenong Creek catchment did not comply with their policy for wet weather spills.</p> <p>Melbourne Water, who manages the structure, contracted CAPIM to investigate the potential effects of episodic sewage spills via the ERS on the aquatic animals. CAPIM then separated these effects from other sources of pollutants present within the catchment.</p> <p>They wanted to know how much pollution could be traced back to the ERS. Not much as it turned out.</p> <p>Dr Claudette Kellar, a researcher fellow with CAPIM and the School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, who worked on this project, said: “<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12211/abstract">The study</a> clearly identified that pollutants from industry (metals and pesticides) were impacting the aquatic fauna rather than pollutants from the sewer. As a consequence, target areas and specific pollutants were identified for remediation instead of an expensive sewer upgrade.”</p> <p>Melbourne Water and the EPA used this information to implement the <a href="http://www.melbournewater.com.au/whatwedo/projectsaroundmelbourne/dandenong-creek/pages/enhancing-dandenong-creek.aspx"><em>Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek</em></a> program, a range of targeted improvements to the stormwater entering the creek.</p> <p><strong>Banner image: Stormwater drains in Dandenong Creek catchment. Credit: CAPIM</strong></p> <p></p> <p>This article was first published on <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/">Pursuit</a>. Read the <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-drain-scene-investigators">original article</a>.</p> </div></div></div> Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:50:27 +0000 floder 177 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au 'Bug' biomarkers used to assess water quality https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bug-biomarkers-used-assess-water-quality <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/sites/www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/files/styles/page/public/field/image/2015-12-23-Bio21News_CAPIM2_web.jpg?itok=4IopuLFV" width="960" height="440" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>As the most densely populated catchment in Australia, Port Phillip Bay faces many environmental concerns regarding water quality and pollutants. These issues often impact both the human, and wildlife populations that depend on its diverse ecosystems.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.capim.com.au/">Centre for Aquatic Pollution, Identification and Management (CAPIM)</a> is a scientific collaborative research organisation based at Melbourne University, and focuses on identifying and addressing aquatic pollutants, as well as their impacts on living organisms and ecosystems.</p> <p>Dr Sara Long, an ecotoxicologist who works with CAPIM at the Bio21 Institute as part of the <a href="http://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/hoffmann-group">Hoffmann Group</a>, studies metabolites to identify biological changes as a result of chemical exposure. Metabolites are small molecules present in biological materials and are the product of metabolic chemical reactions and involved in many cellular processes. These can be used to measure specific biological changes within individuals, which may reflect current environmental conditions.</p> <p>Aquatic organisms such as macroinvertebrates, which include species of worms, snails, spiders, mites, crustaceans and insects, show varying levels of sensitivity to different toxins and toxin levels. As a result, individual species can be assigned a pollution sensitivity rating, and then used as biological markers.</p> <p>Dr Long hopes to develop more effective ‘bug biomarkers’ or specific molecular, cellular and physiological responses, or behavioural changes, when exposed to certain chemicals. This is important for not only identifying the presence of a toxin but also its concentration within the environment. Such information may be used as an early warning indicator that organisms are under stress, before broader signs of ecosystem degradation occur.   </p> <p>“The challenge is to develop new methods that can be used in CAPIM biomonitoring programs”, said Dr Long.</p> <p>Associate Professor Vincent Pettigrove, Chief Executive Officer for CAPIM and Principal Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne, also believes that metabolites show great promise as biomarkers for assessing stress in aquatic organisms.</p> <p> </p> <h2><em><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">“A major part of our success as a research group is that we have successfully communicated our work to agencies that will adopt it”, said Associate Professor </span>Pettigrove<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">.</span></em></h2> <p> </p> <p>“A major part of our success as a research group is that we have successfully communicated our work to agencies that will adopt it”, said Associate Professor Pettigrove.</p> <p>CAPIM aims to locate pollution hotspots, and advance approaches for integrated catchment management by developing better technologies for detection and monitoring. Through working with environmental management authorities, such as Melbourne Water, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning, appropriate mitigation approaches may be used to improve ecosystem health and promote future sustainability.</p> <p>“Our unique approach to identifying the priority issues in catchments that are affecting aquatic ecosystems and other values is also being considered for inclusion in the State Environmental Protection Policy Waters of Victoria, which is currently under review”, he said.</p> <p>Dr Long’s most recent findings along with the practical use of biomarkers in catchment assessments for herbicide and insecticide toxicity within ecosystems in, and around Port Phillip Bay, were just some areas discussed during a two-day symposium hosted at the Bio21 Institute on the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> of December, 2015.</p> <p>The symposium was split into a research summit, showcasing current research projects of staff and students, and a participant’s forum focussing on applied outcomes of these research projects.</p> <p>Pettigrove said the biannual symposium was a major opportunity to communicate new findings with practical applications.</p> <p>By Esther Lloyd</p> </div></div></div> Wed, 23 Dec 2015 04:07:45 +0000 floder 164 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au New research to develop tools for biomonitoring https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/new-research-develop-tools-biomonitoring <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Dr Sara Long from the Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management, Zoology’s Professor Mick Keough and Dr Allyson O’Brien and Metabolomics Australia’s Professor Malcolm McConville are developing new tools for monitoring estuarine pollution.</p> <p>These tools will help to identify catchments and waterways that are at greatest ecological risk, as well as the contaminants most responsible for that risk, in order to develop appropriate management and remediation efforts. Contamination is a particular problem for Australian estuaries as 81% of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast, causing increased anthropogenic pressures and sources of contamination on lower catchment areas and estuaries. Estuaries support high biodiversity and ecologically important species, and this project will demonstrate how these approaches can be applied to contaminated estuarine environments in Victoria or elsewhere in Australia.</p> <p>Professor McConville leads the Bio21 Institute node of Metabolomics Australia program which will provide computational and analytical capability and expertise.</p> <p>“By exploiting recent informatics and technological advances in metabolomics and ecogenomics, the project will identify key biomarkers for maintaining the health of these ecosystems,” he said.</p> <p>Dr Long has already shown that experimental exposure to heavy metals can lead to changes in metabolite levels in indicator organisms for particular ecosystems.</p> <p>“Metabolomic techniques offer great promise in environmental monitoring, but they must be crossvalidated against existing methods to derive the best ‘toolbox’ for biomonitoring programs,” she explained.</p> <p>The three-year ARC Linkage project is a collaboration with partner organisations Melbourne Water and Sydney’s CSIRO Ecogenomics laboratory, and involves both laboratory exposures and field validation in test estuaries around Victoria. </p> <p><em>Pictured: Dr Sara Long retrieving cages containing shrimp from a polluted drain in an urban catchment. Photo: Kate Berg, Western Water</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/sites/www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/files/styles/project/public/field/image/2015-06-19-Bio21ProjectSara-Long_creditKate-Berg_web.jpg?itok=jONCxyGw" width="390" height="515" alt="Dr Sara Long retrieving cages containing shrimp from a polluted drain in an urban catchment. Photo: Kate Berg, Western Water" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Metabolomics
</div><div class="field-item odd">Water
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Environment
</div></div></div> Fri, 19 Jun 2015 02:51:15 +0000 floder 74 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au