Undertaking higher degree research with the Australian Rivers Institute
If the future health and management or our waterways is your passion, then consider undertaking higher degree research with the Australian Rivers Institute. Our researchers are leaders in the field, forging the way across a diverse range of research projects and academic discourse. If you have a specific area of interest we can help you find a prospective supervisor, check out our hot topics below to find out what PhD opportunities are available, and under our research themes to find out about our members' research interests. Visit Griffith Experts to find out more about our members and how to contact a potential supervisor to discuss research opportunities.
Once you have obtained agreement from one of our members to supervise your research, complete an online Application for Admission and apply for the appropriate Griffith Graduate Research School scholarship.
A full list of scholarships can be found on the Research scholarships website.
Biodiversity and conservation management
- Resilience in coastal ecosystems - Professor Rod Connolly
- Discovering macroalgal diversity in the Great Barrier Reef - Dr Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
- Automated aquatic monitoring for improved conservation outcomes - Professor Rod Connolly
- Coastal habitat restoration – the role of animals - Dr Michael Sievers and Professor Rod Connolly
Reducing risks to water security
- Blue-green algae – the supreme survivors. What strategies allow them to control so many freshwater lakes and rivers? - Professor Michele Burfordand Professor David Hamilton
- Strategies for minimisation of toxic disinfection by-products in drinking water - Professor Fred Leusch
- Fate and significance of antibiotic resistance genes during wastewater and advanced water treatment - Professor Fred Leusch
- Development of novel multiplex bioanalytical tools to detect toxic chemicals in water - Professor Fred Leusch and Dr Jason van de Merwe
- Improving in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) to develop more robust bioanalytical trigger values for environmental monitoring Professor Fred Leusch and Dr Liesbeth Weijs
- Assessing the impacts of chemical pollutants on marine wildlife using novel and ethical techniques - Dr Jason van de Merwe and Professor Fred Leusch
- Blue-green algae and their toxins - can we manage them? - Professor Michele Burford
- The role of catchment dissolved organic matter in affecting aquatic health and drinking water quality - Professor Michele Burford
Sustainable fisheries and coastal ecosystems
- European crab invasion: reaching a new shore of scientific knowledge using physiological, molecular and genetic analysis of key adaptive processes - Dr Jason van de Merwe
- Marine wildlife toxicology - Dr Jason van de Merwe, Dr Kimberly Finlayson and Professor Frederic Leusch
- Ethical alternatives to animal toxicity testing - Professor Frederic Leusch, Dr Kimberly Finlayson and Dr Jason van de Merwe
- Automated monitoring of restored marine environments - Professor Rod Connolly and Dr Michael Sievers
- Ecological connectivity through fish movement measured using artificial intelligence - Professor Rod Connolly and
Dr Christina Buelow - Carbon in coastal wetlands - Professor Rod Connolly
- Resilience in coastal ecosystems - Professor Rod Connolly
- Jellyfish dynamics in the Anthropocene - Professor Kylie Pitt
- Ecology of coral reef ecosystems - Associate Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
- The role of freshwater flows in promoting coastal productivity - Professor Michele Burford
Repairing land and water systems
- Is nutrient offsetting a win-win for restoring our rivers and coasts? - Professor Michele Burford, Professor Anthony Carroll and Dr Jing Lu
- Browning our waterways: How does terrestrial organic sources affect the way freshwater and marine ecosystems function? - Professor Michele Burford, Professor Anthony Carrol and Dr Hannah Franklin
- Nutrient processing and carbon sequestration in restored wetlands: can restoration recover lost ecosystem services - Dr Fernanda Adame
- Characterising dissolved organic matter in catchments and how they affect aquatic ecosystems​ - Professor Michele Burford
Connecting soil and water
- Importance of floodplain and estuarine subsidies for growth and reproduction of riverine fish species - Professor Stuart Bunn
- Key processes governing the nutrient fluxes from land to water - Professor Chengrong Chen
- Use of organic amendments for enhancing nutrient cycling and minimising nutrient loss - Professor Chengrong Chen
- Tracing sources of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems from different land uses - Professor Chengrong Chen
- Developing soil and water health indicators - Professor Chengrong Chen
- Biogeochemical consequence and mechanisms for invasion of exotic plants - Professor Chengrong Chen
- Rehabilitation of bauxite residual disposal areas - Professor Chengrong Chen
Innovative approaches for monitoring and reporting
- Developing and testing new methods to measure effects of nutrient stressors on ecosystems - Professor Michele Burford
- Automated monitoring of restored marine environments - Professor Rod Connolly and Dr Michael Sievers
Aquatic ecosystems in a changing climate
- Impacts of ocean acidification and warming on coral reefs - Associate Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
- Carbon in coastal wetlands - Professor Rod Connolly
- Emissions of CO2 and CH4 as a result of wetland disturbance - Dr Fernanda Adame
- Mapping Blue Carbon in coastal wetlands - Professor Rod Connolly, Dr Fernanda Adame
Water and Society
- Socio-economic tradeoffs around water resource management in Australia’s north - Associate Professor Jim Smart
- Catchment-based environmental credit markets - Associate Professor Jim Smart
- Indigenous water rights, management and governance - Professor Sue Jackson
- The cultural politics of environmental water management - Professor Sue Jackson
- Critical studies of hydrological knowledge - Professor Sue Jackson
- Stewardship of water in the mining and agricultural industries - Professor Sue Jackson
- Social justice in water allocation and management - Professor Sue Jackson
Predicting water futures
- Water quality status of lakes at global scale - Professor David Hamilton
- Water quality predictions of lakes under the influence of land use and climate change - Professor David Hamilton
- Hindcasting evolution of lakes using sediment core validation - Professor David Hamilton
Ecology of groundwater-surface water interactions
- More topics coming soon.