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
- Mapping the health of coastal wetlands globally to inform conservation actions - Dr Chris Brown
- Resilience in coastal ecosystems - Professor Rod Connolly
- Cost-effective restoration of wetlands: how to maximise ecosystem services with limited funds - Dr Fernanda Adame
- Understanding Australia's oyster biodiversity - Dr Carmel McDougall
- Evidence-based governance for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity - Dr Fran Humphries
- Linking global patterns in freshwater biodiversity to environmental drivers - Dr Simon Linke
- Estimating freshwater biodiversity loss via remotely sensed pressures - Dr Simon Linke
- Large-scale estimation and accounting of freshwater ecosystem services- Dr Simon Linke
- Comparing novel methods of aquatic ecosystem monitoring (eDNA, acoustics, video monitoring) - Dr Simon Linke
- Monitoring aquatic ecosystem process (flow, sediment transport, respiration) with ecoacoustic methods - Dr Simon Linke
- Monitoring environmental water delivery in the Goulburn-Broken using terrestrial and underwater ecoacoustics - Dr Simon Linke
- Discovering macroalgal diversity in the Great Barrier Reef - Dr Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
Reducing risks to water security
- 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
- Carbon in coastal wetlands - Professor Rod Connolly
- Resilience in coastal ecosystems - Professor Rod Connolly
- The impact of poor water quality on coastal fisheries - Dr Chris Brown
- Social and economic sustainability of coastal fisheries - Dr Chris Brown
- Jellyfish dynamics in the Anthropocene - Professor Kylie Pitt
- Molecular aquaculture (molluscs) - Dr Carmel McDougall
- How do molluscs build their shells? - Dr Carmel McDougall
- Ecology of coral reef ecosystems - Associate Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
- The role of freshwater flows in promoting coastal productivity - Professor Michele Burford
- Improving evidence-based governance for ecologically sustainable aquaculture development - Dr Fran Humphries
Repairing land and water systems
- Reconstructing a 1000 year record of flood frequency in South-East Queensland using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of alluvial flood deposits and palaeostage indicators - Dr Justine Kemp
- A 1000 year record of streamflow and climate in the channel country SW Queensland - Dr Justine Kemp
- 50000 years of human landscape interactions in the Murray Basin - Dr Justine Kemp
- Nutrient and pesticide retention 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
- Importance of floodplain and estuarine subsidies for growth and reproduction of riverine fish species - Associate Professor Mark Kennard
- Developing and testing new methods to measure effects of nutrient stressors on ecosystems - Professor Michele Burford
Aquatic ecosystems in a changing climate
- Coral reef emissions of biogenic aerosols under warming - Associate Professor Albert Gabric
- 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
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
Predicting water futures
- Call identification and automated processing in freshwater bioacoustics - Dr Simon Linke
- 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
- The ecological importance of groundwater-surface interactions across Earth's terrestrial biomes: a critical review of the literature (Honours) - Associate Professor Mark Kennard
- Identifying the controls of carbon and nutrient processing in the hyporheic zone of upland rivers (Honours/PhD) – Associate Professor Mark Kennard
- Developing innovative approaches for detecting and monitoring ecological responses to groundwater drawdown (Honours/PhD) – Associate Professor Mark Kennard
- Quantifying and mapping the spatial and temporal variation in groundwater influence of Brisbane urban waterways using radon tracer measurements (Honours/PhD) – Associate Professor Mark Kennard