STAFF PROFILE
Dr Catherine Leigh
Position:
Lecturer - Aquatic Ecology
College / Portfolio:
STEM College
School / Department:
STEM|School of Science
Phone:
+61399251945
Email:
catherine.leigh@rmit.edu.au
Campus:
Bundoora West
Contact me about:
Research supervision
Cath is a quantitative community ecologist, scientific communicator and teacher, with a research focus on non-perennial rivers
Cath is a quantitative community ecologist, scientific communicator and teacher, with a research focus on non-perennial rivers. Her work seeks to understand ecological responses to natural and human-induced changes in the environment by incorporating population- to ecosystem- level science with state-of-the-art, data-driven analytical approaches, and to find innovative solutions to real world environmental problems. Her expertise is sought widely across state, national and international levels, spanning government, professional, industry and community organisations, and the popular media. Cath was key participant in the international Intermittent River Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis project, the ACIAR Improving the Sustainability of Rice-shrimp Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam project, the Australian National Water Commission Low Flows project, and the AusAID River Health and Environmental Flows in China project. She is highly productive and an excellent communicator, having produced over 80 research outputs, including 40+ journal articles, 7 invited book chapters, online databases, and multiple conference proceedings and technical reports. She enjoys convening special sessions and workshops and delivering plenary and keynote presentations at national and international conferences and at public outreach events. Cath served as Guest Editor for the 2016 special issue of the journal Freshwater Biology on intermittent river ecology and management, and serves on this journal's Editorial Board. She is the secretary for Australia's peak professional body for freshwater scientists and managers, the Australian Freshwater Sciences Society and the proud recipient of that society's 2017 Early Career Excellence Award.
PhD (River Ecology)
- Zhao, Q.,Zhang, Y.,Guo, F.,Leigh, C.,Jia, X. (2021). Increasing anthropogenic salinisation leads to declines in community diversity, functional diversity and trophic links in mountain streams In: Chemosphere, 263, 1 - 11
- Sauquet, E.,Shanafield, M.,Hammond, J.,Sefton, C.,Leigh, C.,Datry, T. (2021). Classification and trends in intermittent river flow regimes in Australia, northwestern Europe and USA: A global perspective In: Journal of Hydrology, 597, 1 - 17
- Keler, P.,Catalan, N.,von Schiller, D.,Leigh, C., et al, . (2020). Global CO2 emissions from dry inland waters share common drivers across ecosystems In: Nature Communications, 11, 1 - 8
- Leigh, C.,Stewart-Koster, B.,Sang, N.,Truc, L.,Hiep, L.,Xoan, V.,Tinh, N.,An, L.,Sammut, J.,Burford, M. (2020). Rice-shrimp ecosystems in the Mekong Delta: Linking water quality, shrimp and their natural food sources In: Science of the Total Environment, 739, 1 - 12
- Pearse, A.,McGree, J.,Som, N.,Leigh, C.,Maxwell, P.,Ver Hoef, J. (2020). SSNdesign—An R package for pseudo-Bayesian optimal and adaptive sampling designs on stream networks In: PL o S One, 15, 1 - 17
- Perez-Ramírez, J.,Leigh, C.,Liquet, B.,Kermorvant, C.,Peterson, E.,Sous, D.,Mengersen, K. (2020). Detecting Technical Anomalies in High-Frequency Water-Quality Data Using Artificial Neural Networks In: Environmental Science and Technology, 54, 13719 - 13730
- Leigh, C.,Alsibai, O.,Hyndman, R.,Kandanaarachchi, S.,King, O.,McGree, J.,Neelamraju, C.,Strauss, J.,Talagala, P.,Turner, R.,Mengersen, K.,Peterson, E. (2019). A framework for automated anomaly detection in high frequency water-quality data from in situ sensors In: Science of the Total Environment, 664, 885 - 898
- Van Looy, K.,Tonkin, J.,Floury, M.,Leigh, C., et al, . (2019). The three Rs of river ecosystem resilience: Resources, recruitment, and refugia In: River Research and Applications, 35, 107 - 120
- Shumilova, O.,Zak, D.,Datry, T.,Leigh, C., et al, . (2019). Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter In: Global Change Biology, 25, 1591 - 1611
- Paril, P.,Leigh, C.,Polášek, M.,Sarremejane, R.,Reznícková, P.,Dostálová, A.,Stubbington, R. (2019). Short-term streambed drying events alter amphipod population structure in a central European stream In: Fundamental and Applied Limnology, 193, 51 - 64
2 PhD Current Supervisions
- Novel water-quality monitoring for healthy platypus habitat. Funded by: ARC Centre of Excellence Grant - Via Other University from (2021 to 2021)
- Revolutionising Monitoring of Waterway Health in Merri Creek. Funded by: City of Whittlesea - Contract from (2020 to 2021)