Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Profile

General Information

I am an environmental engineer involved in the investigation of aquatic ecotoxicology and pollution remediation. The International GAMTOX working group, which I am a member is currently developing a standardised suite of ecotoxiciology tests using Gammarus spp.  Gammarus spp. contains more than 200 freshwater, brackish and marine species in the Northern hemisphere and they are important bioindicators for water quality assessment. In the U.K. Gammarus pulex (freshwater shrimp) are commonly found in clean freshwater systems and this species has been the focus of my research for the past ten years at the Universities of Portsmouth and Southampton.

Teaching

I am the unit co-ordinator and lecturer for:

• Level 1: Quantitative Methods
• Level 2: Environmental Fieldwork and Analysis
• Level 2: Hydrology and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Level 3: Waste Management 
• Level 3: Environmental Project
• Level 3: Environmental Dissertation
• Level 4: Waste Disposal and Remediation 

I also contribute to:

• Level 1: Environmental Systems
• Level 2: Environmental Geochemistry and Analytical Techniques
• Level 4: Ecosystem Function and Management

I am also a Level 1-4 personal tutor and PhD supervisor


Career History

• 2008 - Present: Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of Portsmouth
• 2005 - 2008: Environmental Scientist, Fisheries Research Service
• 2004 - 2005: Research Fellow, University of Southampton
• 2001 - 2004: PhD - Environmental Engineering, University of Southampton
• 2000 - 2001: BSc (Hons) - 1st Class, Environmental Science, Manchester Metropolitan University
• 1996 - 2000: BEd (Hons) - 1st Class, Science in the Environment, University of Oxford

Professional Record

Academic

• 2010 - 2011: Guest Editor, International Journal of Zoology
• 2010 - Present: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• 2010 - Present: Science Faculty Board Member of the Learning and Teaching Committee
• 2010 - Present: Science Faculty Board Member of the Environmental Ethics Committee 
• 2010 - Present: SEES Chairperson of the Learning and Teaching Committee
• 2010 - Present: SEES Environmental Ethics representative
• 2010 - Present: SEES Peer Review co-ordinator
• 2009 - Present: Member of the International GAMTOX Committee

Media - television and radio 

• 2011 - BBC Breakfast interview, theme - Hungarian Red Sludge incident 
• 2009 - BBC News interview, theme - CFL’s
• 2009 - BBC Radio interviews, theme - CFL’s

Media - newspaper and other briefings

• 2009 - Present: National and International Press briefings, themes include - CFL’s, Hungarian Red Sludge incident and River Trent pollution incident
• 2009 - Waste Management Expert Panel (CFL’s), Science Media Centre, London

Research

Research funded by Cleanaway Waste Management Company - University of Southampton

A standard environmental assessment and pollution control methodology was developed to monitor and reduce the impact of leachate discharge on receiving waters. A landfill site in South Waleswas used as a case study for the investigation. The leachate used during this research had a 255mgl^-1 COD and 133mgl^-1 BOD₅. Application of a biological stream survey identified that the leachate caused localized pollution of the associated waterway. An in-situ and ex-situ toxicity testing programme was undertaken using un-acclimatized juvenile Gammarus pulex (pollution sensitive) and Asellus aquaticus (pollution tolerant) to establish pollution boundaries. It was revealed that the leachate held toxicity to both test species. Ex-situ acute tests indicated that the LC₅₀ for Asellus aquaticus was 57% and 5% for Gammarus pulex. 2-Chlorobiphenyl was identified as the leachate component that held toxicity to the test animals therefore, Gammarus pulex showed 11.4 times more sensitivity to 2-Chlorobiphenyl than Asellus aquaticus. At sub-lethal concentrations of 40%, 30% and 20% v/v leachate in deionised water, the frequency of Asellus aquaticus births was manipulated by 2.5%-1.5% dilutions but insufficient data was obtained to support this theory.

The treatability of the landfill leachate with respect to removal of the environmentally toxic component was assessed. Aerobic digestion, air stripping and reed bed technologies where able to reduce the leachates COD. The degree of remediation achieved, however, varied between treatments. Aerobic digestion attained the highest COD reduction (from 255mgl^-1 to <20mgl^-1) followed by air stripping (from 255mgl^-1 to <50mgl^-1) and reed beds proved to be the least efficient treatment. After the leachate had been exposed to reed beds (operated on a 10 day RT) both species showed the same symptoms of sub-lethal toxicity as observed with untreated leachate. No toxicological symptoms where experienced by either test species after long-term exposure to leachate, which had been subjected to aerobic digestion (originating from a 70% concentration of full strength leachate that was subjected to aerobic digestion for 96 hours) or air stripping (treated with 5 litres of air per minute for 96 hours). It was concluded that if an on-site treatment plant where to be installed at the landfill site, the remediation technique, which would best protect the integrity of the connecting waterway would be air stripping. This was because the MLSS used during the aerobic digestion caused toxicity to Gammarus pulex, which would restrict its on-site application.

Research funded by the EU’s 6th Framework Programme - University of Southampton

My role within the CROPGEN project was to develop a standardised small-scale biochemical methane potential (BMP) test and determine the BMP values for an array of crops, in order to establish their energy potential. Energy crops, i.e. plants grown especially for the purpose of producing energy are a carbon-neutral source of domestic renewable energy. Energy can be produced from plant material in a variety of ways, one of which is the production of methane-rich biogas through anaerobic digestion. The methane generated in this way can be used for heat and power generation or as a vehicle fuel, in replacement for fossil fuels, thus cutting down on the emissions of greenhouse gases and slowing down climate change. The biochemical methane assay is a procedure developed to determine the methane yield of an organic material during its anaerobic decomposition by a mixed microbial flora in a defined medium. This assay provides a simple means to monitor relative biodegradability of substrates before large-scale deployment.

Research funded by the Scottish Government - Fisheries Research Service

I was involved with several projects in the areas of Fishery Science, Freshwater Biology and Hydrology. These studies included, identifying environmental bottlenecks for fish populations in heavily impacted agricultural catchments; the influence of invertebrate drift on fish productivity and growth and the impact of acidification and climate change on fish productivity and growth.

Research funded by the Start up Fund - University of Portsmouth

The term ‘invertebrate drift’ describes the downstream dispersal in the water column of benthic invertebrates that usually live on or amongst the substratum of streams and rivers. Interest in this phenomenon greatly increased when it was shown independently in several countries that downstream dispersal followed a diel rhythmic pattern with most taxa drifting downstream chiefly at night. This early work stimulated many investigations on the mechanisms responsible for invertebrate drift, the role of drift as a dispersal mechanism, and the importance of drift as food for fish, especially salmonids. There are now over 500 publications in this field and several excellent reviews.

Although there are numerous studies of drift, the reviews show that opinions differ on the major factors affecting the quantity of drift and hence the magnitude of invertebrate dispersal in different streams. Environmental factors include flow, temperature, oxygen concentration, season (or date), and length of the day or night. Biotic factors include the presence of predatory fish and invertebrates, a density-dependent relationship between drift density and benthos density, and intraspecific competition for resources such as food and space. An experimental approach can be used to unravel this complexity of factors, but the experimental conditions are usually simplifications of those encountered in natural streams. The alternative field approach requires the reliable quantification of drift, with difficult decisions on the number of replicate drift samples and the frequency of sampling. The aim of this study is to assess the major factors affecting the quantity of drift and hence the magnitude of invertebrate dispersal in an agricultural stream that contains predatory fish.

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Publications Before 2006

• Bloor, M. C. and Banks, C. J. (2005) Acute and sub-lethal toxicity of landfill leachate towards two macro-invertebrates: assessing the remediation potential of constructed wetlands. Trans IChemE, Part B, Process Safety and Environmental Protection 83(B2): 1-7.
• Bloor, M. C. and Banks, C. J. (2005) Acute and sub-lethal toxicity of landfill leachate towards two aquatic macro-invertebrates: demonstrating the remediation potential of air stripping. Environment International 31: 1114-1122.
• Bloor, M. C., Banks, C. J. and Krivtsov, V. (2005) Acute and sub-lethal toxicity tests to monitor the impact of leachate on an aquatic environment. Environment International 31(2): 269-273.