Sarah McDonald
- sarah.mcdonald@jcu.edu.au
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4315-7994- Research Officer
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Biography
Dr Sarah McDonald ECR is a research officer with the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystems Research (TropWATER) at James Cook University and published research scientist in aquatic ecotoxicology. She gained her Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) and Doctor of Philosophy in Ecotoxicology at The University of Melbourne before moving to Townsville to work with TropWATER in 2022.
She has over eight year's experience in the areas of aquatic ecology and environmental chemistry with practical skills in field and laboratory research. Her work focuses on evaluating environmental water quality issues associated with mining and other industrial activities as part of applied commercial projects and fundamental research in aquatic ecotoxicology.
She is highly collaborative and maintains strong connections with researchers, industry partners, community members and Traditional Owners throughout northern Australia. She is an active and committed member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - Australasia in her role on the general committee as the Communications Officer.
Research
Research Interests
Sarah McDonald's general research interests cover the multidisciplinary field of ecotoxicology, including environmental chemistry, freshwater ecology and biological statistics. Her field of special interest is water and sediment
quality assessment, focusing on the quantification of the form
(speciation), behaviour (bioavailability) and ecotoxicological impact
(bioaccumulation) of chemical contaminants and stressors, and the
development of suitable ecological monitoring tools to measure and
mitigate these impacts. Included in this is the application of the National Water Quality Guidelines in complex ephemeral systems such as dry streambeds of the
wet-dry tropics and urban stormwater systems.
Dr McDonald is specialised in a range of laboratory-, computer- and field-based techniques. Specifically, she has expertise conducting laboratory bioassays on a variety of aquatic biota to determine contaminant kinetics and threshold values, including the application of radiotracers and advanced imaging autoradiography. Dr McDonald has practical experience in environmental analytical chemistry and the development of statistical methods and models for ecotoxicological applications. Her field-based expertise directly relates to practical water, sediment and macroinvertebrate sampling spanning temperate to tropical environments and from highly urbanised to remote settings.