Sarah McDonald

Dr Sarah McDonald is a Research Officer with the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystems Research (TropWATER) at James Cook University in Townsville and published research scientist in aquatic ecotoxicology. Her work in this role primarily focuses on evaluating environmental water quality issues associated with mining and other industrial activities as part of applied commercial projects. She also undertakes fundamental research in aquatic ecotoxicology and helps to maintain laboratory cultures of tropical test species.

Sarah'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. Key outcomes of her work include the development of suitable ecological monitoring tools to measure and mitigate these impacts.

In addition to her role at TropWATER and JCU, Sarah is heavily involved with the Australasian chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC AU) in her role as Communications Officer. In 2023, she co-chaired the biannual SETAC AU conference and attended the Science and Technology Australia Science meets Parliament event as a SETAC AU ambassador.

Currently, Sarah is working alongside colleagues and industry end-users to develop a relevant and robust water quality framework for mineralised ecosystems in Northern Australia.

Environmental chemistry; Freshwater ecology; Tropical ecotoxicology; Aquatic macroinvertebrates; Water and sediment quality; Mine site impatcs; Temporary and ephemeral systems; Metals and metalloids; Bioaccumulation kinetics