What factors dictate the magnitude of the Pesticide Risk in GBR catchments?

Theme: Environmental Management

Description: 

 Different catchments in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area are characterised by different pesticide risks. For example, within the Mackay Whitsunday NRM region, several catchments generally experience very high risk from pesticides whereas other catchments experience very low risk (see Pesticide Risk Metric dashboard).

A recent analysis in the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement (Negri et al. 2024) suggested that the proportion of land use dedicated to sugarcane and horticulture, and river discharge (see figure below) explained the differences, but this has yet to be examined in detail.

This project will suit a student interested in building statistical models of environmental datasets.

Additional Information: 

The Michael St John Warne (1962 – 2024) Memorial Scholarship is administered by the Reef Catchments Science Partnership in the School of the Environment. The purpose of the scholarship is to support UQ honours students. Up to three (3) scholarships will be awarded. Each scholarship is worth $5,000 (half paid in February 2026 and half paid on submission of thesis). A top up writing scholarship of $1,000 is available to publish one (1) journal paper from your thesis research after submission.
See https://environment.uq.edu.au/michael-st-john-warne-memorial-scholarship for more information or email rcsp.info@uq.edu.au

Contact: Assoc. Prof. Ryan Turner