Mr Eric Nicholson

Biography/ Background

PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide (2005-present); Postgraduate Representative, University of Adelaide [EB/EES] (2006-2008); Project Assistant, Orangutan Health Project, Sumatra, Indonesia (2004-2005); Benthic Ecology Research Assistant, University of Waterloo, Canada (2004); BSc (Honours) [Dean's Honours List], University of Waterloo, Canada (2004)

Recent Awards/Grants ($AUD):
2007 AINSE Award ($16,226); 2007 Kirsty Brown Memorial Award ($2,440.87); 2007 Coastal Protection Board Grant ($1,000); 2007 Wildlife Conservation Fund Grant ($4,000); 2007 Sir Mark Mitchell Foundation Grant ($5,462.50)

Research Interests

I have a background in limnology and wetland ecology with a strong interest in conservation and restoration activities. With my current PhD studies, I am performing a diatom-based reconstruction of past environmental conditions to demonstrate how the coastal wetlands near Adelaide have changed since European settlement. I am developing a modern data set with which to establish the major environmental factor(s) driving changes in coastal diatom assemblages near Adelaide. From this modern data set, a transfer function (model) will be derived and then applied to fossil diatom assemblages. These microfossils have been collected from sediment cores obtained from within Adelaide's mangrove forests, where dense pneumatophores provide a calm and stable environment for the deposition of sediments. This palaeoecological approach will allow me to infer a baseline for pre-European environmental conditions as well as the magnitude of impact that anthropogenic activity has had on the coastal wetlands near Adelaide. In addition to modern and fossil diatom analysis of mangrove sediments, my research has also included some stable isotope work.

Entry last updated: Thursday, 13 Aug 2009