Current Appointment: Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact: Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney
PO Box 123
BROADWAY NSW 2007 Australia

Office: CB04.05.46A
Phone: +61 2 9514 8404
Fax: +61 2 9514 4201
E-mail: Cate.Macinnis@uts.edu.au

Profile

Cate Macinnis-Ng is a plant ecophysiologist. She completed her PhD on the impacts of toxic pollutants on seagrass in 2003 and recently took up a position with Professor Derek Eamus and Associate Professor Peter Ralph in the Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management.

Currently she is working on a number of projects. These include several aquatic and terrestrial studies such as using spectral signatures of different algae types to monitor variations in population dynamics of natural water bodies and assessing biochemical changes in seagrass in response to pollutant exposure. Her terrestrial work includes assessing hydraulic architecture of species native to the Sydney region and looking at the ecophysiology of remnanat vegetation on saline soils.

Research Interests

• Impacts of toxic pollutants on seagrass
• Phytoplankton monitoring
• Plant ecophysiology and toxicology

Publications

• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Ralph, P.J. (2004) Variations in sensitivity to copper and zinc amongst three isolated populations of the seagrass, Zostera capricorni. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 302: 63-83.
• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Ralph, P.J. (2004) In situ impact of multiple pulses of metal and herbicide on the seagrass, Zostera capricorni. Aquatic Toxicology. 67: 227-237.
• McClenahan, K., Macinnis-Ng, C. and Eamus, D. (2004) Hydraulic architecture and water relations of several species at diverse sites around Sydney (in press) Australian Journal of Botany.
• Macinnis-Ng, C., McClenahan, K. and Eamus, D. (2004) Convergence in hydraulic architecture and primary production across four Sydney habitats (in press) Functional Plant Biology.
• Ralph, P.J., Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Frankart, C. (2004) Fluorescence imaging application; effect of leaf age on seagrass photokinetics (in press) Aquatic Botany.
• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O., Morrison, D.A. and Ralph, P.J. Morphological variation in the brown alga, Hormosira banksii (in review).
• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Ralph, P.J. (2003) Short-term impact and recovery of Zostera capricorni photosynthesis after herbicide exposure. Aquatic Botany. 76: 1-15.
• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Ralph, P.J. (2003) In situ impact of petrochemicals on the photosynthesis of the seagrass Zostera capricorni. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 46: 1395-1407.
• Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. and Ralph, P.J. (2002) A novel in situ technique for monitoring the impact of heavy metals on Zostera capricorni. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 45: 100-106.

Refereed Book Chapter

• Ralph, P.J., Tomasko, D., Moore, K., Seddon, S. and Macinnis-Ng, C.M.O. Human impacts on seagrass: contamination and eutrophication. In: Larkum, A.W.D., Orth, R. and Duarte, C. (Eds.) Treatise on Seagrass Biology. In review.

Conference Presentations

• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2003) Impact of pulsed toxic exposure on seagrass. SETAC Asia Pacific Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand, September 2003 (poster presentation).
• Macinnis-Ng, C., McClenahan, K. and Eamus, D. (2003) Patterns in hydraulic architecture and xylem embolism in four habitats in Sydney. Plant Ecophysiology Meeting, Melbourne, October 2003.
• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2003) Copper sensitivity in three isolated populations of Zostera capricorni. Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, Brisbane, July 2003 (poster presentation).
• Macinnis-Ng, C., Jameson, I., Blackburn, S. and Ralph, P. (2003) Light acclimation of laboratory-cultured phytoplankton measured with Phyto-PAM. Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, Brisbane, July 2003.
• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2002) Different populations of seagrass show different sensitivities to heavy metal exposure. Interact, Sydney, July 2002.
• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2002) Identifying pollutants with seagrass photosynthetic parameters. Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, Perth, July 2002.
• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2001) A novel in situ technique for monitoring the impact of heavy metals on Zostera capricorni. 3rd International Conference on Marine Pollution and Ecotoxicology, Hong Kong, June 2001.
• Macinnis-Ng, C. and Ralph, P. (2000) In situ stress monitoring of Zostera capricorni: the impact of two herbicides. Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, Sydney, July 2000. Runner-up for the Ron Kenny award for best student oral presentation.
• Macinnis, C. and Ralph, P., (1998) Morphological variation in the brown alga Hormosira banksii. Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, Adelaide, July 1998.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. (Environmental Biology)
  University of Technology, Sydney
• B.Sc. (Honours, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, First Class)
  "Physiology and toxicology of Hormosira banksii (Fucales: Phaeophyta) ecoforms"
  University of Technology, Sydney
• Doctor of Philosophy
  "In situ stress monitoring of anthropogenic impacts on Zostera capricorni"
  2003 Thesis
  University of Technology, Sydney
• Graduate Certificate in Higher Education: Teaching and Learning
  2000 - Present
  University of Technology, Sydney
• St John's Ambulance Senior First Aid Certificate
• NSW Boat Drivers licence
• PADI Open Water SCUBA Qulaifications

Employment History

Teaching Duties

Over the past three years I have taught the following subjects:

• Biology and Ecology for Engineers
• Biocomputing
• Cells, Genetics and Evolution
• Functional Biology
• Introductory Marine Sciences
• Advanced Marine Sciences
• AnimalEcophysiology
• Australian Biota
• Mapping and Remote Sensing