Current Appointment: Associate Professor

Contact: Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney
PO Box 123
BROADWAY NSW 2007  Australia
Office: CB04.05.51B
Phone: +61 2 9514 4037
Fax: +61 2 9514 4079
E-mail: Richard.Lim@uts.edu.au

Research Interests

• Ecotoxicology of pesticides
• Impact of reproductive endocrine disruptors on the aquatic fauna
• Impact of mining on stream macroinvertebrates
• stream pollution ecology

Main Teaching Areas Include

• Aquatic Ecotoxicology
• Limnology

Recent Grants (1997 - 2001)

2001 Sensitivity to disruption of sexual differentiation of life stages of the male mosquito fish, Gambusia holbrooki, exposed to the reproductive endocrine disrupting (RED) hormone, estradiol.
UTS Internal research Grant Scheme
2000 Biokinetics of copper in rainbow fish in relation to its tolerance to copper using Cu-64 and Cu-67.
Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Inc

Assessment of the reproductive estrogen disrupting capacity of sewage contaminated waters to the mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis holbrooki.
ARC small grant

1999 Efect of simulated river endosulfan peak concentrations to aquatic microinvertebrates in a stream mesocosm.
Cotton Research and Development Corporation

Ecotoxicology of surface runoff water on aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Cotton Research and Development Corporation
1998 Toxicity identification of contaminants in mine water.
Australian Coal Association Research Programme
1997 Relationship between populations of selected macroinvertebrates and pesticides in the Naomi River.
Cotton Research and Development Corporation

Differential toxicities of the alpha, beta and sulfate species of endosulfan to stream invertebrates.
Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation

Use of fish otoliths as archival monitors of metal pollution.
Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Inc.

Recent Publications (1997 - 2001)

2001
N.M. Franklin, J.L. Stauber and R.P. Lim.  Development of an improved rapid enzyme inhibition bioassay with marine and freshwater microalgae using flow cytometry. Submitted to Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

Rose, M., St.J. Warne and R.P. Lim.  The presence of chemicals exuded by fish affects the life history responses of Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia to chemicals with different mechanisms of action. Submitted to Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

N.M. Franklin, J.L. Stauber and R.P. Lim.  Development of flow cytometry-based algal bioassays for assessing the toxicity of copper in natural water. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 20:160-170

Rose, M. St.J. Warne and R.P. Lim.  Factors associated with fish modify life history traits of the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia Journal of Plankton Research 23:11-17.

2000 R.P. Lim, S. Gale, C. Doyle, B. Lesjean and M. Gibert Endocrine disrupting compounds in sewages treatment plant (STP) effluent reused in agriculture - Is there a concern? Water Recycling Australia Ed. P.J. Dillon. pg. 23-28

A.W. Leonard, R.V. Hyne, R.P. Lim, F. Pablo and P.J. Van den Brink Correlations between riverine endosulfan concentrations linked to runoff from cotton fields and population densities of macroinvertebrates in the Naomi River, Australia: Comparison of two seasons with differing hydrological conditions. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19 (6): 1540-1551

Rose, M. St.J. Warne and R.P. Lim.  Life history responses of the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia to variation in food concentration Hydrobiologia 427: 59-64

S.M. Markich, P. Brown, R.J. Jeffree and R.P. Lim.  Evaluation of the free ion activity model of metal-organism interaction. 1. Valve movement responses of Velesunio angasi (Bivalvia: Hyriidae) to manganese and uranium. Aquatic Toxicology.51: 11-31

N.M. Franklin, J.L. Stauber and R.P. Lim.  pH-dependent toxicity of copper and uranium to a tropical freshwater alga (Chlorella sp.). Aquatic Toxicology 48: 275 - 289

1999 A.W. Leonard, R.V. Hyne, R.P. Lim and J.C. Chapman Effect of endosulfan runoff from cotton fields on macroinvertebrates in the Namoi River. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 42: 125-134

J. Batty and R. Lim.  Morphological and reproductive characteristics of male mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis holbrooki) inhabiting sewage-contaminated waters in New South Wales, Australia. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 36: 301-307

A.C. Roach and R.P. Lim.  1999 Variation in the population dynamics of the intertidal pulmonate gastropod Salinator solida Martens (Gastropoda: Amphibolidae) at Towra Point, NSW, Australia. 4: 1-20 Mangroves and Salt Marshes

1998 R.M. Rose, M. St.J. Warne and R.P. Lim.  Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships and volume fraction analysis for nonpolar narcotic chemicals to the Australian cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 34: 248-252

J. Niforos and R.P. Lim.  Toxicity of diazinon, an organophorus pesticide, to the eastern rainbow fish, Melanotaenia duboulayi. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 26, 2296-2301.

F. Pablo, R.T. Buckney and R.P. Lim.  Toxicity of cyanide, iron-cyanide complexes and a blast furnace effluent to larvae of the doughboy scallop, Chlamys asperrimus (Lamarck). Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 58:93-100

F. Pablo, R.T. Buckney and R.P. Lim.  Toxicity of cyanide, iron-cyanide complexes and a blast furnace effluent to the banana prawn, Penaeus monodon. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 58:822-829

C. Olima, F. Pablo and R.P. Lim.  Comparative tolerance of three populations of the freshwater shrimp, Paratya australiensis to the organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos. Bull. Environ. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 59:321-328.

1997 E. Howe, C.Howe, R.P. Lim and M. Burchett The impact of the introduced poeciliid Gambusia holbrooki (Girard, 1859) on growth and reproduction of Pseudomugil signifer (Kner, 1865) in Australia. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 48 (5)

R.M. Rose, M. St.J. Warne and R.P. Lim.  Inter-species conversion equations for predicting the toxicity of nonpolar narcotic chemicals to Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology 3: 75-83.

Postgraduate Thesis Supervision

PhD - Completed

Effie Howe
Studies in the biology and reproductive characteristics of Pseudomugil signifer.

Anthony Roach
Variation in the population ecology of the pulmonate gastropod, Salinator solida (Martens) populations at Towra Point, NSW, Australia.

Scott Markich
Effects of biological and physiochemical variables on valve movement responses of freshwater bivalves to manganese, uranium, cadmium and copper.

Alex Leonard
Effects of endosulfan on populations of dominant mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae in the Naomi River, following runoff from cotton fields.

Hertien Surtikanti
Ecotoxicological studies on the benthos in the freshwater section of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River catchment.(Co-supervisor)

Ron Patra
Effects of temperature on the toxicity of chemicals to Australian fish and invertebrates.

Grant Hose
The effect of endosulfan on macroinvertebrate communities in artificial streams.

PhD - In Progress

• Anne Colville
  Investigation of the toxicity and bioavailability of the insect growth regulator Tebufenozide in the presence and absence of sediment in the environment.
• Natasha Franklin
  Toxicity of metals and their mixtures to unicellular algae using flow cytometry.
• Rebecca Rose
  Effects of selected biotic and abiotic factors on the life history dynamics of the cladoceran Ceridaphnia dubia:implications for ecotoxicology.
• Yin Latt Phyu
  Ecotoxicology of the herbicides, atrazine, molinate and trifluralin to the aquatic biota. (Co-supervisor)
• Surattana Settacharnwit
  The influence of sediments on water quality in Nong Han, a shallow lake in north-eastern Thailand. (co-supervisor).

MSC - Completed

• Michelle Boyd
  Assessment of the impact of the Mittagong Sewage Treatment Plant on the ecology of the Nattai River, NSW.
    MSc - In Progress
• Collette Thomas
  Toxicity of deltamethrin to native Australian fish and invertebrates.
• Cyrus Edwards
  Effects of acid rock drainage from the remediated Rum Jungle mine on the macroinvertebrate community composition in the Eastern branch of the Finniss River, Northern Territory.
• Mae Grace Nillos
  Sediment toxicity and determination of hydrocarbons isolated from oil polluted sediment.

Representative Honours Projects

• Christopher Doyle
  Toxicity characterisation of contaminated sediment pore water using the sea urchin Heliocidaris tuberculata.
• Natasha Franklin
  The toxicity of copper and uranium to the tropical freshwater alga, Chlorella sp.
• Sharyn Gale
  Biokinetics of copper in the black banded rainbow fish using the radioisotope Cu-64/67.
• Alicia Hogan
  Toxicity characterisation of marine effluents using algal and bacterial bioassays.
• Anne-Maree Mulhall
  Modelling the toxicity of polar narcotics to the cladoceran, Ceridaphnia dubia.
• David Ross
  The effects of non-point source pollution on the upper Hacking River.