Contact
Biography
I am currently Associate Professor and Director of Research in the School of Geography. I was awarded a BSc Geography from the University of Nottingham in 2005, MSc Environmental Monitoring for Management from Loughborough University in 2006, and a PhD from Loughborough University in 2011.
My research interest is in understanding the interlinkages between hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes and systems in rivers to inform more successful, and more sustainable, management of freshwaters.
Teaching Summary
My teaching reflects my research experience, being focused on river processes and management. My modules include field trips and laboratory work, as well as engagement with management practitioners… read more
Research Summary
I am interested in how aquatic organisms occupy, utilise and modify environments, working at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. A list of my academic outputs is available at my… read more
Recent Publications
LIU, D, GUO, Z.F., CHAN, F.K.S., XU, Y., JOHNSON, M.F. and ZHU, G.Y., 2022. Widespread occurrence of microplastics in marine bays with diverse drivers and environmental risk Environment International. 168, 107483
PUGH, B., COLLEY, M., DUGDALE, S.J., EDWARDS, P., FLITCROFT, R., HOLZ, A., JOHNSON, M.F., MARIANI, M., MEANS-BROUS, M., MEYER, K., MOFFETT, K.B., RENAN, L., SCHRODT, F., THORNE, C.R., VALMAN, S., WIJAYRATNE, U. and FIELD, R., 2022. A possible role for river restoration enhancing biodiversity through interaction with wildlife Global Ecology and Biogeography. XU, Y, KA SHUN CHAN, F, HE, J, JOHNSON, MF, GIBBINS C, KAY P, STANTON, T, XU Y, LI, G, FENG, M, PARAMOR, O, YU, X and ZHU, Y-G, 2020. A critical review of microplastic pollution in urban
freshwater environments and legislative progress
in China: Recommendations and insights CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. THOMAS STANTON, MATTHEW JOHNSON, PAUL NATHANAIL, WILLIAM MACNAUGHTAN and RACHEL L. GOMES, 2019. Freshwater and airborne textile fibre populations are dominated by ‘natural’, not microplastic, fibres Science of the Total Environment. 666, 377-389
I supervise Research Masters and PhD students working on freshwater science and management. My current students are:
Xi He (2023) Restoring and rewilding rivers: social perceptions and ecological expectations. School of Geography Scholarship.
Jake Dimon (2023) Restoring oil palm rivers: assessing the effects of riparian re-vegetation and in-channel modifications on biodiversity and functionality. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Zilin Wang (2023) Understanding the Water-Carbon-Energy nexus in hydropower. UNNC scholarship.
Isobel Evans (2023) Microplastic ingestion and egestion by freshwater invertebrates. MRes.
Ed Dilks (2022) The impact of small impoundments and connectivity loss on fish distribution and abundance in river ecosystems: leveraging cutting edge geospatial modelling and eDNA approaches. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Katherine Hart (2022) A river catchment classification framework to optimise and inform future freshwater monitoring and policy in the UK. School of Geography scholarship
Melissa Mayer (2021) Detection, identification and quantification of microplastics in water. EPSRC scholarship; Molecular Imaging and Analysis DTP.
Hannah Markham (2019-2024) Impact of elevated phosphorus and fine sediment on aquatic invertebrate egg development. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Cesar Rodrigues (2019-2024) Thermal ecology of invasive and native crayfish. Sir Francis Hill scholarship.
My graduated students are:
Tianyang Du (2019-2024) Monitoring and modelling thermal pollution in river systems. Vice Chancellors scholarship for research excellence.
Calum Ramage (2019-2024) Sources, pathways and ecological impacts of heavy metal and organic pollutants in Kruger National Par. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Yuyao Xu (2018-2022). Quantifying microplastics in freshwater environments in China. UNNC scholarship.
Amit Kumar (2018-2022) Investigation into transitions from meteorological to hydrological droughts. Vice Chancellors scholarship for research excellence.
Abdulaziz Alsalah (2018-2022) Hydrological consequences of rapid urban development in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. King Saud University scholarship.
Andrea Sartorius (2018-2022). Impacts of historic mine waste on ecosystem health. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Alistair Delboyer (2017-2021) Modelling the impacts of heat pumps on thermal conditions in rivers. Leverhulme MASS scholarship.
Hazel Wilson (2017-2021). Reefs of rubbish: the ecological and geomorphological implications of litter in urban streams. EPSRC Engineering Water Resilience DTP.
Fernando Garzón (2017-2020). Modelling suitability of catchments to Natural Flood Management interventions. Ceiba Scholarship.
Emily Richardson (2019-2020) Public engagement with projection relief augmented models for flood risk education. MRes.
Richard Mason (2016-2020) The zoogeomorphology of case-building caddisfly. NERC CENTA scholarship.
Beth Dunstan (2019-2020) Response of caddisfly larvae to heavy metal pollution in former mining areas. MRes.
Mikaela D'Souza (2018-2019) Public perceptions of flood management schemes in the UK. MRes.
Samuel Valman (2018-2019) Developing a typology of streams in the anthropocene: Disconnections between controls on river characteristics. MRes.
Thomas Stanton (2016-2019). Sources and pathways of microplastics in freshwater environments. Sir Francis Hill scholarship.
Liberty Mgbanyi (2015-2019). Developing topographic models to predict gully formation in data sparse regions. Tetfund scholarship.
Thomas Stanton (2015-2016) Developing improved methodologies for the quantification of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluent and sludge. MRes.
Current Research
I am interested in how aquatic organisms occupy, utilise and modify environments, working at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. A list of my academic outputs is available at my Google.Scholar page.
I am currently working on:
1) The ability of living organisms to alter physical processes, such as sediment transport, in rivers.
Living organisms can alter environments through their presence and activity, with implications for geomorphic and biochemical processes. I am interested in how invertebrate animals alter the flow of material through river systems, including the destabilisation of river beds and banks by the invasive signal crayfish (e.g. Article Link), which can also increase the transport of sediment through rivers (e.g.link). Organisms can also stabilise river substrates (e.g. Article Link) and alter the dynamics of sediment grains (e.g. Article Link).
2) The impacts of water quality and pollution on aquatic ecosystems.
I research pollutants in rivers, including the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in freshwater organisms (e.g. Article link), the presence of microplastics in rivers (e.g. Article Link) and the complex role of anthropogenic waste to aquatic communities (e.g. Article Link). I am particularly concerned with the sub-lethal impacts of pollutants on invertebrate organisms across multiple life stages (e.g Article Link).
Rising water temperature also has significant impacts on water quality and aquatic communities in rivers (e.g. Article link). I am working on how to identify and increase resilience of rivers to future warming (e.g. Article Link).
3) Better incorporation of ecological processes into river management frameworks.
My work is applied and I work with many partners in government, industry and charitable organisations. I am working on projects in the USA (e.g. Article link), China (e.g. Article link), Brazil (e.g. Article link) and UK (e.g. Article link) on novel river management schemes, which aim to better account for ecological processes in river management (e.g. Article Link)