Heather Rochford
Research MSc student, commenced May 2010
Project
Biological Effects of Pollution in the Irish Marine Environment
Despite increased public awareness of the need to reduce anthropogenic contamination, pollution continues to occur on a global scale. More than 10,000 known man-made chemicals are released into the environment in one way or the other. The protection, improvement and sustainable use of Europe’s water resources are a major goal of current European water policy. In recent times, the scientific and regulatory communities have recognised the need for more cohesive methods of determining environmental quality that consider biological, ecological, physico-chemical and hydrological criteria. As a result, strategies for marine pollution monitoring are now integrating chemical and biological parameters. This research MSc forms part of a collaborative project entitled “Biological Effects and Chemical Measurements for the Assessment of Pollution in Marine Irish Waters”. The four collaborative partners include Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the Marine Institute (MI), Shannon Aquatic Toxicity Laboratory (SATL) and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT).
The MSc aims to determine if spatial variability is statistically significant in biomarker analyses of sites around Ireland. In addition, the biomarker results will be compared to chemistry data taken from the same sites at the same time. Finally, results from a variety of biomarker analyses will be correlated to each other in order to determine the level of consistency. The main biomarkers that will be used in this project include: acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition which reflects the extent of exposure to organophosphates and carbamate pesticides; metallothionein (MT) which can reflect metal contamination; and alkali labile phosphate (ALP) which is an indicator of endocrine disruption. Mytilus edulis and Limanda limanda are the study species being used.
It is hoped that such a biomarker approach can be combined with data from environmental chemistry and further biological analyses to produce an integrated approach to monitoring pollutants in the marine environment.
Research Interests
I graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a BA (Mod) Hons in Environmental Science in 2005. Having further pursued my interest in marine science, I then graduated with an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection from the School of Ocean Sciences at the University of Wales, Bangor in 2006. My MSc thesis looked at temporal changes in caesium-137 activity concentrations in the Esk Estuary, Cumbria.
My interest in radiation in the environment led me to a career in radiation protection and I worked in the Health Protection Agency, Radiation Protection Division in Oxfordshire, England for 2 years; and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) in Dublin for 1 year. After 3 years working in this field, I was delighted to be given the opportunity by Trinity College Dublin to return to undertake research work. Biology, and marine science in particular, is a subject which I have always been passionate about. I look forward to completing my project and working in this field in the future.
Postal address
School of Natural Sciences,Zoology Building,
Trinity College,
University of Dublin,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.