Dr Rebecca Lawton
Senior Research Fellow
Qualifications: BSc Hons (Otago), PhD (James Cook University)
About Rebecca
I am a marine ecologist with broad interests in applied environmental science. My research is centered on the growth and production of macroalgae (both freshwater and marine/seaweeds) and has two key focal areas. First, is the use of live macroalgae to bioremediate nutrient rich wastewaters from a range of sources including agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, and municipal waste treatment. Second, is the aquaculture of seaweeds to produce biomass for macroalgal bioactives and bioproducts. I am interested in understanding the ecology of target species and how this can be applied to optimise productivity and biomass characteristics under different environmental conditions. Underpinning both streams of research is the development of innovative technologies and processes to enable commercial scale cultivation. A central theme of my research is the development of a circular economy. Macroalgae can provide the foundation of a circular economy model that can be applied to agricultural, municipal and industrial systems to bioremediate wastewaters and generate new products.
Papers Taught
Research Supervised
PhD
- Jacob Nepper-Davidsen (in progress). Developing sustainable aquaculture of the kelp Ecklonia radiata in New Zealand.
- Harizah Hariz (in progress). Filamentous algae nutrient scrubbers for agricultural runoff
- Alisa Mihaila (in progress) The biology of Asparagopsis armata for closed life-cycle cultivation in New Zealand
- Indira Novak (in progress) Use of high rate filamentous algae ponds for rural waste water treatment
MSc (Research)
- Beth Ross (in progress) Agarophyton – a potential novel target species for bioremediation of nutrient enriched coastal waters
- Alisa Mihalia (2020). Investigating the anti-methanogenic properties of select
species of seaweed in New Zealand.
MEnvSc
- Indira Novak (2020). Nutrient dynamics, growth and bioremediation performance in the freshwater macroalga Oedogonium.
Recent Publications
Lawton, R. J., Sutherland, J. E., Glasson, C. R. K., & Magnusson, M. E. (2021). Selection of temperate Ulva species and cultivars for land-based cultivation and biomass applications. Algal Research, 56. doi:10.1016/j.algal.2021.102320
Kidgell, J. T., Carnachan, S. M., Magnusson, M., Lawton, R. J., Sims, I. M., Hinkley, S. F. R., . . . Glasson, C. R. K. (2021). Are all ulvans equal? A comparative assessment of the chemical and gelling properties of ulvan from blade and filamentous Ulva. Carbohydrate Polymers, 264. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118010
Lawton, R. J., Mata, L., de Nys, R., & Paul, N. A. (2020). Correction: Algal bioremediation of waste waters from land-based aquaculture using Ulva: Selecting target species and strains. PLoS ONE, 15(3), 3 pages. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0231281
Marshall, D. J., Lawton, R. J., Monro, K., & Paul, N. A. (2018). Biochemical evolution in response to intensive harvesting in algae: Evolution of quality and quantity. Evolutionary Applications, 11(8), 1389-1400. doi:10.1111/eva.12632
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Keywords
Ecology; Environment; Environmental Science and Technology
Contact Details
Email: [email protected]Room: SP:H.1.02
Phone: +64 7 578 5936
Cellphone: 022 017 8133