Prof. Stuart Bunn, director of the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, visits IHB on April 24, 2014. 

Prof. Stuart Bunn, director of the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, together with Prof. Michele Burford, executive deputy director of the Australian Rivers Institute, and Prof. Jon Olley paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) on April 24, 2014. 

During the visit, Prof. Bunn and Prof. Burford gave oral presentation with the title of “River-floodplain linkages: implications for environmental flows and river health” and “The effect of nutrients on blooms of the cyanobacterium, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii”, respectively.    

Professor Bunn presented an overview of the Australian River Institute, Griffith University and introduced their research on river-floodplain ecology, including energy and nutrient fluxes of aquatic ecosystem, use of isotopic tracer to study aquatic food web structure and aquatic ecosystem assessment.    

Professor Burford introduced their research on the bloom-forming cyanobacteria Cylindrospermopsis. This species has been dominant in many reservoirs of Australia, causing a serious problem of cyanobacterial blooms. Some species can produce hepatotoxic cylindrospermopsin, leading to safety risk for drinking water supply.      

Professor Burford carried out detailed studies on the nitrogen and phosphorus needs of Cylindrospermopsis, conditions for differentiation of heterocyst, and toxin production and release, finding great differences among strains.   

The visiting delegation also visited the Freshwater Algae Culture Collection and several research groups at IHB. 

Prof. Michele Burford, executive deputy director of the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, visits IHB on April 24, 2014.