Disputation: Tor Erik Eriksen

Doctoral candidate Tor Erik Eriksen at the Natural History Museum will be defending the thesis "A macroinvertebrate‐based biomonitoring tool for diagnosing environmental conditions of rivers in Myanmar – a novel approach in a biodiversity hotspot" for the degree of PhD (Philosophiae Doctor).

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Trial lecture 

Title: “Threats, Challenges and Opportunities in Conservation in Tropical Biodiversity Hotspots.“

Time and place: May 6, 2022 10:15 AM, Tøyen Hovedgård

Adjudication committee

  • Professor Isabel Maria Pardo Gamundi, Universida de Vigo, Spain
  • Dr. John F. Murphy, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
  • Associate Professor Anneleen Kool, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo

Chair of defence

Museum Director, Brit Lisa Skjelkvåle, Natural History Museum

Supervisors

  • Professor Nikolai Friberg, Norwegian Institute for Water Research
  • Associate professor Geir E. E. Søli, Natural History Museum, Univ. of Oslo
  • Senior Research Scientist John E. Brittain, Natural History Museum, Univ. of Oslo

Summary

A first approach to biomonitoring in a biodiversity hotspot

The Indo-Burma bioregion, as a global biodiversity hotspot, supports an exceptionally high biodiversity, but freshwater ecosystems are now increasingly impacted by human activities while biomonitoring approaches are lacking. This thesis introduces a novel river biomonitoring approach to Myanmar, an area of Indo-Burma with practically no former experience of freshwater monitoring, using riverine macroinvertebrates as bioindicators. The work comprises four studies that in concert aim to be an impetus for future river biomonitoring in Myanmar. A literature review generated a global overview of pressures on rivers and macroinvertebrate-based approaches used to assess their impacts. Based on the literature review, macroinvertebrate monitoring approaches with worldwide usage were transferred to Myanmar and tested for applicability. Assessment systems were then tailored to suit local conditions. In addition, studies of macroinvertebrate respiration responses to pollution-induced oxygen stress were conducted, showing high impacts on local fauna with low capacity to regulate their oxygen uptake. The present-day situation in Myanmar, with multiple pressures and stressors acting on rivers, impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of rivers. Based on the current knowledge of ecological responses to human-induced stress, riverine macroinvertebrates have considerable potential for biomonitoring in Myanmar when based on existing and well-proven approaches.

Contact

Elisabeth Aronsen 

Organizer

Natural History Museum
Published Apr. 22, 2022 7:55 AM - Last modified May 8, 2023 1:11 PM