Urban
stormwater
ponds
can
simultaneously
harbour
incredible
biological
diversity
and
heavy
contaminant
loads,
but
are
largely
neglected
by
water
monitoring
and
ecological
assessment
efforts.
My
research
will
help
to
develop
a
new
and
biologically-relevant
tool
for
detecting
the
presence
and
concentration
of
pollutants
in
stormwater
using
biofilm
(a.k.a.
microbial
slime!)
sampling
across
a
gradient
of
urbanization.
I’m
also
investigating
potential
toxic
effects
faced
by
stormwater-dwelling
biofilm
consumers,
due
to
the
ability
of
biofilms
to
bioconcentrate
a
wide
array
of
pollutants.
