Dr Julia Reiss
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management
- Email: julia.reiss@brunel.ac.uk
- Environmental Sciences
Research area(s)
Ecology, Aquatic Ecology, Aquatic Organisms, Pollution of Aquatic Environments, Theotretical Ecology, Allometric Scaling, Protists, Meiofauna, Macrofauna, Antibiotic Pollution, Microplastic Pollution
Research Interests
I am an environmental scientist with a particular interest in the taxonomy and ecology of aquatic organisms and pollution of aquatic environments. In my research I combine ecological theory and environmental topics (e.g., nutrient-, antibiotic- or plastic pollution of fresh waters) and focus on vulnerable taxonomic groups such as organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye but that drive the bulk of ecosystem processes on earth. For example, freshwater quality (i.e., the health of groundwater, lakes or rivers) is maintained by a community composed of mostly tiny organisms.
Research grants and projects
Grants
Funder: BIG South London
Duration: March 2023 - October 2024
Funder: HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Duration: December 2022 - January 2027
Recent evidence of increasing accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics (MnP) in soils and groundwater raise severe concerns by agricultural and water industries, food manufacturers, regulators, environmental interest groups and citizens. Private and public sectors require detailed understanding of environmental and public health risks posed by MnP in soils and groundwater. The PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network creates supra-disciplinary intersectoral capacity for analysing the fate, transport and impacts of MnP in soils and groundwater to develop solutions for reducing their environmental and public health risks, supporting the EC's circular plastic economy strategy. The central aim of the PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network is to deliver international scientific excellence through a holistic supra-disciplinary and inter-sectoral research and training network on solutions to the emerging crisis of MnP pollution in subsurface ecosystems in soils and groundwater, integrating knowledge across traditional discipline boundaries to benefit the public and private sectors. The supra-disciplinary research programme includes unique training opportunities for a cohort of 10 Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) (plus one individually funded through ETHZ as Associated Country partner) in environmental and social science, ecotoxicology, soil science and aquatic ecology, analytical chemistry, agronomy, data science and numerical modelling as well as responsible innovation, method standardization for use in regulatory decision making and risk assessment. The integrated training programme will prepare ESRs with skill sets that are urgently required in agricultural, water, chemical, and manufacturing industries, environmental and regulatory agencies, academia, and the public sector and includes training provision by key stakeholders that will directly benefit from the training in this network.Total funding amount EUR 2,700,000
Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Duration: September 2021 - December 2024
Microplastics are small particles that are found everywhere on earth. Groundwater is the largest source of liquid fresh water and globally 2.5 billion people exclusively depend on it to meet their freshwater needs. While initial surveys indicate microplastics presence in groundwater, the distribution, total quantity and impact of microplastics on groundwater ecosystems is completely unknown. In this 4-year research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust we will use an interdisciplinary approach incorporating ecohydrology, analytical chemistry, mathematical modelling and ecology to 1) establish the first global baseline of groundwater microplastic contamination, 2) investigate microplastic uptake by, and effects on, groundwater food webs, 3) model the global risks of microplastics to groundwater.
Funder: European Union’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Fund
Duration: September 2015 - September 2018
Outputs include Peralta-Maraver, Reiss et al. 2019 (Scientific Reports) and Danner, Reiss et al. 2018 (Science of the Total Environment). Website.
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council Urgency Grant
Duration: February 2014 - September 2014
Outputs include Reiss et al. 2018 (Science of the Total Environment)
Funder: Royal Society
Duration: September 2011 - September 2013
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in freshwater microcosms: manipulating species richness across a wide range of organisms
Funder: University of Roehampton
Duration: September 2011 - October 2011
outputs include Flores, Reiss et al. 2016 (PLOS ONE)
Funder: European Science Foundation
Duration: September 2008 - September 2010
Outputs include a special issue of the journal Oikos – Vol. 120 Issue 4, 2011
Project details
Please see details of current and past projects and grants