Freshwater ecologist John Gooderham has spent years studying these tiny indicators of water health.
John co-authored The Waterbug Book, helped launch the National Waterbug Blitz, and played a key role in creating the Waterbug App—a citizen science tool that lets people across Australia collect and share data to help assess the condition of the nation’s rivers.
John was our keynote presenter on April 16 at the Deception Bay Environmental Hub.
He was “Talking about the state of our rivulets | A waterbugs story”.
Waterbugs can actually tell us a lot about how healthy a freshwater ecosystem is over the long term. By looking at the mix of different waterbug species in a river or creek, scientists can gauge what kinds of impacts—like pollution or sediment—have been affecting the waterway.
If you find plenty of waterbugs that are sensitive to pollution, that’s usually a good sign the waterway is in decent shape. But if only the tougher, more tolerant species are around, it often points to problems like erosion, sediment build-up, or contamination.
Daniel Pagotto, a local aquatic ecologist was “Talking about some of the key findings from the RiverWatch Pine Rivers Program”.
You may remember that Dan and his colleague, Jason Ramsay were “Talking about Waterbugs” at the Hub in July last year.
Big congratulations to Dan on his first published research! 🎉 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73003.
He led a study looking at aquatic insects—also known as ‘Riverflies’—and how they live at different elevations in tropical rainforest waterways.
Really exciting work and a great milestone!
Dan shared some of his research findings with us at the Hub.
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Note: Rotary Redcliffe Sunrise and REF Environmental host eco-forums on a range of environmental sustainability topics on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
On May 21, Iris Tsoi will be “Talking about Environmental Health in SEQ --- HLW Report Card 2025” and Sam Gallagher-Becker will be “Talking about Water Dragons”.
On June 18, Brianna Le Busque will be “Talking about our fear of sharks and our connection to ocean”.
