Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Chalk Streams

About the project

Our river systems face multiple threats. Summer 2022’s drought, followed by rain and discharge of sewage from overflows, and the widespread problem of plastic pollution, highlight the challenges that we face in managing our water resources under climate change. Chalk streams are among the rarest of freshwater habitats globally and are critical for biodiversity as well as having substantial cultural value1, yet their microbial communities are poorly characterized. Of particular concern are microbes with genes encoding antimicrobial resistance that could contribute to treatment-resistant infections. For example, agricultural run-off of nutrients and pesticides, or pharmaceutical compounds escaping from sewage works, or the contamination with plastic waste2 could all be leading to the enrichment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations. We hypothesise that antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) accumulate at specific sites, such as downstream of wastewater treatment works, or specifically within biofilms on plastics or microplastics. The objective of this project is to assess bacterial communities in different locations in chalk rivers and identify factors that lead to the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Supervisors

• Doctor Marc Dumont (University of Southampton)
• Doctor Kelvin Peh (University of Southampton)
• Doctor Robert Holland (University of Southampton)

Dr Marc Dumont

• Methanotrophs and methane cycling
• Microbial communities in soils, sediments, and aquatic systems
• Biogeochemical cycles

Dr Kelvin Peh

• Kelvin Peh’s interests range from forest ecology to urban wildlife in respect of diversity and distribution. He is interested in all areas of wildlife-human conflicts and wildlife ecology in human-dominated landscapes, and in the application of his research results to the conservation/management of biological resources.
• Tropical Forest Ecology – Kelvin’s work on monodominance in tropical tree-dominated systems - has helped rekindle scientific interest in this fascinating, yet relatively unexplored phenomenon in tropical forests. He is the principal editor of the “Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology Second Edition”, published by Routledge under its “Earthscan” imprint on 7 October 2024 (available at www.routledge.com/9781032348384).
• Ecosystem Services – Kelvin is best known for his leading role in the development of TESSA (Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment). TESSA v3.0, published on 31 Oct 2022, is now available at https://www.birdlife.org/tessa-tools/. For the impacts of TESSA, see: https://bit.ly/4ccpken. He continues working on this ecosystem service assessment project to develop and test novel tools for rapidly assessing the net impact of site-based conservation on the provision of ecosystem services. This project runs in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife International, Tropical Biology Association, Anglia Ruskin University and UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Currently, he is leading the ecosystem service task team of the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyway Initiative.

Dr Robert Holland

• Dr Robert Holland: Lecturer in Natural Sciences

Entry requirements

A 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent , in one of these subjects:

• any Earth or environmental science discipline
• biology
• oceanography or marine science

Fees and funding

INSPIRE studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI). The stipend is in line with UKRI standard levels, including the recent cost of living increase.

All studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years.

How to apply

To make an application, visit the how to apply section of the INSPIRE website .

Contact us

For questions about the project, contact Doctor Marc Dumont:

Email: m.g.dumont@soton.ac.uk

For questions about the application process, contact the graduate school office.

Email: gsnocs@soton.ac.uk

Research areas