Sophie Leterme
Associate Professor
Biological Sciences
Flinders University
Australia
Biography
Sophie received a Master in Biological Oceanography in 2003 (Universite Pierre & Marie Curie - Paris VI, France) and a PhD in Marine Biology in 2006 (University of Plymouth, UK). She did 2 years of post-doctoral work at Flinders University working on the ecology of the Coorong wetlands, focusing on the impact of drought conditions on microbial and plankton communities and on the adaptation of plankton to salinity fluctuations. She took on a Lecturer position at Flinders University in 2008 and was since promoted to Senior Lecturer (2013) and to Associate Professor (2016). She was the deputy node leader of SA-IMOS (South Australian Node of IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System)) for 2009-2015, leading the biological program of SA-IMOS. Her current research focuses on biofouling issues within desalination systems. She also works on the dynamic of plankton communities in various ecosystems. In particular, her work includes different aspects of the effect of environmental change (i.e. drought, acidification, eutrophication) on plankton biology and ecology, with a special focus on diatoms and copepods.
Research Interest
My current research focuses on the dynamic of plankton communities in various ecosystems such as coastal waters, continental shelf, upwelling zones and estuaries (Coorong). My work includes different aspects of the effect of environmental changes on plankton biology and ecology, with a special focus on diatoms and copepods. I also work on the environmental impacts of desalination plants as well as on biofouling issues within desalination systems, focusing on bacteria, picoplankton and phytoplankton.
Publications
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Leterme, S.C., Allais, L., Jendyk, J.G.T., Hemraj, D., Newton, K., Mitchell, J.G., et al. (2015). Drought conditions and recovery in the Coorong wetland, south Australia in 1997–2013. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 163(Part B) pp. 175-184.
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Balzano, S., Abs, E. and Leterme, S.C. (2015). Protist diversity along a salinity gradient in a coastal lagoon. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 74(3) pp. 263-277.
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Balzano, S., Ellis, A., Le Lan, C. and Leterme, S.C. (2015). Seasonal changes in phytoplankton on the north-eastern shelf of Kangaroo Island (South Australia) in 2012 and 2013. Oceanologia, 57(3) pp. 251-262.
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Davies, C., Coughlan, A., Hallegraeff, G., Ajani, P., Armbrecht, L., Atkins, N., et al. (2016). A database of marine phytoplankton abundance, biomass and species composition in Australian waters. Scientific Data - Nature, 3 pp. Art: 160043.
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Leterme, S.C., Le Lan, C.S., Hemraj, D. and Ellis, A.V. (2016). The impact of diatoms on the biofouling of seawater reverse osmosis membranes in a model cross-flow system. Desalination, 392 pp. 8-13.
