Mrs Ieva Reuangkhuma
PhD Student

Research area(s)

Current thesis title: Interactive Effects of Antibiotics and Temperature on Freshwater Bacteria.

My research looks at multi-stressor impact on freshwater bacteria living in rivers and streams. Freshwater bodies receive constant loading of contamination from human-made pollutants like pharmaceuticals. This pollution is complex and often consists of ‘cocktails’ of pollutants, which in turn can be affected by shifts in temperature. Together both of these stressors can cause vital environmental microorganisms, such as bacteria, to respond unpredictably, leading to imbalances in ecosystem functioning performed by bacteria, affecting food webs and contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater systems to potential pathogens. Previous research by my supervisor Dr Julia Reiss has shown that antibiotic mixtures in the environment can increase harm, even when individual antibiotic concentrations are not harmful (interacting in synergy). To better understand these interactions, I am performing experiments to assess the effects of antibiotic cocktails under diverse temperature scenarios across various freshwater bacterial species. On the other hand, prior experiments have shown some bacteria can naturally break down antibiotics, reducing pollution. And this process -bioremediation can be affected by temperature and other abiotic factors, but also by biotic factors, such as microscopic predators – ciliates. I will be creating micro- food webs to test this. My general aim is to create a model and predict how antibiotic mixtures and temperature jointly influence bacterial communities, ensuring more accurate predictions of ecosystem responses to these stressors.

Primary Supervisor: Dr Julia Reiss

Secondary Supervisor: Dr Alice Baynes

Research Interests

Research interests: Freshwater microbiology / Ecology / Freshwater ecosystems and food webs / Microorganisms and Bacteria / Freshwater pollution: detection, analysis, prevention / Pharmaceutical pollution / Antibiotic Resistance