My research focus is in freshwater ecology with a particular interest in seasonal rivers. My current projects address the ecology of mine pit lakes and the wider catchment.

Research areas:

Stable isotope ecology Ecohydrology of dry-tropics rivers Macroinvertebrate ecology Diet and ecology of freshwater fishes Riparian condition and assessment Heavy metal toxicology of microalgae River condition monitoring Dryland river management Effects of grazing on inland rivers

Blanchette, M., Davis, AM., Jardine, TD., Pearson, RG., (2014), Omnivory and opportunism characterize food webs in a large dry-tropics river system. Freshwater Science, 33(1), 142-158, DOI: 10.1086/674632. Blanchette, M., Pearson, R., (2013), Dynamics of habitats and macroinvertebrate assemblages in rivers of the Australian dry tropics. Freshwater Biology, 58(4), 742-757, DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12080. Davis, A., Blanchette, M., Pusey, B., Jardine, T., Pearson, R., (2012), Gut content and stable isotope analyses provide complementary understanding of ontogenetic dietary shifts and trophic relationships among fishes in a tropical river. Freshwater Biology , 57(10), 2156-2172, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02858.x. Blanchette, M., Pearson, R., (2012), Macroinvertebrate assemblages in rivers of the Australian dry tropics are highly variable. Freshwater Science , 31(3), 865-881, DOI: 10.1899/11-068.1. Blanchette, M., Lund, M., Stoney, R., Short, D., Harkin, C., (2016), Bio-physical closure criteria without reference sites: realistic targets in modified rivers. Proceedings of the International Mine Water Association 2016, 586?592. Macdonald, K., Lund, M., Blanchette, M., (2015), Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining on water quality of a tropical river (Surow River, Ghana). 10th ICARD-IMWA 2015 conference proceedings, 1-12, Chile. Macdonald, K., Lund, M., Blanchette, M., McCullough, C., (2014), Regulation of artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana and Indonesia as currently implemented fails to adequately protect aquatic ecosystems. Proceedings of the International Mine Water Association 2014, 401-405. Lund, M., Blanchette, M., (2014), Are we approaching pit lake closure from the wrong perspective?. Proceedings of the International Mine Water Association Congress 2014, 720-724.