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Associate ProfessorLeon Barmuta

Adjunct Associate Professor

Biological Sciences

Orcid identifier0000-0002-8946-3727 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Adjunct Associate Professor
    Biological Sciences
  • +61 3 6226 2645 (Fax)
  • +61 3 6226 2785 (Work)
  • School of Natural Sciences, Biological Sciences, 215a Life Sciences Building, Sandy Bay Campus, TAS

RESEARCH SUMMARy

Status

 

Associate Professor Leon Barmuta will be retiring from the University in early 2026 and is unable to supervise any new Research and Higher Degree students. 

 

Expertise

Ecology of fresh and saline inland waters (streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, wetlands)
Biodiversity and ecosystem function, including threatened fauna and flora in inland waters.
Biological assessment and monitoring of impacts of changed land-uses on freshwater ecosystems, including impacts of invasive freshwater and riparian species.

Research Themes

Leon’s research aligns with the University’s research theme of Environment, Resources and Sustainability with a side-serve of Data, Knowledge and Decisions. His research interests range from pure basic research into how freshwater organisms interact with their habitat and natural disturbances (e.g. floods and droughts), through the impacts of land use change on freshwaters and their biodiversity to interdisciplinary applied projects on adaptation to climate change, wetland restoration and supporting farmers in finding ways to conserve biodiversity and improve ecosystem services while still optimising their agricultural outputs.

Collaboration

Between 1995 and 2002, Associate Professor Leon Barmuta teams across two Universities and eight State and Territory agencies to develop and test the reporting system for AUSRIVAS (Australia’s first biological assessment system for freshwaters), and he served on the all the scientific and technical reference panels throughout the National River Health Program. He has continuing research collaborations on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function with the Forest Practices Authority and Hydro Tasmania since the late 1990's which has included three Australian Research Council Linkage Projects and the CRC for Forestry. He participated in the Galathea 3 Expeditions (2006-7: Danish Expedition Foundation, University of Copenhagen) to research food-web interactions and the impact of introduced trout in Tasmanian lakes. He is currently part of two major international collaborations on carbon processing in inland waters, DECODIV led by the University of the Basque Country in Spain and the CELLDEX led by Oakland University in the USA. Both have over 20 collaborators on all the inhabited continents and several island nations. Most recently he has become a member of the Australian Mountain Research Facility, led by the Australian National University which is researching climate change impacts to alpine and subalpine environments in south-eastern
Australia

Awards
2020-21 Kansas State University Fulbright Scholar
1987 Water Research Achievement Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research, Australian Water Research Advisory Council.

2013 Hilary Jolly Gold Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Freshwater Ecology, Australian Society for Limnology

Current projects

Resilience of managed lakes to water-level manipulation.
Impacts of fine sediment from forestry and agriculture on small headwater streams.
Linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem function in disturbed river catchments.
Evaluating the potential of eDNA for surveying Giant Freshwater Crayfish (Astacopsis gouldi) – the world’s largest freshwater invertebrate.

FUNDED PROJECTS

  • GRANT
    NESP RL: Restoration by design: improving biodiversity outcomes from Australias restoration investments
    1 Sep 2024 - 30 Jun 2027
    People funded by this grant:
    • Jones M,
    • Breed M,
    • Adams V,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $221,188; To achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity we need to understand what social and ecological factors contribute to the success of restoration programs. By looking at past and present successes around Australia, we can make recommendations to improve future programs. To inform restoration program decision-making, this program is answering 2 fundamental questions: How are changes in biodiversity during restoration activities measured by key proponents of restoration in Australia (e.g. policy makers, restoration practitioners, landholders, research users, researchers)? Have restoration investments aimed at improving biodiversity been successful, and what factors (e.g. restoration practices, landholder characteristics, social context, socioeconomic attributes, Indigenous land management) are associated with intermediate outcomes, such as landholder participation and positive outcomes for biodiversity? This is being achieved through a series of activities involving stakeholder engagement, examination of existing restoration monitoring and evaluation methods, and evaluation of biodiversity outcomes from existing projects. Funded by: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Grant; University of Western Australia; University of Tasmania ($25,994).
  • GRANT
    Best practices for the management of bankside (riparian) vegetation to maximise the benefits for water quality and aquatic health
    20 Mar 2023 - 29 Mar 2024
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $56,597; 1. Novelty: updates best practices for riparian management. 2. Creativity: based on recent advances in conceptual modes of how rivers and riparian zones interact. 3. Uncertainty: limited emprical testing has been undertaken in such landscapes. 4. Planning and bugeting: part of a package of four research projects entitled A drought resilient agricultural landscape in the Midlands planned and budgetted through the TASAg Innovation Hub. 5. Transferability: baked into the process of conducting a systematic review Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Future Drought Fund ($56,597); University of Tasmania.
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Woods Lake Project Support
    1 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2024
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $36,176; Provision of expert advice and data analysis to support Hydro Tasmanias management of cyanobacterial blooms in Woods Lake, central Tasmania Funded by: Hydro Electric Corporation ($36,176); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Improving the long-term viability of the endangered swan Galaxias
    Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment23 Jun 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
    People funded by this grant:
    • Hemer J,
    • Burridge C,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $250,000; This project aims to improve the trajectory of the endangered Swan galaxias. It builds on previous work, and applies new techniques and technologies to habitat modelling to identify previously undiscovered populations and inform site selection for on-ground restoration works. It will develop eDNA markers for population sampling as a tool in routine river health monitoring by partner organisations, and trial translocation strategies to protect genetic diversity and safeguard population size. The project addresses some of the key threats to the species and builds resilience in populations in anticipation of the impacts of climate change. It is a collaborative project involving the State Government (IFS and NRET), UTas, NRM South and NRM North. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Grant - Environment Restoration Fund; Southern Regional Natural Resource Management Association Inc (NRM South); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Agricultural Innovation Hubs Program
    Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment1 Apr 2022 - 29 Feb 2024
    People funded by this grant:
    • Knowles S,
    • Mohammed C,
    • Kumar S,
    • Field B,
    • Jones M
    Project Total: $2,556,029; The University of Tasmania hosts one of eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs established across Australia under the Commonwealth's Future Drought Fund. Hubs are intended to be enduring institutions. The current proposal is about the Commonwealth's call to expand the Hubs' remit to service four priority areas under the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda. If funded, the Hub in Tasmania will need to operate under two agreements: the current agreement for the 'Drought Hub' and a new agreement that is about developing the Hub's pathway to expansion, while continuing to deliver to the 'Drought Hub' under the current agreement. This proposal presents the Hub's Statement of Claims on its ability and commitment to deliver practical activities and a business case that supports the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Agricultural Innovation Hubs Program ($2,499,999); Optimum Standard (Aus) Pty Ltd ($56,030); University of Tasmania ($100,000).
  • GRANT
    Reconstructing atmospheric deposition, nutrient cycling and history of lakes in the Tasmanian Central Highlands
    1 Jul 2021 - 17 Aug 2026
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Stevens H
    Project Total: $34,650; The water level regimes of several lakes in the Central Highlands, Tasmania, Australia, are manipulated by Hydro Tasmania for power generation and irrigation supply. This has led to concerns regarding the ecological stability and resilience of these lakes under varying water levels. I will use geochemical indicators (C, N, and P concentrations, grain size, 𝛿15N, 𝛿13C) as well as isotopic dating techniques to trace changes in lake habitats, nitrogen sources, and sediment and nutrient fluxes because they have probably been altered by damming and subsequent water level manipulations. I then propose to investigate metal concentrations to see if they meet interim sediment quality guidelines because atmospheric metal contamination may be an issue from current and legacy mining operations on the West Coast of Tasmania. This will also include isotope ratios of lead because they have the potential to indicate the sources of the lead (and l other metal contaminants); and levoglucosan concentrations because it acts as a proxy for biomass burning and the ratios between levoglucosan and its isomers (mannosan and galactosan) may indicate the type of biomass burnt. Funded by: Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering - Scholarship-Postgraduate Research ($34,650); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Drought Resilience Tasmania - Actionable Knowledge and Solutions for Sustainable Prosperity
    16 Jun 2021 - 30 Jun 2027
    People funded by this grant:
    • Knowles S,
    • Mohammed C,
    • Kumar S,
    • Field B,
    • Jones M
    Project Total: $16,037,500; Water is a major asset for Tasmania linked to livelihoods, energy production, irrigated and rainfed agriculture, environmental management and conservation. Competing demands for water intensify during droughts and as hot and dry years increase in number. Wise and fair water management requires a multi-stakeholder partnership to innovate for drought resilience, optimal water management and self-reliance. Our Hub will enable drought preparedness in Tasmania through collective and co-designed actions that sustain Tasmania's high-value, clean, green international brand. We will engage with local knowledge and land stewardship through a deliberate and negotiated process and uphold the rights of Tasmanian Aboriginal people to benefit from innovations they enable. The Hub, for the first time, brings together the major players - farmers, land and water managers, researchers, and indigenous knowledge owners - who, together can reduce the risks associated with drought in Tasmania. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Future Drought Fund ($16,384,300); The Northern Tasmanian Natural Resource Management Assoc Inc. ($513,000); Private Forests Tasmania ($50,000); The Derwent Catchment Project Inc ($50,000); East Coast Primary Producers Association ($3,000); Landcare Tasmania ($1,000); University of Tasmania ($1,324,683).
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Invertebrate biomonitoring: A Geoscience Tool for AMD Remediation in Western Tasmania
    Mineral Resources Tasmania1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2021
    People funded by this grant:
    • Miller C,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $5,701; Mineralogical and geochemical analysis of river sediment can provide insights to the environmental behaviour and mobility of metals of concern in the impacted freshwater environments. However, inorganic analysis may not provide a direct understanding of the ecological health of freshwater systems. By assessing seasonal variations in water quality, sediment mineralogy, and invertebrate populations, this project aims to inform the development of reliable tools which can be used to assess and monitor the progress of remediation effort at legacy mine sites in western Tasmania. Funded by: Mineral Resources Tasmania ($5,701); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    NESP RL: Resilient Landscapes Solutions Hub
    1 Jan 2021 - 28 Feb 2028
    People funded by this grant:
    • Stoeckl N,
    • Douglas M,
    • Adams V,
    • Jones M,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $47,082,640; The Resilient Landscapes Solutions (RLS) consortium Hub will work collaboratively with the Department of Agriculture Water and Environment to co-design and deliver critical research solutions to maintain, strengthen and restore landscape resilience, including a special focus on the conservation of nationally threatened species, ecological communities and migratory species. The RLS Hub's vision is to provide a truly national approach that underpins the adaptive management of terrestrial and freshwater habitats that strengthens whole-of-landscape recovery from major change such as wildfire and invasive species. The RLS Hub will catalyse action through a participatory Solutions Science? approach which empowers users with the knowledge and tools to implement solutions to environmental challenges. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Grant-National Environmental Science Prgm (NESP); Central Queensland University; University of Western Australia; Flinders University; Curtin University; La Trobe University; Charles Darwin University; Queensland University of Technology; Macquarie University; University of New England; University of Southern Queensland; CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation; Bush Heritage Australia; University of Nottingham; University of Tasmania ($851,621).
  • GRANT
    Postgraduate Scholarship - Rowan Alden
    18 Nov 2019 - 24 Jul 2027
    People funded by this grant:
    • Horner C,
    • Barmuta L,
    • Jones M
    Project Total: $54,000; The project will develop a method for measuring environmental sustainability at the farm-level. Funded by: Meat and Livestock Australia - Scholarship-Postgraduate ($54,000); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    How much species diversity can you lose?
    Australian Research Council10 Jul 2019 - 6 Jun 2025
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Robson B,
    • Death
    Project Total: $242,994; There is a critical need to test the common assumption in environmental management that high biodiversity makes ecosystems resilient to disturbances. Studies that merely observe biodiversity change after disturbance cannot identify ecological processes connecting high diversity and ecosystem function, making experiments that manipulate identical disturbances in ecosystems with different biodiversity essential. This project will use field experiments that manipulate disturbances in streams replicated in low and high biodiversity regions and across gradients of chronic background stress to show how biodiversity sustains functional ecosystems, and how much diversity can be lost before ecosystems collapse. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Discovery Projects ($242,994); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Feedback responses in shallow lake ecosystems
    Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment1 Jul 2018 - 31 Dec 2021
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Proemse B,
    • Kahlon S
    Project Total: $9,245; The main aim of my PhD project is to produce and refine models of two shallow, nutrient poor lakes in the central highlands of Tasmania. These models will allow me to simulate the feedback responses between turbidity (water losing clarity due to particles in the water column), aquatic plants, sediment type and water level. By producing models of these lakes, I will be able to predict lake responses to environmental change. This allows proactive management strategies to be adopted to prevent undesirable outcomes such as increased turbidity, algal blooms, and death of aquatic plants. To produce accurate models, I need qualitative data on aquatic plant germination time and time to sexual maturity. I am seeking support to conduct a seed bank experiment. The specific questions to be addressed by the proposed experiment are: * How long does it take for aquatic plants (charophytes and other macrophytes) to germinate? * How much time after inundation is needed for the dominant macrophyte species reproduce sexually and replenish the seed bank? * Does the community composition of rewetted sediment differ from that of current vegetation? * Are all current functional groups currently known to be in the lakes represented in the seed bank? The results of the seed bank experiment will directly inform models. As well as using models to inform management strategies I am able to evaluate how appropriate the 'Alternative Stable States' theory of lake response to environmental change is as a predictor of water clarity in these lakes. This paradigm suggests that shallow lakes can exist in self-reinforcing states: clear water and turbid water, until environmental factors force a change of state. The majority of the accepted examples of this scenario occur in response to nutrient enrichment. Using the models for simulation studies will allow me to evaluate if 'Alternative Stable States' can exist in shallow, nutrient poor lakes. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($9,245); University of Tasmania.
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Sources of turbidity in Arthurs Lake, Tasmania
    Hydro Electric Corporation1 Jan 2018 - 31 Dec 2019
    People funded by this grant:
    • Proemse B,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $37,084; This project investigates the sources of turbidity in Arthurs Lake, Central Plateau, Tasmania, using an array of sediment traps at two locations within the lake. Mineralogical and geochemical composition of the collected sediment retrieved from the traps will be compared with lake bed sediment and soil/ash samples from the shoreline. This study aims to identify whether post-bush fire conditions have a negative impact on water quality in the lake, and if ash from surface runoff contributes to increased turbidity in the lake. Funded by: Hydro Electric Corporation ($37,084); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Algal blooms and declining water quality: identifying key nutrient sources using isotopic fingerprinting
    University of Tasmania1 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2016
    People funded by this grant:
    • Proemse B,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $14,985; This project will use isotopic fingerprinting to identify the key sources of nutrients that drive algal pollution of drinking water in Tasmania's densest populated river basin: the River Derwent Catchment. Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Research Enhancement (REGS); University of Tasmania ($14,985).
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Assessment of Freshwater Values in Hydrowood Operations
    Global-Mark Pty Ltd1 Jan 2016 - 31 Mar 2017
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $11,032; Assess whether proposed timber harvesting operations in hydro-electric water storages comply with environmental audit requirements for freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem processes Funded by: Global-Mark Pty Ltd ($11,032); University of Tasmania.
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Invertebrates of Great Lake
    Hydro Electric Corporation1 Jan 2016 - 31 Jul 2017
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Watson A
    Project Total: $17,400; This project will identify selected macroinvertebrates from 100 separate samples collected by Hydro Tasmania from Great Lake in late summer and early autumn in 2016 using a rapid, presence-absence protocol. Funded by: Hydro Electric Corporation ($17,400); University of Tasmania.
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Projects Integration for the Revision of the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality
    Hydrobiology Qld Pty Ltd1 Jan 2016 - 31 Mar 2018
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $22,875; Funded by: Hydrobiology Qld Pty Ltd ($22,875); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Tracing water quality changes in water-level manipulated lakes in central Tasmania using high resolution core scanning and isotopic dating techniques
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering1 Jul 2015 - 30 Jun 2016
    People funded by this grant:
    • Proemse B,
    • Barmuta L,
    • Maxwell C,
    • Visby I
    Project Total: $8,005; This project uses existing analytical tools to develop novel approaches for reconstructing the sediment resuspension history in shallow lakes. The sediment cores retrieved for this study are from two water-manipulated lakes (Hydro Tasmania), and results will generate new understanding of water turbidity and nutrient availability from sediment resuspension events depending on the lakes water levels. This knowledge will create new management strategies according to the Hydro Tasmania Sustainability Code. Funded by: Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering - Award-Research ($8,005); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Approaches to evaluating the biological structure of stream ecosystems
    Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment2 Jun 2014 - 30 Jun 2017
    People funded by this grant:
    • Carver S,
    • Magierowski R,
    • Botwe P,
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $16,500; This project will take advantage of an existing database describing land use characteristics, water quality and other environmental variables spanning streams from Natural Resource Management areas across South Australia. The dataset is under the banner of the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS) comprising over 900 stream sites periodically sampled since 1997, with the South Australian Environmental Protection Authority as the lead agency for the program and the Australian Water Quality Centre (South Australian Corporation) as a third party partner. Models of a-diversity will be explored using taxonomic and trait-based approaches in response to land-use and other environmental variables. To achieve this, regression models will be used to evaluate the hypothesized drivers (e.g. salinity, stream flow, nutrient condition, land-use type) of community structure. Information theoretic approaches will then be used to compare multiple models or hypothesis. The project will then compare and contrast how the best models of taxonomic indices compare to best models of trait-based indices. Structural equation models will be used to model direct and indirect determinants of macroinvertebrates. Coefficients associated with these direct and indirect pathways and their significance will be obtained and how much of the variation in the macroinvertebrate communities will be explained by the direct and indirect environmental determinants. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($16,500); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Resilience of lake ecosystems to water-level manipulation
    Australian Research Council11 Feb 2014 - 31 Dec 2018
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Hipsey M,
    • Maxwell C
    Project Total: $570,000; This project will identify the role of water-level manipulation in structuring key ecosystem processes across a range of shallow lakes to determine which conditions foster resilience. We will provide an explicit and generalisable framework to enable authorities for the first time to predict how a shallow lake will respond to changes in water level. This will be an important advance in ongoing challenges Australia faces in minimising threats to biodiversity, developing lake-specific operating rules to preserve environmental values, and providing a basis for adapting lake management to climate change. This will provide a scientific basis or moving from reactive to proactive management, by targeting leading rather than lagging environmental variables. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Linkage Projects Round 1 ($400,000); Hydro Electric Corporation ($170,000); University of Tasmania ($73,959).
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Analysing trends in native fish data from Great Lake
    Hydro Electric Corporation1 Jan 2013 - 30 Jun 2015
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $9,783; Funded by: Hydro Electric Corporation ($9,783); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Joining the dots: integrating climate and hydrological models to manage risks and develop options for conserving freshwater biodiversity
    Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency1 Oct 2011 - 31 Dec 2012
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Davies P,
    • Read M
    Project Total: $349,545; Funded by: Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency - Grant-NCCARF Freshwater Biodiversity ($349,545); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Processes of Headwater Streams in Natural and Managed Catchments
    Institute of Foresters of Australia1 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2012
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Burrows R
    Project Total: $2,500; Funded by: Institute of Foresters of Australia - Grant-Maxwell Ralph Jacobs Fund ($2,500); University of Tasmania.
  • CONSULTANCY/CONTRACT RESEARCH
    Dunns Creek Environmental Flows Survey
    Woodlots and Wetlands Pty Ltd1 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L
    Project Total: $6,834; Funded by: Woodlots and Wetlands Pty Ltd ($6,834); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Research conducted by PhD Candidate Ryan Burrows
    Forest Practices Authority1 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010
    People funded by this grant:
    • Barmuta L,
    • Burrows R
    Project Total: $2,000; Funded by: Forest Practices Authority - Donation ($2,000); University of Tasmania.