Snakes as a bioindicator of wetland pollution with Damian Lettoof (Part 1 of 2)

We kick off season 3 of the Ocean Protect Podcast with Damian Lettoof - a PhD Candidate at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. Damien has been catching and analysing wild wetland tiger snakes around Perth as part of his PhD research. His analysis shows metal contamination in these snakes is chronic, and highest in human-disturbed wetlands, suggesting all other plants and animals in these wetlands are likely contaminated as well. We talk about the research, along with a few tips on how best to leave the snake encounters to Damian.

Useful links:

• Damian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-lettoof-78905a71/?originalSubdomain=au
• Lettoof et al, 2021 “We tested tiger snake scales to measure wetland pollution in Perth/ The news is worse than expected”, published in The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/we-tested-tiger-snake-scales-to-measure-wetland-pollution-in-perth-the-news-is-worse-than-expected-153797
• Lettoof et al, 2021, Snake scales record environmental metal(loid) contamination, Journal of Environmental Pollution, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749121001251
• Lettoof et al, 2021, The Broad-Scale Analysis of Metals, Trace Elements, Organochlorine Pesticides and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Wetlands Along an Urban Gradient, and the Use of a High Trophic Snake as a Bioindicator, Journal of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-020-00724-z

This is the first of our two-part chat with Damian with the second (and final) part released next week.

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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