Professor Gillian Dianne Lewis

Professor

In: Biological Sciences » Faculty of Science

Associate Dean-Sustainability

In: Faculty of Science Administration » Faculty of Science

Research | Current

Biofilm Research

Stream biofilms are the focus of our current research. This work focuses on the structure, function and ecological roles of these complex communities.

See the stream biofilm website at www.streambiofilm.org.nz

Current and ongoing projects

Relationship between bacterial community diversity and functional diversity in stream biofilms
Influence of light and flow regimes on bacterial communities in stream biofilms.
Microbial biofilms for enhancement of stormwater treatment systems.
Microbial biofilms for monitoring the ecological health of streams.
The importance of rare bacteria in mixed communities.
Stream microbial food webs

Past/completed projects

Distribution, persistence and fate of human viruses in aquatic systems
Contaminants of Oyster farms by microbial pathogens and indicators
Source distribution and implications of microbial contamination of beaches
Microbiological components and activity in reducing contaminants in stormwater treatment systems
Alternative microbial indicators and water quality
Virus transfer to the air by bubble bursting
Bacterial resuspension from sediments: implications for water quality
Microbial assemblages in wetlands receiving wastewater
The influence of bacterial viruses on the bacterial population dynamics in wastewater treatment systems
Human viruses in New Zealand Rivers
Microbial intervention to reduce methane emissions from waste treatment systems

Research group members

Professor Gillian Lewis (Group Leader)
Yimin Dong (Research and Teaching Technician)
Jo Smith (PhD Student: A Novel Mn depositing stream bacteria)
Joanne Hewitt ( PhD Student : Human Adenovirus: a surrogate for the presence of enteric viruses in food and water based at ESR Porirua)
Anne-Marie Perchec (PhD Student/Graduate research fellow : Is there an environmental clade of Escherichia coli?)

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Zha, H., Lewis, G., Waite, D. W., Wu, J., Chang, K., Dong, Y., & Jeffs, A. (2019). Bacterial communities associated with tail fan necrosis in spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii. FEMS microbiology ecology, 95 (6).10.1093/femsec/fiz070
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Andrew Jeffs
Zha, H., Jones, B., Lewis, G., Dong, Y., & Jeffs, A. (2018). Pathology of tail fan necrosis in the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii. Journal of invertebrate pathology, 154, 5-11. 10.1016/j.jip.2018.03.010
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/43680
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Andrew Jeffs
Zha, H., Jeffs, A., Dong, Y., & Lewis, G. (2018). Potential virulence factors of bacteria associated with tail fan necrosis in the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii. Journal of fish diseases, 41 (5), 817-828. 10.1111/jfd.12791
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/45008
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Andrew Jeffs
Zha, H., Jeffs, A., Dong, Y., & Lewis, G. (2018). Characteristics of culturable bacteria associated with tail fan necrosis in the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii. Bulletin of Marine Science10.5343/bms.2017.1099
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/43103
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Andrew Jeffs
Zha, H., Lewis, G., Alfaro, A., Wang, S., Dong, Y., Grandiosa, R., & Jeffs, A. (2017). Immune status of the spiny lobster Jasus edwardsii with tail fan necrosis. Diseases of aquatic organisms, 126 (3), 229-238. 10.3354/dao03176
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/44899
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Andrew Jeffs
Lear, G., Lau, K., Perchec, A.-M., Buckley, H. L., Case, B. S., Neale, M., ... Lewis, G. (2017). Following Rapoport's Rule: The geographic range and genome size of bacterial taxa decline at warmer latitudes. Environmental Microbiology, 19 (8), 3152-3162. 10.1111/1462-2920.13797
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/36806
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Gavin Lear, Kim Handley
Wagenhoff, A., Clapcott, J. E., Lau, K. E., Lewis, G. D., & Young, R. G. (2017). Identifying congruence in stream assemblage thresholds in response to nutrient and sediment gradients for limit setting. Ecological Applications, 27 (2), 469-484. 10.1002/eap.1457
Wu, J., Anderson, B., Buckley, H., Lewis, G., & Lear, G. (2017). Aspect has a greater impact on alpine soil bacterial community structure than elevation. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 93 (3).10.1093/femsec/fiw253
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/33713
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Gavin Lear