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"I started studying biology because it offered a wide-range of interesting disciplines to choose from. Also, I figured that biology would offer the opportunity to travel the world and visit some beautiful places while doing my job", says Dr Frederieke Kroon. And she was right. Frederieke grew up in The Netherlands, in the small town of Scheemda. In 1991, she completed a Drs degree (which is equivalent to a MSc with BSc) in Biology, with majors in Marine Zoology and Animal Physiology, at the University of Groningen. She then moved to Vancouver, Canada, where she completed her PhD in Zoology at the University of British Columbia. "In my PhD thesis, I examined the occurrence, the social and endocrine context, and adaptive significance of protogynous hermaphroditism (female-to-male sex change) in a temperate marine fish, the blackeye goby (Coryphopterus nicholsii), using a combination of field research and laboratory experiments," says Frederieke.
A key finding from Frederieke's PhD was the role of the aromatase enzyme in regulating female-to-male sex change in fish. This enzyme controls the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, and blocking this enzyme resulted in female gobies turning into male gobies. "Mine was the first study to document the role of this enzyme in mediating sex change in fish. This finding has subsequently been confirmed in other fish species, including gobies that can change sex both ways, and is being explored by the aquaculture industry to regulate fish sex," she says. In 1997, Frederieke moved to Australia to take up a position with the Boston University accredited School for Field Studies, in Yungaburra on north Queensland's Atherton Tableland. Here she lectured in tropical ecology for two years, whilst also acclimatising to the more tropical weather. Frederieke joined CSIRO in 2002, working in Brisbane, Queensland, to develop a new research program on aquatic ecology in tropical rivers and estuaries of Northern Australia. She then returned to Atherton in 2005, to become more involved in natural resource management in the Wet Tropics coastal catchments, particularly in the areas of planning and policy. "Currently, I am managing an A$1.5 million Water Quality Improvement Plan for Queensland's Tully/Murray Wet Tropics coastal catchment area. My main role is to act as a broker, negotiating the science required for the Plan with various research providers," says Frederieke. The Tully/Murray Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) is being developed as part of the Australian and Queensland Governments' Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and is one of seven WQIPs which are underway in Queensland. The aim of the Plan is to develop actions, mechanisms and partnerships to halt and reverse the decline in the quality of water flowing into the Great Barrier Reef. Coordinating the research teams who have provided the science that underpins the WQIP has been no mean feat. Over the last two years, more than 30 scientists from a number of research institutions (including CSIRO, James Cook University, and various State and Federal Government Agencies) have been involved in over 20 different projects in the Tully-Murray region. The research program was divided into three main parts: identifying the social, economic and environmental values of waterways; assessing the current status of water quality; and evaluating the most practical and effective actions to improve water quality. "Producing the Plan has been a real team effort between local industry, Traditional Owners and community groups, council, government agencies and scientists," says Frederieke. "This was important, as we wanted to make sure that we ended up with practical solutions which make sense not only for the environment but for the people implementing them as well." Next Frederieke will be leading a project that will estimate the value of coastal floodplain habitats to commercial, recreational and indigenous fisheries. These coastal waterways provide nursery habitats for juveniles of various fish and prawn species, and as such their protection or rehabilitation can lead to greater numbers of mature fish and prawns downstream. The project will also look at ways in which a market could be created between land owners and fisheries or government to provide incentives for looking after these waterways. Evidently, from the chilly waters of northern Netherland, to the tropical waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a career in biology has certainly lived up to Frederieke's expectations of showing her the world. Contact: |
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| Water for a Healthy Country Flagship CSIRO Editor: Leane Regan CSIRO Black Mountain Laboratories, Canberra, ACT, 2601 Phone: +61 2 6246 4565 Fax: +61 2 6246 5560 editor.healthycountry@csiro.au www.csiro.au/healthycountry/ |
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