Jacob John, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Aquatic Biology
Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box 1987 PERTH. W.A 6845 AUSTRALIA

Education & Experience

Jacob John received his Bsc. and Msc. from the University of Madras in 1959 and 1961 respectively. He received his PhD from the University of Western Australia in 1984. He is currently Associate Professor in Aquatic Biology & Postgraduate Coordinator in the Department of Environmental Biology at Curtin University of Technology. He has had 30 years of teaching and research experience in India, Ethiopia, U.S.A, Greece and Australia. In 1994, he received the Vice-Chancellor's award for excellence in Research and Teaching at Curtin University. He is editor of the Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany (1995 - 1998 & 2001 - to date). In 1998, he was chairman of the 15th International Diatom Symposium (IDS). Afterwards, he was editor of the 15th IDS proceedings, which were published in 2001. He is currently Vice-President and Australian Chairman of the International Society for Micropalaeontology, Microbiology and Meiobenthology. He has described 25 new species of diatoms, including 4 species from saline waters of Western Australia. His research interests include: salt lakes (several projects on arid zone ephemeral salt lakes in Western Australia), stromatolites, rehabilitation of mine-voids, artificial wetlands, water quality, algae, charophytes as tools of remediation (phycoremediation), algal blooms, diatoms as surrogate biodiversity indicators and biomonitors of aquatic systems (streams, rivers and lakes; two national projects on the use of diatoms as biomonitors).

Five Representative Publications

John, J. (1983). Diatom Flora of the Swan River Estuary, Western Australia. Bibliotheca Phycologia. 64: 1-359. J. Cramer., Vaduz. 360pp.

John, J. (1991). Climaconeis stromatolitis, a new species of diatom from Shark Bay, Western Australia. Diatom Research 6(1): 49-54.

John, J. (1993). Morphology and ultrastructure of Mastogloia cocconeiformis from Shark Bay, Western Australia. Phycologia 32(5) 388-394.

John, J. (2000). Diatom prediction and classification system for urban streams. LWRRDC Canberra, 156 pp.

John, J. (2001). (Ed) Proceedings of the 15th International Diatom Symposium. Koeltz Scientific Books, West Germany, 520 pp.

Candidate's Statement

My interest in ISSLR stems from several years of research and consultancy work on inland arid zone salt lakes, estuaries and marine embayments of Western Australia. Being an active member of the Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany, the International Society for Micropalaeontology, Microbiology and Meiobenthology and the International Society for Diatom Research, I can contribute to the development of ISSLR, devoted to saline aquatic environments, from a perspective of saline biota, particularly microalgae. Salinisation has emerged as a vital issue in many parts of the world as water resources become sparse. Saline aquatic environments - inland, estuarine and marine - will be of great significance for future research. My experience as the chairman of the 15th International Diatom Symposium, program secretary for the 5th World Wetlands Conference and chairman of the 17th Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany Conference, will be of significant use to the development and furthering the goals of ISSLR. -- Jacob John

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