Please see below an opportunity for a Master's or PhD (preferred) project at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Sydney, NSW, Australia entitled 'Assessing the environmental impacts arising from burying marine wildlife carcasses containing euthanasia and sedative drugs'. This project comes with a partial PhD stipend. Project Synopsis: This is a collaborative and innovative project between the University of Sydney, DCCEEW, NSW Environment Protection Authority, and NSW Health Pathology. The project will evaluate tissue and environmental samples from buried cetaceans to understand impacts from euthanasia and sedative drugs and management options for carcass burials in the natural environment. The main aim of this project is to determine whether there are environmental impacts arising from the burial of marine wildlife carcasses. The project aims to: 1. Assess the persistence of euthanasia and sedative drugs in different organs of whale carcasses. 2. Determine if drugs leach from buried carcasses and, if so, assess the temporal and spatial extent and associated environmental harm, if any. 3. Investigate whether differing burial conditions affect persistence and leaching of the drugs from whale carcasses and their movement in the environment. With the assistance of scientists at DCCEEW and NSW Health Pathology, the candidate will extract and quantify euthanasia and sedative drugs in water, soil and animal tissues from whale carcass burial sites in NSW. The results of this project will be used to inform the management and burial of culturally significant marine carcasses in NSW. Further information can be found here: https://www.sydney.edu.au/research/opportunities/3468.html Dr Rachael Gray BVSc PhD Associate Professor Veterinary Pathology Sydney School of Veterinary Science The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Email: rachael.gray@sydney.edu.au<mailto:rachael.gray@sydney.edu.au> Phone: (02) 9351 2643 We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional custodians of the country on which The University of Sydney campuses stand and our responsibility to respect and care for country, people and spirit.