
Dr Christopher Keneally
Grant Funded Researcher (A)
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
I am a microbial ecologist based in the Freshwater & Ecophysiology Lab, interested in how microbes influence human, animal, and ecosystem health through their central roles in the environment.
My research explores microbial community dynamics in diverse ecosystems (from clinical contexts to the natural environment), combining remote aquatic fieldwork, sensor development, wet lab microbiology, multi-omics (DNA/RNA/Metabolomics), isotope tracing, biogeochemical modelling, data science and bioinformatics.
By answering questions about complex systems, my research aims to inform ecosystem restoration, one-health, and climate-adaptation strategy.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Current Research Themes
Methane drivers in aquatic systems – tracing methane-cycling biogeochemical pathways from rivers and lakes to wetlands, reservoirs, and wastewater plants.
Salinity as an ecological filter – mapping microbial succession across broad hypersaline gradients.
Nutrient fluxes & microbial function – using, traditional, passive sampling, and eDNA approaches to quantify nutrient–microbe coupling in aquatic systems.
Microbial early-warning indicators – Developing eDNA/eRNA tools for ecosystem-health assessments.
Opportunities for BSc. Honours Projects
- Salinity & GHGs – quantifying greenhouse gas dynamics under climate-induced salinity changes.
- Salinity & Microbiomes – using data science and bioinformatic approaches to analyse salinity induced microbiome shifts.
- GHG sensor development – development and engineering of cost-effective DIY sensor applications for use in extreme Australian environments.
These projects suit students interested in microbial ecology, environmental chemistry or data science/bioinformatics. Lab, fieldwork, and R/python/bash support are provided. See here for more information.
Email christopher.keneally@adelaide.edu.au with a statement of research interests.
Informal enquiries welcome.
Recent Research Highlights
'Salty soup': climate threat to vital lagoon ecosystems – The Canberra Times, 1 June 2025.
Salt on the rise: What lagoon microbes reveal about the future of coastal ecosystems – Environment Institute, May 2025.
↳ Our 2025 Earth-Science Reviews paper showed the impacts of human activity and climate change are coalescing to make coastal lagoons saltier, changing the microbial life they support and the function they play in their ecosystems. Coastal lagoons, and the microbes within, are some of the planet’s most sensitive indicators of change. These ecosystems offer important opportunities for protecting biodiversity, supporting livelihoods, and securing climate co-benefits.
When a 1-in-100-year flood washed through the Coorong, it made the vital microbiome of this lagoon healthier – The Conversation, 27 Mar 2025.
↳ Our 2025 Water Research study showed the 2022 Murray-Darling flood pulse cut methane production potential, boosted nutrient-removing taxa, and triggered whole-of-food-web rebounds in the internationally important and severely degraded Coorong wetland. The Conversation piece distils these findings for a general audience and underscores why well-timed environmental flows are critical for wetland restoration.
Organic matter fuels methane hotspots in hypersaline lagoons – Limnology & Oceanography, Sept 2024.
↳ Our 2024 study in Limnology & Oceanography showed that fine sediment “sinks” in the Coorong stockpile organic matter, enriching methylotrophic methanogens and driving concentrated CH₄ production despite high sulfate levels (which is typically thought to suppress CH₄ in coastal environments). By linking organic matter, Archaeal community shifts and greenhouse-gas, the paper highlights an underappreciated emissions source in global Carbon budgets and underscores the need to factor extreme lagoons into climate models.
PhD Summary
Salinity-Dependent Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemical Dynamics in a Degraded Hypersaline Coastal Lagoon
My PhD decoded the microbiology and functional genomics driving nutrient and carbon cycling in the hypersaline Coorong: A Ramsar-listed wetland of international importance at the Murray-Darling estuary, South Australia. The work points to practical bioremediation options and shows how microbes adapt to extreme stress, informing climate models, and some aspects of early-Earth development and astrobiology.
PhD Research Summary video, winner of a communication award at The University of Adelaide's Ingenuity 2021 - Accompanying research poster
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2024 - ongoing Post-doctoral Researcher University of Adelaide 2021 - 2024 PhD Candidate University of Adelaide 2020 - ongoing Lecturing & Demonstration The University of Adelaide 2019 - 2020 Research Assistant The University of Adelaide -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2025 Research Award Postgraduate Research Service Prize The University of Adelaide (School of Biological Sciences) Australia $1000 2024 Award PhD Publication Award The University of Adelaide (School of Biological Sciences) Australia $1000 2024 Research Award Associate Professor George Ganf Prize in Aquatic Science The University of Adelaide Australia $5000 2024 Fellowship The Max Day Environmental Science Fellowship Award (High Commendation) Australian Academy of Science Australia $20,000 2021 Award Ingenuity Communications Award (3rd Prize) The University of Adelaide Australia - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2020 - 2025 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD 2019 - 2020 The University of Adelaide Australia Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science 2015 - 2018 The University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science (Microbiology & Immunology) -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Conference Items
Year Citation 2023 Keneally, C., Southgate, M., Chilton, D., Kidd, S., & Brookes, J. (2023). Microbial ecology & methane production in a hypersaline coastal lagoon. Poster session presented at the meeting of Freshwater Sciences 2023. Brisbane. 2022 Keneally, C., Southgate, M., Chilton, D., Dornan, T., & Brookes, J. (2022). Sediment microbial ecology and methane dynamics during resuspension events in a hypersaline coastal lagoon. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 36th Congress of the International Society for Limnology (SIL, 2022). Berlin, Germany: International Society of Limnology (SIL). -
Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2022 Huang, J., Welsh, D. T., Erler, D. V., Ferguson, A., Brookes, J., Keneally, C., . . . Mosley, L. (2022). Coorong nutrient cycling and fluxes (22/7). Goyder Institute for Water Research. 2022 Huang, J., Welsh, D. T., Erler, D. V., Ferguson, A., Brookes, J., Keneally, C., . . . Mosley, L. (2022). Coorong nutrient cycling and fluxes (22/7). Goyder Institute for Water Research. 2021 Dornan, T. N., Mills, J. G., Shiel, R., Keneally, C., Dorji, T., Deane, D., . . . Brookes, J. D. (2021). Monitoring microinvertebrate response to environmental watering events in the SA River Murray in 2020. -
Theses
Year Citation 2020 Keneally, C. (2020). Towards Recovery of the Coorong: A Framework for Investigating Denitrification, Diversity & Other Functional Roles of Microbial Communities in Hypersaline Sediments. (Undergraduate Dissertation).
- 2024 - 2026 Enhancing the predictive modelling platform and assessing the climate impacts on ecosystem services of the CLLMM to guide adaptation strategies. Cwth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. CI: Brookes, J.D. Investigators: Hipsey, M.R., Huang, P., Zhai,S., Mosley, L., Keneally, C.C., Leterme, S., Ye, Q., Sarakinis, K.G., Earle, J., Bailleul, F., Howson, T., Bi, P., Anikeeva, O., Hansen, A., O'Connor, P., Wedderburn, S., Grigg, B.
- 2025 - 2027 River Torrens Debris Program (Phase 1-3). Green Adelaide Landscape Board Project. CI: Brookes, J.D. Investigators: Delean S., Keneally, C.C., Kearslake T.
Travel Grants etc.
- 2023 Student Travel Grant - Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)
- 2018 Global Learning Travel Grant
Coursework teaching
- ENV BIOL 3004: Freshwater Ecology III (Semester 1 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) - Lecturing, demonstrating & tutoring
- ENV BIOL 2502 - Ecology II (Semester 2 2024) - Guest lecturer
- BIOLOGY 1101: Molecules, Genes, & Cells (Semester 1 2022 & 2023) - Demonstrating
Informal supervision
- PPR3: Principles and Practices of Research (Semester 2 2021 & 2024) - Supervision of undergraduate research students
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Other Supervision Activities
Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name 2025 - 2025 Co-Supervisor Sulfide inhibition of methane oxidation in the Coorong, South Australia University of Adelaide Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science Honours Full Time James Hensel 2020 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Denitrification rates in sediments of the Coorong, South Australia University of Adelaide Principles & Practice of Research (Advanced) III Other Full Time Matilda Southgate
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2024 - ongoing Member Biology Society of South Australia (BSSA) Biology Society of South Australia Australia 2022 - 2023 President Biology Society of South Australia (BSSA) Biology Society of South Australia Australia 2021 - 2022 Secretary Biology Society of South Australia (BSSA) Biology Society of South Australia Australia -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2021 - ongoing Member Australian Freshwater Sciences Society Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles