https://doi.org/10.59711/jims.12.110030

Meet Our Editor

Meet Our Specialty Chief Editor: Prof. Dimuthu Wijeyaratne

Dimuthu Wijeyaratne is a Professor in the Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Prof. Wijeyaratne graduated from the University of Kelaniya, specializing in Zoology, and she obtained her PhD in Environmental and Conservation Studies from North Dakota State University, USA, focusing on chemical fingerprinting of wetland sediments to identify diverse pollution sources.

Prof. Wijeyaratne has significantly contributed to diverse areas of freshwater and marine wetland-based research in Sri Lanka. She has led research projects funded by the International Foundation for Science, Sweden, and the National Research Council of Sri Lanka. Prof. Wijeyaratne mainly focuses on assessment of the ecological effects of heavy metals and microplastics in the wetland ecosystems. Furthermore, she has extended her research to assess the critical issues such as health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated seafood and green leafy vegetables. Prof. Wijeyaratne’s research has also contributed to the development of allometric relationships to quantify carbon sequestration in the vegetative portion of different species of mangrove plants in the coastal lagoons in Sri Lanka. She has contributed to more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed national and international journals, 3 book chapters, and more than 100 abstracts presented in both international and national research conferences. The Presidential award and the Vice Chancellor’s awards are among the many accolades for her outstanding contributions in research.

Furthermore, Prof. Wijeyaratne has extensive experience in curriculum planning and development and has designed numerous undergraduate and postgraduate course units on Wetland management, Environmental pollution, Basic geology and soil science and Statistics for environmental management. She has also authored study guides for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on core and applied subjects such as Environmental pollution, Environmental health and Ecotoxicology.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Liyanage, U.P. Multimetric Socio‐ecological Assessment of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes (Mart) Solms) Invasion of an Urban Ramsar Wetland Lake. Lakes Reserv. Sci. Policy Manag. Sustain. Use 2024, 29, e12444, doi:10.1111/lre.12444. [Crossref]

2. Amarasena, M.D.M.C.K.; Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N. Bioaccumulation and Health Risks of Chromium and Cadmium in Basella Alba with Emphasis on Urea, Muriate of Potash and Triple Super Phosphate Mixtures. J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka 2024, 52, 371–383, doi:10.4038/jnsfsr.v52i3.11896. [Crossref]

3. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Liyanage, U.P. Macrobenthos‐based RBP II (Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II) as a Tool to Assess the Sediment and Water Quality in a Treated Textile Effluent Receiving Stream Ecosystem Associated with a Wetland Marsh: A Case Study from Sri Lanka. Lakes Reserv. Sci. Policy Manag. Sustain. Use 2021, 26, e12382, doi:10.1111/lre.12382. [Crossref]

4. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Liyanage, P.M. Development of Allometric Equations to Estimate the Stem Carbon Content of Lumnitzera Racemosa and Avicennia Marina in a Tropical Mangrove Ecosystem: A Novel Non-Destructive Approach. Acta Ecol. Sin. 2022, 42, 95–100, doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2021.08.012. [Crossref]

5. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Kumari, E.A.C.S. Heavy Metal Concentrations in the Edible Portions of Centella Asiatica: Health Risk toward Chronic Kidney Disease of Uncertain Etiology. SN Appl. Sci. 2021, 3, doi:10.1007/s42452-021-04666-6. [Crossref]

6. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Kumari, E.A.C.S. Cadmium, Chromium, and Lead Uptake Associated Health Risk Assessment of Alternanthera Sessilis: A Commonly Consumed Green Leafy Vegetable. J. Toxicol. 2021, 2021, 1–7, doi:10.1155/2021/9936254. [Crossref]

7. Wijeyaratne, D.; Bellanthudawa, A. Macrophytes as Indicators of the Ecological Status of a Tropical Rehabilitated Wetland Ecosystem: Application of Multivariate Statistics and Ecological State Macrophyte Index (ESMI). Int. J. Aquat. Biol. 2020, 8, 434–446, doi:10.22034/ijab.v0i0.675. [Crossref]

8. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Nanayakkara, D.B.M. Monitoring of Water Quality Variation Trends in a Tropical Urban Wetland System Located within a Ramsar Wetland City: A GIS and Phytoplankton Based Assessment. Environ. Nanotechnol. Monit. Manag. 2020, 14, doi:10.1016/j.enmm.2020.100323. [Crossref]

9. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Wickramasinghe, P.G.M.U. Chromosomal Abnormalities in Allium Cepa Induced by Treated Textile Effluents: Spatial and Temporal Variations. J. Toxicol. 2020, 2020, 1–10, doi:10.1155/2020/8814196. [Crossref]

10. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Wickramasinghe, P.G.M.U. Treated Textile Effluents: Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Effects in the Natural Aquatic Environment. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 2020, 104, 245–252, doi:10.1007/s00128-019-02768-x. [Crossref]

11. Nilmini Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.; Liyanage, P.M. Allometric Modelling of the Stem Carbon Content of Rhizophora Mucronata in a Tropical Mangrove Ecosystem. Int. J. For. Res. 2020, 2020, 1–6, doi:10.1155/2020/8849413. [Crossref]

12. Wijeyaratne, W.M.D.N.; Shanthamareen, M. Efficacy of Terminalia Arjuna Mature Leaf Powder and Phyllanthus Emblica Bark Powder to Reduce Nitrate: N and Total Hardness in Groundwater in Karstified Limestone Aquifer. Appl. Water Sci. 2020, 10, doi:10.1007/s13201-020-01294-0. [Crossref]

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.