Optimising environmental protocols to benefit native fish populations
Project details
| Objective: | To evaluate the fish community response to inundation in a series of actively managed wetlands on the Murray River. |
| Funding: | Up to $1,845,000 plus applicable GST from the Australian Government towards costs associated with supporting the work program. Total value of the project is $2,565,000, with $720,000 being contributed by the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research. |
| Jurisdiction: | Multi state |
| Commenced: | August 2007 |
| Completion: | May 2011 |
Progress
About the project
A common long-necked turtle, Chelodina longicollis.
Wetland managers and research providers are collaborating in this project through the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre to evaluate the fish community response to inundation in a series of actively managed wetlands on the Murray River.
This project will develop optimal wetting protocols and monitoring recommendations for floodplain wetlands to maximise benefits to native fish communities within river-floodplain ecosystems. The wetting protocols will provide advice on timing, depth, scale and duration of inundation, which will aid in development and selection of indicators and design of future monitoring initiatives. The model will also feature a predictive tool linking wetting events to fish recruitment and incorporating the ecological value of returning water to the river channel.
Project benefits
The wetting protocols developed by this project will enable environmental water managers to implement transparent and comprehensive management strategies in order to maximise benefits to native fish populations. The monitoring protocols will improve the capacity of management agencies to assess the condition of wetlands to determine the appropriate extent of inundation.
This project will assist in increasing the productivity of inland fisheries and assist environmental managers to help reverse the declining condition of many inland fish populations. There is a national demonstration value element to this project.
Related information
National water resource assessment using waterbirds
Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre
Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research project page
Information sheet on the project (355KB)
Watering floodplain wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin for native fish
Coonancoocabil lagoon: demonstration wetland for native fish video