- Victoria, Australia
Nick Bond
La Trobe University, Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Faculty Member
- Griffith University, Australian Rivers Institute, Faculty Memberadd
© Murray–Darling Basin Authority for and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority logo and The Murray–Darling Freshwater Research Centre logo, all... more
© Murray–Darling Basin Authority for and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority logo and The Murray–Darling Freshwater Research Centre logo, all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence (http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/).
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MMCP Collaboration (MMCP) is a project supported by the Joint State Governments and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to generate and adopt freshwater ecological knowledge through collaboration, to maintain research capability and... more
MMCP Collaboration (MMCP) is a project supported by the Joint State Governments and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to generate and adopt freshwater ecological knowledge through collaboration, to maintain research capability and contribute supporting science to underpin the Basin-Wide Watering Strategy.<br>This project, is one of five research themes that make up MMCP. This research theme investigated how variation in annual flows and temperature combine to affect growth rates of Murray cod and golden perch.
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Variation in river flow is a strong behavioural determinant for the movement of many freshwater fish species and often is linked to key aspects of their life cycle. The alteration of natural flow regimes to meet human water demands can... more
Variation in river flow is a strong behavioural determinant for the movement of many freshwater fish species and often is linked to key aspects of their life cycle. The alteration of natural flow regimes to meet human water demands can result in changes to this variability, and cause declines in water‐dependent biota. Environmental flows are used as a remediation tool in some regulated rivers with the intention of restoring aspects of the natural flow regime to benefit riverine species, although empirical data are required to inform the efficacy of these interventions. Using acoustic telemetry, we quantified the movement responses of two large‐bodied native fish species (freshwater catfish, Tandanus tandanus and Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii) to variations in river flow over 4 years in two intermittent regulated rivers in the northern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Both rivers received periodic environmental flow releases and also there were several large natural flow events during the study period. Both species displayed a range of intra‐specific movement behaviours. Analysis of individuals' movements revealed five distinct functional groups, which were represented in both species. We found that periods of environmental flow delivery played an important role in the movement behaviour of both species. Murray cod were more likely to move during periods of environmental flow releases, whereas freshwater catfish were less likely to move on an environmental release following higher antecedent flows. No large‐scale philopatric movements were observed, yet Murray cod were more likely to move during the breeding period, indicative of nest site selection. We also found that the likelihood of movement in both species was higher in the smaller of the two rivers for a given magnitude of flow. Our results suggest that environmental flows may benefit certain fish species by facilitating, rather than cueing breeding behaviours, allowing individuals improved access to, and provision of, higher‐quality nesting habitats. These findings will aid water managers in creating economical and targeted environmental flow releases, timing larger flow pulses for the species with flow‐cued reproductive strategies, and providing a continuity of smaller baseflows for species whose reproduction is not dependent on flow cues but may be enhanced by greater connectivity.
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Abstract Growing human demands for water are leading to rapid increases in the frequency and severity of water scarcity, where there is insufficient water to simultaneously support both human and ecosystem water needs. Water scarcity is... more
Abstract Growing human demands for water are leading to rapid increases in the frequency and severity of water scarcity, where there is insufficient water to simultaneously support both human and ecosystem water needs. Water scarcity is most often caused by limited water availability, and it is thus in arid and semiarid regions with high water demands where the problems are most acute. Within these climate zones, evapotranspiration exceeds rainfall in most years, and thus the hydrologic regime of rivers often includes prolonged periods with low or zero flows. Water scarcity can greatly exacerbate the frequency and severity of low flows, amplifying a range of potentially interacting stressors, including habitat loss, water quality declines, and increased biotic interactions that alter aquatic biota and ecosystem processes. Thus, despite many plants and animals displaying specific physiological and life-history adaptations that equip them to persist in arid ecosystems, water scarcity poses a growing threat in maintaining the structure and functioning of river environments. In this chapter, we seek to summarize the major interacting stressors that arise from water scarcity in arid and semiarid landscapes, especially the effects of habitat loss, declining water quality, and increased biological interactions. We consider both impacts their mechanistic pathways and emphasize the potential interactions with other drivers, such as land use change, in affecting riverine ecosystems. We draw on a two different case studies to demonstrate interactions between multiple stressors in these systems, as well as summarize potential mitigation strategies and future research needs.
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Abstract Recent developments in water law, policy, and community attitudes in China have created the need for consistent nationwide assessments of river health. River health assessments have been undertaken in various catchments... more
Abstract Recent developments in water law, policy, and community attitudes in China have created the need for consistent nationwide assessments of river health. River health assessments have been undertaken in various catchments throughout China, but mainly as a research activity. China currently has no ongoing river health assessment programs linked to river management policy operating at any jurisdictional level. This chapter discusses the rationale behind the framework for a national program to assess the health of China's rivers, developed collaboratively over the period 2010–12 by Australian and Chinese scientists, and supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) as part of the Australia China Environment Development Partnership (ACEDP). The recommended framework was shaped by Australian experience, and tailored to suit the resources and expertise available in China, the biophysical characteristics of China's rivers, and the key management issues.
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Operation of a hydropower dam will impact river hydrology downstream of the turbines where water is returned to the river and in any bypassed reach of river. Proposed hydropower projects would be expected to assess the environmental flow... more
Operation of a hydropower dam will impact river hydrology downstream of the turbines where water is returned to the river and in any bypassed reach of river. Proposed hydropower projects would be expected to assess the environmental flow requirements (EFRs) of the impacted reaches. These EFRs could have a major impact on the project financial viability. We developed a hydropower operation simulation model for use in the pre-feasibility phase of project assessment that predicts downstream river flows, hydropower production and revenue at an hourly time-step. The model determines the optimum power generation profile for each day, depending on a range of variables, including dam inflows, EFRs, rules constraining rates of rise and fall in discharge, and reservoir level. Both run-of-river and hydro-peaking modes of operation can be considered. The simulation model was applied to the case of a proposed dam on the R o Oco a, Peru, a river with high value ecosystem and livelihood assets. It...
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Anthropogenic changes to river flows can alter hydrological connectivity and cues necessary for the movement of fish to complete their life cycles. Quantifying flow-related movement ecology of fish and understanding how this varies... more
Anthropogenic changes to river flows can alter hydrological connectivity and cues necessary for the movement of fish to complete their life cycles. Quantifying flow-related movement ecology of fish and understanding how this varies between species and river systems is important for effective environmental flow management. This study aimed to determine hydroecological factors that influence fish movements in an unregulated, perennial river and to compare these findings to fish from regulated river systems. Broad-scale movements of the endangered Maccullochella ikei and Tandanus tandanus were recorded over 3 years in the unregulated, perennial Nymboida River, Australia. The limited movements both species exhibited were infrequent and over short distances. Although M. ikei movements appeared mostly unrelated to environmental changes, T. tandanus moved on flow pulse peaks and were more likely to move during the breeding season. These findings contrast with previous studies of the same o...
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In late 2018 to early 2019, three significant fish death events occurred in the Lower Darling River, Australia, with mortality estimates of millions of fish. We examined the proximate and ultimate causes of these events. We determined... more
In late 2018 to early 2019, three significant fish death events occurred in the Lower Darling River, Australia, with mortality estimates of millions of fish. We examined the proximate and ultimate causes of these events. We determined that not only were the conditions existing at the time a significant contributing factor, but that antecedent conditions, particularly during the period 2010–17, also contributed. The extreme hot and dry climate during 2018, extending into 2019, shaped the conditions that saw a large fish biomass, which had flourished in the Darling River and Menindee Lakes since favourable spawning conditions in 2016, isolated in weir pools, with no means of escaping upstream or downstream. Strong and persistent weir pool stratification created hypoxic conditions in the hypolimnion. A series of sudden cool changes subsequently initiated rapid and sudden mixing of the stratified waters, causing depletion of oxygen throughout the water column and resulting in the fish d...
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Despite providing considerable benefits to society, dams and weirs threaten riverine ecosystems by disrupting movement and migration of aquatic animals and degrading riverine habitats. Whilst the ecological impacts of large dams are well... more
Despite providing considerable benefits to society, dams and weirs threaten riverine ecosystems by disrupting movement and migration of aquatic animals and degrading riverine habitats. Whilst the ecological impacts of large dams are well studied, the ecological effects of low-head weirs that are periodically drowned out by high flows are less well-understood. Here we examine the effects of a low-head weir on fine- and broad-scale movements, habitat use, and breeding behaviour of three species of native freshwater fish in the Nymboida River in coastal eastern Australia. Acoustic telemetry revealed that eastern freshwater cod (Maccullochella ikei) and eel-tailed catfish (Tandanus tandanus) made few large-scale movements, but Australian bass (Percalates novemaculeata) upstream of the weir were significantly more mobile than those below the weir. Within the weir pool, all three species displayed distinctive patterns in fine-scale movement behaviour that were likely related the deeper le...
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Abstract Recent developments in water law, policy, and community attitudes in China have created the need for consistent nationwide assessments of river health. River health assessments have been undertaken in various catchments... more
Abstract Recent developments in water law, policy, and community attitudes in China have created the need for consistent nationwide assessments of river health. River health assessments have been undertaken in various catchments throughout China, but mainly as a research activity. China currently has no ongoing river health assessment programs linked to river management policy operating at any jurisdictional level. This chapter discusses the rationale behind the framework for a national program to assess the health of China's rivers, developed collaboratively over the period 2010–12 by Australian and Chinese scientists, and supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) as part of the Australia China Environment Development Partnership (ACEDP). The recommended framework was shaped by Australian experience, and tailored to suit the resources and expertise available in China, the biophysical characteristics of China's rivers, and the key management issues.
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Globally, urban expansion and climate change interact to threaten stream ecosystems and are accelerating the loss of aquatic biodiversity. Waterway managers urgently need tools to understand the potential combined impacts of urbanization... more
Globally, urban expansion and climate change interact to threaten stream ecosystems and are accelerating the loss of aquatic biodiversity. Waterway managers urgently need tools to understand the potential combined impacts of urbanization and climate change and to identify effective mitigating management interventions for protecting freshwater biota. We address this challenge using the semi‐aquatic mammal the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) as a focal species. We developed high‐resolution environmental spatial data for stream networks and spatially explicit habitat suitability models (HSMs) to explore the impact of threats and to identify the combination of management actions most likely to maintain or improve habitat suitability over the next 50 years in greater Melbourne, Australia. We developed and evaluated platypus HSMs (males‐and‐females and females‐only) including validation using an independent environmental DNA data set. Platypus occurred more commonly in larger, cooler streams with greater catchment‐weighted discharge, following periods of greater stream flow. They were positively associated with near‐stream forest cover and negatively associated with annual air temperature and urban stormwater runoff. Extensive reductions in suitable platypus habitat are predicted to occur under urbanization and climate change scenarios, with the greatest threat expected from reduced streamflows. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining flow regimes as part of conserving platypus in the region; however, substantial additional benefit is predicted by concurrent riparian revegetation and urban stormwater management efforts (that also have the potential to contribute to the streamflow objectives). Provision of adequate streamflows in a future with increasing water demands and water security requirements will likely require creative integrated water management solutions. Our high‐resolution stream network and HSMs have allowed predictions of potential range‐shifts due to urban expansion and climate change impacts at management‐relevant scales and at the whole‐of‐landscape scale. This has enabled systematic strategic planning, priority action planning and target setting in strategic policy development.
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MMCP Collaboration (MMCP) is a project supported by the Joint State Governments and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to generate and adopt freshwater ecological knowledge through collaboration, to maintain research capability and... more
MMCP Collaboration (MMCP) is a project supported by the Joint State Governments and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to generate and adopt freshwater ecological knowledge through collaboration, to maintain research capability and contribute supporting science to underpin the Basin-Wide Watering Strategy.<br>This project, is one of five research themes that make up MMCP. This research theme investigated how variation in annual flows and temperature combine to affect growth rates of Murray cod and golden perch.
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The book first provides a summary of the Murray-Darling River system: its hydrology, water-related ecological assets, land uses (particularly irrigation), and its rural and regional communities; and management within the Basin, including... more
The book first provides a summary of the Murray-Darling River system: its hydrology, water-related ecological assets, land uses (particularly irrigation), and its rural and regional communities; and management within the Basin, including catchments and natural resources, water resources, irrigation, environment, and monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, the recent major water reforms in the Basin are discussed, with a focus particularly on the development and implementation of the Basin Plan.Murray-Darling Basin, Australia: Its Future Management then provides an analysis of the next set of policy and institutional reforms (environmental, social, cultural and economic) needed to ensure the Basin is managed as an integrated system (including its water resources, catchment and estuary) capable of adapting to future changes. Six major challenges facing the Basin are identified and discussed, particularly within the context of predicted changes to the climate leading to an increased f...
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The alteration of river flow regimes by dams, weirs, and water extraction is a key impact of humans on freshwater ecosystems and has occurred in rivers across all inhabited continents worldwide. In this chapter, we provide a brief summary... more
The alteration of river flow regimes by dams, weirs, and water extraction is a key impact of humans on freshwater ecosystems and has occurred in rivers across all inhabited continents worldwide. In this chapter, we provide a brief summary of the expansive literature on the ecological consequences of flow regime change. We focus on links between alteration of specific components of the river flow regime and the typical patterns of ecological response. Flow regime change is evident in terms of altered baseflow(s), reduced flooding magnitude and frequency, reduced floodplain inundation, and altered flow variability; however, the extent to which these hydrological components are altered depends on the driver of hydrological change. Effects of flow regime change are evident for multiple organism groups (i.e., plants, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish), ecological processes and in-channel, riparian, and floodplain environments. Altered richness, abundance and density, composition, and altered process rates are reported as responses to changes across different hydrological components. However, the characteristics of ecological responses vary in response to change across hydrological components and are also strongly determined by local factors such as hydroclimatic region, biological traits of organisms, and how flow regime change is manifest in terms of stream hydraulics. A strong conceptual understanding of the ecological effects of flow regime change is essential for predicting, monitoring, and evaluating the responses of environmental water releases, and how environmental water can be delivered to enhance ecological outcomes.
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Estimating recovery times from pollution incident is an important issue of targeted biomonitoring programs. In the present study, the impact and recovery of macroinvertebrate communities from a cadmium wastewater discharge in the... more
Estimating recovery times from pollution incident is an important issue of targeted biomonitoring programs. In the present study, the impact and recovery of macroinvertebrate communities from a cadmium wastewater discharge in the Longjiang River, Guangxi, China, in early January 2012 were studied based on 83 samples collected in five surveys within 20 months after the incident. The pollution affected seriously the local aquatic biota, and consequently, the invertebrate abundance and species richness were reduced considerably. Twelve months later, the taxonomic number of macroinvertebrates began to increase. However, sensitive taxa remained rare. Twenty months later, the taxon richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates increased significantly compared to those in the previous four time points. To explore the possible time-scale over which pre-disturbance conditions might occur, we chose four different typical metrics of taxa richness (total taxa number, cumulative taxa number, taxa number per samples, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index) and extrapolated modeled recovery trajectories. Target values for the four metrics were set at average values for sites from the nearby Lijiang River, which were used as a reference. Assuming a continued linear trajectory, the recovery times were estimated to be 52, 39, 39, and 31 months, respectively, which was roughly 3–5 years. This is consistent with results from recovery times from other studies of acute pollution cases, but contrasted strongly to the much longer recovery times associated with chronic pollution from groundwater contamination and mine-tailing runoff.
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A central goal of population ecology is to establish linkages between life history strategy, disturbance, and population dynamics. Globally, disturbance events such as drought and invasive species have dramatically impacted stream fish... more
A central goal of population ecology is to establish linkages between life history strategy, disturbance, and population dynamics. Globally, disturbance events such as drought and invasive species have dramatically impacted stream fish populations and contributed to sharp declines in freshwater biodiversity. Here, we used RAMAS Metapop to construct stage-based demographic metapopulation models for stream fishes with periodic, opportunistic, and equilibrium life history strategies and assessed their responses to the effects of invasion (reduced carrying capacity), extended drought (reduced survival and fecundity), and the combined effects of both disturbances. Our models indicated that populations respond differentially to disturbance based on life history strategy. Equilibrium strategists were best able to deal with simulated invasion. Periodic strategists did well under lower levels of drought, whereas opportunistic strategists outperformed other life histories under extreme seasonal drought. When we modeled additive effects scenarios, these disturbances interacted synergistically, dramatically increasing terminal extinction risk for all three life history strategies. Modeling exercises that examine broad life history categories can help to answer fundamental ecological questions about the relationship between disturbance resilience and life history, as well as help managers to develop generalized conservation strategies when species-specific data are lacking. Our results indicate that life history strategy is a fundamental determinant of population trajectories, and that disturbances can interact synergistically to dramatically impact extinction outcomes.
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The biomass of organisms of different sizes is increasingly being used to explore macroscale variation in food-web and community structure. Here we examine how invasive species and river flow regulation affect native fish biomass and fish... more
The biomass of organisms of different sizes is increasingly being used to explore macroscale variation in food-web and community structure. Here we examine how invasive species and river flow regulation affect native fish biomass and fish community log10biomass – body mass scaling relationships in Australia’s largest river system, the Murray–Darling. The log10biomass – body mass scaling exponent (scaling B) of invasive fishes (95% CI: −0.14 to −0.18) was less negative than for native fishes (95% CI: −0.20 to −0.25), meaning that invasive species attained a higher biomass in larger size-classes compared to native species. Flow alteration and invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) biomass were correlated with severe reductions in native fish biomass ranging from −47% to −68% (95% CI). Our study provides novel evidence suggesting that invasive and native communities have different biomass – body mass scaling patterns, which likely depend on differences in their trophic ecology and body...