Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7795
Title: Comparing fish biomass models based on biophysical factors in two northern Murray-Darling Basin rivers: a cautionary tale
Contributor(s): Balcombe, S (author); Huey, J (author); Lobegeiger, J (author); Marshall, J (author); Arthington, A (author); Davis, L (author); Sternberg, D (author); Thoms, Martin  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2010
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7795
Abstract: The Queensland–upper NSW rivers of the northern Murray-Darling Basin are typical lowland rivers in that they generally flow through lowland (<300 m above sea level) areas (Harris and Gehrke 1997). As lowland rivers they are characteristically linked to their floodplains and many sections are dominated by sinuous anabranching and distributary systems (Thorns and Sheldon 2000). Lowland flood lain regions are geomorphologically diverse as a result of their lateral instability and contain features such as anabranches, billabongs, cut-offs, backwaters, scroll-swales and depression basins. The northern Murray-Darling Basin rivers are best described, however, as dryland rivers as much of their length flows through arid and semi-arid landscapes (<500 mm p.a.) and they thus experience large-scale evaporative water losses. The more easterly rivers of the northern Murray-Darling Basin tend to contribute the greatest run-off to the Murray-Darling Basin as they drain the western margins of the Great Dividing Range (Thorns and Sheldon 2000). These rivers include the Macintyre and Condamine-Balonne in southern Queensland and the Gwydir, Namoi, Castlereagh and Macquarie Rivers in northern NSW. In contrast, the westerly rivers originate in the more arid landscapes of southwest Queensland (Warrego and Paroo Rivers) and tend to contribute less to annual Murray-Darling Basin flows, although they can produce significant inputs during major floods. ... With the rest of the basin, the northern rivers have been affected to varying degrees by water resource development (Arthington 1996; Thorns et al. 2005). Fish stocks inparticular have been reduced in the Murray-Darling Basin largely due to river regulation (MDBC 2004; Lintermans 2007). Future efforts for the rehabilitation of fish stocks, and hence management of rivers with altered flow regimes, require a thorough understanding of the drivers of fish population dynamics. This chapter presents a case study modelling the spatial patterns in fish biomass (of two common species) across two northern basin rivers. These models are compared for each species across the two rivers to demonstrate the applicability of generic models of fish productivity in the northern basin.
Publication Type: Book Chapter
Source of Publication: Ecosystem Response Modelling in the Murray-Darling Basin, p. 67-83
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Place of Publication: Collingwood, Australia
ISBN: 9780643101920
9780643096134
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 040601 Geomorphology and Regolith and Landscape Evolution
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960501 Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales
HERDC Category Description: B1 Chapter in a Scholarly Book
Publisher/associated links: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=9AuDoDs3k_0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA67
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36330545
http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6350.htm
Editor: Editor(s): Neil Saintilan and Ian Overton
Appears in Collections:Book Chapter

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