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From an irrigation system to an ecological asset: adding environmental flows establishes recovery of a threatened fish species

Ivor Stuart A B I , Clayton Sharpe C D E , Kathryn Stanislawski F , Anna Parker G and Martin Mallen-Cooper E H
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Kingfisher Research, 177 Progress Road, Eltham, Vic. 3095, Australia.

B Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, Vic. 3084, Australia.

C CPS Enviro, 972 Irymple Road, Irymple, Vic. 3498, Australia.

D New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, PO Box 363, Buronga, NSW 2739, Australia.

E Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, NSW 2640, Australia.

F Parks Victoria, PO Box 3100, Bendigo MC, Vic. 3554, Australia.

G North Central Catchment Management Authority, PO Box 18, Huntly, Vic. 3551, Australia.

H Fishway Consulting Services, 8 Tudor Place, Saint Ives, NSW 2075, Australia.

I Corresponding author. Email: ivor.stuart@delwp.vic.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 70(9) 1295-1306 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19197
Submitted: 28 May 2019  Accepted: 6 July 2019   Published: 26 July 2019

Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2019 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

Worldwide, riverine fish are the target of environmental water because populations have declined in lotic river habitats following river regulation. Murray cod is an endangered Australian riverine fish with remaining populations associated with lotic river reaches with instream habitat, including some creeks operated as part of irrigation systems. Our objectives were to develop a life history model, apply the building block method of environmental flows to enhance the abundance of juvenile Murray cod and promote population recovery. From 2008 to 2018 we evaluated changes to Murray cod juvenile abundance before and after implementation of a perennial environmental flow regime that began in 2013. During the first year of the environmental flow, larvae were collected as evidence of spawning. Murray cod abundance can be enhanced with environmental flows that target: (1) an annual spring spawning or recruitment flow with no rapid water level drops; (2) maximising hydrodynamic complexity (i.e. flowing habitats that are longitudinally continuous and hydrodynamically complex); and (3) an annual base winter connection flow. Recognition that incorporating hydraulics (water level and velocity) at fine and coarse time scales, over spatial scales that reflect life histories, provides broader opportunities to expand the scope of environmental flows to help restore imperilled fish species in regulated ecosystems.

Additional keywords: Australia, building block method, Gunbower Creek, Murray cod, recruitment, water management.


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