Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Wetland invertebrate richness and endemism on the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia

Pierre Horwitz A D , Ruth Rogan A , Stuart Halse B , Jenny Davis C and Bea Sommer A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.

B Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, WA 6014, Australia.

C School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: p.horwitz@ecu.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(10) 1006-1020 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08204
Submitted: 11 July 2008  Accepted: 17 March 2009   Published: 20 October 2009

Abstract

Regional assessments of inland aquatic biota, determined from compilations of mostly descriptive and distributional data, can reveal information to justify local, regional or even global conservation priorities. In the present study, a regional assessment of the wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP), Western Australia, was conducted to test the hypothesis that the relatively recent (in geological terms) formation of the wetlands has yielded relatively homogeneous aquatic assemblages. A compilation of aquatic invertebrate taxa from 18 studies of 66 wetlands has shown a surprisingly rich fauna (considering the comparatively small survey area and the degree of anthropogenic alteration of the SCP). Some of this richness is associated with increased sampling effort and proximity to other wetlands, and the habitat complexity and degree of permanence of the wetlands has contributed to richness, community assemblage composition, rarity and endemism patterns. Although taxonomically rich, local and regional endemism is relatively low compared with other regional assessments. The caves and the springs of the bioregion have a distinctive faunal assemblage; however, the assemblages of surface water wetlands do appear more homogeneous. Although iconic wetlands demand priorities for conservation action, management should be directed at the entire suite of wetlands to ensure wetland ecosystem integrity.

Additional keywords: biogeography, conservation, rarity, regional surveys, sampling effort.


Acknowledgements

Funding from the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation’s contribution towards the Gnangara Sustainability Strategy enabled finalisation of the paper. The detailed comments of two anonymous reviewers and the editor were gratefully received and improved the manuscript.


References

Abell, R. , Thieme, M. L. , Revenga, C. , Bryer, M. , and Kottelat, M. , et al. (2008). Freshwater ecoregions of the world: a new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. Bioscience 58, 403–414.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Balla S. A., and Davis J. A. (1993). ‘Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain: Volume 5 – Managing Perth’s Wetlands to Conserve the Aquatic Fauna.’ (Water Authority of Western Australia: Perth.)

Benier J. M., and Horwitz P. (2003). Annual report for the wetland macroinvertebrate monitoring program of the Gnangara Mound Monitoring Project – spring 2002 to summer 2003. Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA.

Bradby K. (1977). ‘Peel – Harvey. The Decline and Rescue of an Ecosystem.’ (Greening the Catchment Taskforce (Inc.): Mandurah, WA.)

Burbidge A., and Kuchling G. (2004). Western swamp tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina) recovery plan. Western Australian Department of Conservation & Land Management, Perth.

Burbidge, A. H. , McKenzie, N. L. , and Harvey, M. S. (2000). A biogeographic survey of the southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia: background and methods. Records of the Western Australian Museum 61(Suppl.), 1–595.
Butcher R. J. (2003). Biodiversity in temporary and permanent freshwater wetlands in the West Wimmera, Victoria. Ph.D. Thesis, Monash University, Melbourne.

Chessman, B. C. (1995). Rapid assessment of rivers using macroinvertebrates: a procedure based on habitat-specific sampling, family-level identification and a biotic index. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 122–129.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Davis J., and Christidis F. (1997). ‘A Guide to Wetland Invertebrates of Southwestern Australia.’ (Western Australian Museum: Perth.)

Davis, J. , and Froend, R. (1999). Loss and degradation of wetlands in southwestern Australia: underlying causes, consequences and solutions. Wetlands Ecology and Management 7, 13–23.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Davis J. A., Rosich R. S., Bradley J. S., Growns J. E., Schmidt L. G., et al. (1993). ‘Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain: Volume 6 –- Wetland Classification on the Basis of Water Quality and Invertebrate Community Data.’ (Water Authority of Western Australia: Perth.)

Davis, J. A. , Horwitz, P. , Norris, R. , Chessman, B. , and McGuire, M. , et al. (2006). Are river bioassessment methods using macroinvertebrates applicable to wetlands? Hydrobiologia 572, 115–128.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | English V., and Blyth J. (2000). Assemblages of organic mound (tumulus) springs of the Swan Coastal Plain. Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.

English V., Jasinska E., and Blyth J. (2003). Aquatic root mat community of caves of the Swan Coastal Plain and the Crystal Cave crangonyctoid interim recovery plan 2003–2008. Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.

Fleishman, E. , Noss, R. F. , and Noon, B. R. (2006). Utility and limitations of species richness metrics for conservation planning. Ecological Indicators 6, 543–553.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Halse S. A. (1989). Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain – past and present. In ‘Proceedings of the Swan Coastal Plain Groundwater Management Conference’. (Ed. G. Lowe.) pp. 105–112. (Western Australian Water Resources Council: Perth.)

Halse S., and Storey A. (1996). Aquatic invertebrate surveys and water quality of Perth Airport Swamps. Unpublished report. Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.

Halse, S. A. , Shiel, R. J. , Storey, A. W. , Edward, D. H. D. , and Lansbury, I. , et al. (2000). Aquatic invertebrates and waterbirds of wetlands and rivers of the southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 61(Suppl.), 217–265.
Hembree D., and George R. W. (1978). The aquatic invertebrate fauna of the northern Swan Coastal Plain. In ‘Faunal Studies of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain – A Consideration of Past and Future Changes’. (Ed. Anon.) pp. 221–259. (Western Australian Museum: Perth.)

Hopper, S. D. , and Gioia, P. (2004). The southwest Australian floristic region: evolution and conservation of a global hot spot of biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 35, 623–650.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Jasinska E. J. (1997). Faunae of aquatic root mats in caves of southwestern Australia: origins and ecology. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Western Australia, Perth.

Jasinska E. J., and Knott B. (1994). Aquatic fauna in Gnangara mound discharge areas of the Ellen Brook catchment, Western Australia: a report submitted to the Water Authority of Western Australia. University of Western Australia, Perth.

Jasinska E. J., and Knott B. (2000). Root-driven faunas in cave waters. In ‘Ecosystems of the World 30: Subterranean Ecosystems’. (Eds H. Wilkens, D. C. Culver and W. F. Humphreys.) pp. 287–307. (Elsevier: Amsterdam.)

Kendrick, G. W. , Wyrwoll, K.-H. , and Szabo, B. J. (1991). Pliocene–Pleistocene coastal events and history along the western margin of Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 10, 419–439.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kinnear A., Garnett P., Bekle H., and Upton K. (1997). Yellagonga Wetlands: a study of the water chemistry and aquatic fauna. Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Perth.

Knott, B. , Jasinska, E. J. , and Smith, K. D. (2002). Limnology and aquatic fauna of EPP 173, Melaleuca Park: refuge for an outlier population of the black-stripe minnow Galaxiella nigrostriata (Galaxiidae) in southwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 21, 291–298.
Knott B., and Storey A. (2004). Yanchep Cave streams invertebrate monitoring. School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth.

Li, J. , Herlihy, A. , Gerth, W. , Kaufmann, P. , and Gregory, S. , et al. (2001). Variability in stream macroinvertebrates at multiple spatial scales. Freshwater Biology 46, 87–97.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lund M. (1992). Aspects of the ecology of a degraded wetland (Lake Monger, Western Australia) and implications of biomanipulation and other restoration techniques. Ph.D. Thesis, Murdoch University, Perth.

Lund M., and Ogden G. (2003). Mary Carroll Park Wetlands: development and implementation of a monitoring protocol. Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Perth.

Marchant, N. G. (1973). Species diversity in the southwestern flora. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 56, 23–30.
O’Connor R., Quartermaine G., and Bodney C. (1989). Report on an investigation into Aboriginal significance of wetlands and rivers in the Perth–Bunbury region. Western Australian Research Council, Perth.

Oliver I., Dangerfield J. M., and York A. (1999). When and how to conduct a biodiversity assessment of terrestrial invertebrates. In ‘The Other 99%. The Conservation and Biodiversity of Invertebrates’. (Eds W. Ponder and D. Lunney.) pp. 8–18. (Transactions of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)

Pinder A. (2002). Report on December 2002 sampling on Gnangara Mound springs. Unpublished report, Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.

Pinder, A. M. , Halse, S. A. , McRae, J. M. , and Shiel, R. J. (2004). Aquatic invertebrate assemblages of wetlands and rivers in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 64, 7–37.
Semeniuk C. A. (2007). ‘The Becher Wetlands – a Ramsar Site. Evolution of Wetland Habitats and Vegetation Associations on a Holocene Coastal Plain, Southwestern Australia. Wetlands: Ecology, Conservation and Management, Vol. 1.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Semeniuk, C. A. , Milne, L. A. , Semeniuk, V. , and Ladd, P. G. (2006). Holocene palynology of five wetland basins in the Becher Point area, southwestern Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 89, 129–154.
Thackway R., and Cresswell I. D. (1995). An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia: a framework for establishing the national system of reserves, version 4.0. Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.

Trayler, K. M. , Davis, J. A. , Horwitz, P. , and Morgan, D. (1996). Aquatic fauna of the Warren bioregion, south-west Western Australia: does reservation guarantee preservation? Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 79, 291–296.
Wild S., Davis J., and Strehlow K. (2003). Biomonitoring of selected Jandakot wetlands (macroinvertebrates) for Jandakot Groundwater Scheme Stage 2 PER. Final Report (1996–2003). Aquatic Ecosystems Research, Murdoch University, Perth.

Williams, P. , Gibbons, D. , Margules, C. , Rebelo, A. , and Humphries, C. , et al. (1996). A comparison of richness hotspots, rarity hotspots, and complementary areas for conserving diversity of British birds. Conservation Biology 10, 155–174.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Yeates, D. K. , Bouchard, P. , and Monteith, G. B. (2002). Patterns and levels of endemism in the Australian wet tropics rainforest: evidence from flightless insects. Invertebrate Systematics 16, 605–619.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |