Instream Flow Requirements for The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus):A Review.

Abstract

A number of human activities have the potential to impact on platypus populations by removing water from streams or by increasing flows. Many of the major habitat requirements associated with the occurrence of platypuses have been established. It should now be possible to include these in the processes of assessing the impacts of proposed riverine and riparian developments and in the formulation of measures to mitigate their impacts. The various methods used to predict and assess the instream flow requirements of other aquatic fauna, particularly fish fauna, are reviewed and their applicability to the investigation of the instream now requirements of the platypus discussed.