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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(1)

The macroinvertebrate fauna of an Australian dryland river: spatial and temporal patterns and environmental relationships

Jonathan C. Marshall A B E , Fran Sheldon A C , Martin Thoms A D and Satish Choy A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology

B Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, CSIRO Laboratories, 120 Meiers Rd, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia.

C Centre for Riverine Landscapes, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia.

D University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: jonathan.marshall@nrm.qld.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(1) 61-74 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05021
Submitted: 8 February 2005  Accepted: 6 September 2005   Published: 17 January 2006

Abstract

Waterholes within the dryland Cooper Creek, Lake Eyre Basin, Australia, are connected only during floods and are typically isolated for long periods. Spatial changes in the macroinvertebrate assemblages of 15 of these waterholes belonging to four regions were explored and these changes were related to environmental aspects of the waterholes measured at four spatial scales: floodplain, waterhole, within waterhole and sample habitat. To explore temporal patterns, one region was sampled on four occasions differing in time since connection. Spatial patterns were characterised by ‘differentiation by distance’ whereby samples collected closer to each other in the landscape were more similar in assemblage composition than those collected further apart. Thus, there were significant differences between the assemblages of the four regions. Although there was a correlation between macroinvertebrate spatial patterns and a combination of local habitat, geomorphology and water chemistry attributes, it appears unlikely that these variables were responsible for the faunal differentiation by distance. Temporal variability was larger than spatial variability and temporal assemblage patterns were best explained by the ‘connectivity potential’ of waterholes, reflecting the position of individual waterholes within the broader channel network and long-term connectivity relationships, rather than the actual time since hydrological connection.

Extra keywords: connectivity, dispersal, droughts, floodplain rivers, floods, Lake Eyre Basin, waterhole refugia.


Acknowledgments

The present study was undertaken as part of the Dryland River Refugia Project funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology. We thank colleagues from the Centre for Riverine Landscapes at Griffith University, the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, the University of Canberra, the Murray–Darling Basin Freshwater Research Centre (Northern Basin Laboratory) and the New South Wales Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources. Thanks also to our field assistants Michelle Winning, Marc Seifert, Wade Hadwen and Stephen Faggotter, our sample sorters Annette Ritchie, Andrew Cook, Carl Murray, Stephen Faggotter, Chris Bartlett and Kate Smoulders, NRM for data on river flows, and Christy Fellows for data on waterhole photic zone depth. We are also indebted to landowners Bob Morrish (Springfield), Angus Emmott (Noonbah), Sandy Kidd (Mayfield), David Smith (Hammond Downs) and George Scott (Tanbar) for allowing access to waterholes on their properties and for their hospitality and encouragement. We also thank Bronwyn Harch, Alisha Steward, Peter Negus, Stephen Balcombe and Glenn McGregor for helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.


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