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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(3)

Sources of carbon fuelling production in an arid floodplain river

Michele A. Burford A B , Andrew J. Cook A , Christine S. Fellows A , Stephen R. Balcombe A and Stuart E. Bunn A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: m.burford@griffith.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(3) 224-234 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07159
Submitted: 30 August 2007  Accepted: 14 February 2008   Published: 30 April 2008

Abstract

Dryland rivers are characterised by highly pulsed and unpredictable flow, and support a diverse biota. The present study examined the contribution of floodplain sources to the productivity of a disconnected dryland river; that is a waterhole, after a major overland flood event. Rate measures of productivity were combined with stable isotope and biomass data on the food web in the waterhole and floodplain. The present study estimated that 50% of the fish carbon in the waterhole after flooding was derived from floodplain food sources. In the few months after retraction of the river to isolated waterholes, the large biomass of fish concentrated from the flooding decreased by 80%, most likely as a result of starvation. Based on the development of a carbon budget for the waterhole, mass mortality is hypothesised to be the cause of the high rates of heterotrophic production in the waterhole. The present study suggests that floodplain inputs are important for fuelling short-term production in waterholes, but via an unconventional pathway; that is, fish mortality. The episodic nature of flooding in dryland rivers means that changes in flow regimes, such as water regulation or abstraction, will reduce flooding and hence floodplain subsidies to the river. This is likely to have significant impacts on river productivity.

Additional keywords: algal production, bacterial production, fish, waterhole.


Acknowledgements

We would like to thank: Angela Arthington, Rick Cunjack, James Fawcett, Wade Hadwen, Mavourneen Lutton and Angelene Wright for assistance with field work, Jon Marshall for physico-chemical data, Dan Wruck for nutrient analyses, Susie Green for bacterial counts, Rene Diocares for stable isotope analyses, Peter Pollard for helpful discussions on bacterial productivity, and Wade Hadwen and Vanessa Fry for useful comments on the manuscript. Our research was conducted under Queensland Fisheries Permit PRM00157K and Griffith University Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee permit AES/03/02. Funding was provided by the Cooperative Centre for Freshwater Ecology and the Australian Rivers Institute.


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