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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(8)

Multi-scale environmental factors explain fish losses and refuge quality in drying waterholes of Cooper Creek, an Australian arid-zone river

Angela H. Arthington A D , Julian D. Olden B , Stephen R. Balcombe A and Martin C. Thoms C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Rivers Institute and eWater Cooperative Research Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.

B School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

C University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: a.arthington@griffith.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(8) 842-856 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09096
Submitted: 30 April 2009  Accepted: 10 February 2010   Published: 13 August 2010

Abstract

Many rivers experience intermittent flows naturally or as a consequence of water abstraction. Climate change is likely to exacerbate flow variability such that dry spells may become more common. It is important to understand the ecological consequences of flow intermittency and habitat fragmentation in rivers, and to identify and protect habitat patches that provide refugia for aquatic biota. This paper explores environmental factors influencing dry season fish losses from isolated waterbodies in Cooper Creek, an unregulated arid-zone river in the Lake Eyre Basin, Australia. Multivariate ordination techniques and classification and regression trees (CART) were used to decompose species–environment relationships into a hierarchically structured data set, and to determine factors explaining changes in fish assemblage structure and species losses over a single dry season. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) explained 74% of fish assemblage change in terms of waterhole morphology (wetted perimeter, depth), habitat structure (bench development, off-take channels), waterhole quality (eroded banks, gross primary production), the size of surrounding floodplains and the relative isolation of waterholes. Classification trees for endemic and restricted species reaffirmed the importance of these waterhole and floodplain variables as drivers of fish losses. The CCA and CART models offer valuable tools for identification of refugia in Cooper Creek and, possibly, other dryland rivers.

Additional keywords: drought, dryland rivers, floodplains, habitat structure, spatial scale.


Acknowledgements

This study contributed to the Dryland River Refugia Project, a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional investigation of environmental factors and processes sustaining waterhole biodiversity in dryland rivers of western Queensland. It was funded by the former Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Freshwater Ecology, Canberra. Completion of this paper was supported by funding from the eWater CRC (Refugium Project). We thank colleagues from the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University, the former Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and the Murray-Darling Basin Freshwater Research Centre (Northern Basin Laboratory) for field assistance, data on river discharge and valuable discussions. Two anonymous referees and Editors Andrew Boulton and Fran Sheldon provided insightful reviews and comments that greatly improved the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Ben Stuart-Koster for his input to statistical discussions. We are indebted to landowners Bob Morrish (Springfield), Angus Emmott (Noonbah), Sandy Kidd (Mayfield), David Smith (Hammond Downs) and George Scott (Tanbar) for access to waterholes on their properties and for their hospitality and encouragement. Our research was conducted under Queensland Fisheries Permit PRM00157K.


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