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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(8)

Ecological responses to variable water regimes in arid-zone wetlands: Coongie Lakes, Australia*

J. T. Puckridge A , J. F. Costelloe B E and J. R. W. Reid C D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

B Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.

C CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

D Current address: The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: jcost@unimelb.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(8) 832-841 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09069
Submitted: 28 March 2009  Accepted: 7 May 2010   Published: 13 August 2010

Abstract

In dryland rivers, interactions between flow variability and complex geomorphology expose floodplain wetlands to long-term patterns of flooding and drying and highly variable short-term events. We consider whether the abundance and diversity of fish, macroinvertebrate and zooplankton communities in wetlands of the Coongie Lakes complex are influenced by long-term water regimes. To relate biological changes to changes in water regime, mean values of assemblage indices were ranked and correlated against ranked frequency of drying (i.e. water retention) in each waterbody. As water-retention time increased, fish species diversity (richness, evenness) and disease incidence rose, and fish species dominance and macroinvertebrate abundance decreased. The more mobile species of fish utilised the habitats and food resources provided by newly flooded waterbodies. We conclude that fish populations utilise wetlands with a variety of water regimes, and reductions in the frequency of inundation will decrease fish diversity with sequential losses of less mobile species.

Additional keywords: Coongie Lakes, Cooper Creek, disease, diversity, dryland rivers, fish, flow-ecology correlations, flow regime, macroinvertebrates, Ramsar, variability, zooplankton.


Acknowledgements

A draft of this paper was prepared by the late Jim Puckridge. It is drawn from work undertaken by Dr Puckridge as part of a doctoral study supervised by Associate Professor Keith Walker and supported by The University of Adelaide and the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology. The study was part of the DRY/WET project, funded by the National Wetlands R&D Program through Environment Australia and the Land and Water Resources R&D Corporation. Field expenses were covered in part by Australian Geographic magazine and the S.A. National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Fund. We are grateful for helpful comments from two reviewers and the editors. We particularly thank Keith Walker for his generous assistance in improving the paper.


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* Dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague, Jim Puckridge.