Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF09239 > Fulltext
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(8)

Ecological roles and threats to aquatic refugia in arid landscapes: dryland river waterholes

Fran Sheldon A B , Stuart E. Bunn A , Jane M. Hughes A , Angela H. Arthington A , Stephen R. Balcombe A and Christine S. Fellows A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

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

B Corresponding author. Email: f.sheldon@griffith.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(8) 885-895 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09239
Submitted: 23 September 2009  Accepted: 15 April 2010   Published: 13 August 2010

Abstract

Dryland rivers are renowned for their periods of ‘boom’ related to the episodic floods that extend over vast floodplains and fuel incredible production, and periods of ‘bust’ where the extensive channel network is restricted to the permanent refugial waterholes. Many of these river systems are unregulated by dams but are under increasing pressure, especially from water abstraction and overland flow interception for agriculture and mining. Although some aquatic organisms with desiccation-resistant life stages can utilise ephemeral floodplain habitats, the larger river waterholes represent the only permanent aquatic habitat during extended periods of low or no flow. These waterholes act as aquatic refugia in an otherwise terrestrial landscape. Variable patterns of connection and disconnection in space and time are a fundamental driver of diversity and function in these dryland river systems, and are vital for dispersal and the maintenance of diverse populations, generate the spatial and temporal variability in assemblage structure for a range of different organisms and fuel the productivity that sustains higher trophic levels. Changes to natural patterns of connection and disconnection of refugial waterholes, owing to water-resource development or climate change, will threaten their persistence and diminish their functional capacity to act as aquatic refugia.


Acknowledgements

The work for this paper was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology through the Dryland River Refugia Project. We thank all the members of the Dryland River Refugia Project Team for their input, including colleagues from the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University, the Queensland Department of Environmental Resource Management, the University of Canberra, the Murray–Darling Basin Freshwater Research Centre (Northern Basin Laboratory) and the New South Wales Department of Water. 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 three anonymous reviewers and the editor for very helpful comments on the manuscript.


References

Amoros, C. , and Bornette, G. (2002). Connectivity and biocomplexity in waterbodies of riverine floodplains. Freshwater Biology 47, 761–776.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bunn S. E., and Davies P. M. (1999). Aquatic food webs in turbid, arid zone rivers: preliminary data from Cooper Creek, Queensland. In ‘Free-Flowing River: The Ecology of the Paroo River’. (Ed. R. T. Kingsford.) pp. 67–76. (New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service: Sydney.)

Bunn, S. E. , Davies, P. M. , and Winning, M. (2003). Sources of organic carbon supporting the food web of an arid zone floodplain river. Freshwater Biology 48, 619–635.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bunn S. E., Balcombe S. R., Davies P. M., Fellows C. S., and McKenzie-Smith F. J. (2006a). Aquatic productivity and food webs of desert river ecosystems. In ‘Ecology of Desert Rivers’. (Ed. R. T. Kingsford.) pp. 76–99. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Bunn, S. E. , Thoms, M. C. , Hamilton, S. K. , and Capon, S. J. (2006b). Flow variability in dryland rivers: boom, bust and the bits in between. River Research and Applications 22, 179–186.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Davies B. R., Thoms M. C., Walker K. F., O’Keefe J. H., and Gore J. A. (1994). Dryland rivers: their ecology, conservation and management. In ‘The Rivers Handbook. Vol. 2’. (Eds P. Calow and G. E. Petts.) pp. 484–511. (Blackwell Scientific: Oxford, UK.)

Davis L., Thoms M. C., Fellows C. S., and Bunn S. E. (2002). Physical and ecological associations in dryland refugia: waterholes of the Cooper Creek, Australia. In ‘The Structure, Function and Management Implications of Fluvial Sedimentary Systems’. (Eds F. J. Dyer, M. C. Thoms and J. M. Olley.) pp. 77–84. Publication No. 276. (IAHS Press: Wallingford, UK.)

Dudgeon, D. (1996). The influence of refugia on predation impacts in a Hong Kong stream. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 138, 145–159.
Kennard M. J. (1995). Factors influencing freshwater fish assemblages in floodplain lagoons of the Normanby River, Cape York Peninsula: a large subtropical river. M.Sc. Thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Kingsford, R. T. (2000a). Protecting rivers in arid regions or pumping them dry? Hydrobiologia 427, 1–11.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kingsford R. T. (2006). Changing desert rivers. In ‘Ecology of Desert Rivers’. (Ed. R. T. Kingsford.) pp. 336–345. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Kingsford R. T., and Thompson J. R. (2006). Desert or dryland rivers of the world: an introduction. In ‘Ecology of Desert Rivers’. (Ed. R. T. Kingsford.) pp. 3–10. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Kingsford, R. T. , Roshier, D. A. , and Porter, J. L. (2010). Australian waterbirds – time and space travellers in dynamic desert landscapes. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 875–884.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Morton S. J., Short J., and Baker R. D. (1995). Refugia for biological diversity in arid and semi-arid Australia. Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 4. Report to the Biodiversity Unit of the Department of Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra.

Nekola, J. C. (1999). Paleorefugia and neorefugia: the influence of colonisation history on community pattern and process. Ecology 80, 2459–2473.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Puckridge J. T. (1999). The role of hydrology in the ecology of Cooper Creek, South Australia. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Adelaide.

Puckridge, J. T. , Sheldon, F. , Walker, K. F. , and Boulton, A. J. (1998). Flow variability and the ecology of large rivers. Marine and Freshwater Research 49, 55–72.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Puckridge J. T., Reid J. R., Sheldon F., and Baker S. (1999). Biological survey of the Lower Diamantina floodplain, November 1993, Final Report. South Australian Department of Environment and Planning, the Australian Heritage Commission, and the Conservation Council of South Australia, Adelaide.

Puckridge, J. T. , Walker, K. F. , and Costelloe, J. F. (2000). Hydrological persistence and the ecology of dryland rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 16, 385–402.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Rempel, L. L. , Richardson, J. S. , and Healey, M. C. (1999). Flow refugia for benthic macroinvertebrates during flooding of a large river. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18, 34–48.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Roshier, D. , Doerr, V. , and Doerr, E. (2008). Animal movement in dynamic landscapes: interaction between behavioural strategies and resource distributions. Oecologia 156, 465–477.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Sedell, J. R. , Reeves, G. H. , Hauer, F. R. , Stanford, J. A. , and Hawkins, C. P. (1990). Role of refugia in recovery from disturbances: modern fragmented and disconnected river systems. Environmental Management 14, 711–724.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sheldon, F. , and Fellows, C. S. (2010). Temporal and spatial variability of water quality and water chemistry in two Australian dryland rivers. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 864–874.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sheldon, F. , and Puckridge, J. T. (1998). Macroinvertebrate assemblages of Goyder Lagoon, Diamantina River, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 122, 17–31.


Sheldon, F. , and Thoms, M. C. (2006). Relationships between flow variability and invertebrate community composition: data from four Australian dryland rivers. River Research and Applications 22, 219–238.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sheldon, F. , Boulton, A. J. , and Puckridge, J. T. (2002). Conservation value of variable connection: aquatic invertebrate assemblages of channel and floodplain habitats of a central Australian arid-zone river, Cooper Creek. Biological Conservation 103, 13–31.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Slatkin, M. (1985). Gene flow in natural populations. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 16, 393–430.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Stanley, E. H. , Fisher, S. G. , and Grimm, N. B. (1997). Ecosystem expansion and contraction in streams. BioScience 47, 427–435.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sweeney, B. W. , Funk, D. H. , and Vannote, R. L. (1986). Population genetic structure of two mayflies (Ephemerella subvaria, Eurylophella verisimilis) in the Delaware River drainage basin. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 5, 253–262.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Thoms, M. C. , and Sheldon, F. (2000a). Lowland rivers: an Australian perspective. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 16, 375–383.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Thoms, M. C. , and Sheldon, F. (2000b). Water resource development and hydrological change in a large dryland river: the Barwon–Darling River, Australia. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam) 228, 10–21.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tockner, K. , and Stanford, J. A. (2002). Riverine flood plains: present state and future trends. Environmental Conservation 29, 308–330.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tockner, K. , Schiemer, F. , Baumgartner, C. , Kum, G. , and Weigand, E. , et al. (1999). The Danube restoration project: species diversity patterns across connectivity gradients in the floodplain system. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 15, 245–258.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tockner, K. , Malard, F. , and Ward, J. V. (2000). An extension of the flood pulse concept. Hydrological Processes 14, 2861–2883.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tooth, S. (2000). Process, form and change in dryland rivers: a review of recent research. Earth-Science Reviews 51, 67–107.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Torgersen, C. E. , Price, D. M. , Li, H. W. , and McIntosh, B. A. (1999). Multiscale thermal refugia and stream habitat associations of chinook salmon in northeastern Oregon. Ecological Applications 9, 301–319.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Vannote, R. L. , Minshall, G. W. , Cummins, K. W. , Sedell, J. R. , and Cushing, C. E. (1980). The river continuum concept. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37, 130–137.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Walker, K. F. , Sheldon, F. , and Puckridge, J. T. (1995). An ecological perspective on large dryland rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 11, 85–104.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Waples, R. S. (1987). A multispecies approach to the analysis of gene flow in marine shore fishes. Evolution 41, 385–400.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ward, J. V. , and Stanford, J. A. (1995). The serial discontinuity concept: extending the model to floodplain rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 10, 159–168.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ward, J. V. , Tockner, K. , and Schiemer, F. (1999). Biodiversity of floodplain river ecosystems: ecotones and connectivity. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 15, 125–139.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Winterbottom, J. H. , Orton, S. E. , Hildrew, A. G. , and Lancaster, J. (1997). Field experiments on flow refugia in streams. Freshwater Biology 37, 569–580.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wood, P. J. , and Petts, G. E. (1999). The influence of drought on chalk stream macroinvertebrates. Hydrological Processes 13, 387–399.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |