Floodplain Wetland Biota in the Murray-darling Basin: Water and Habitat Requirements

by Rogers, Kerrylee; Ralph, Tim

• ISBN13: 9780643096288
• ISBN10: 0643096280
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-28
• Publisher: Stylus Pub Llc

Summary

Floodplain wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin provide critical habitat for numerous species of flora and fauna, yet the ecology of these wetlands is threatened by a range of environmental issues. This book addresses the urgent need for an improved ecohydrological understanding of the biota of Australian freshwater wetlands.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
List of contributors	p. xii
Floodplain wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin and their freshwater biota	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Rivers and floodplain wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin	p. 2
Flow-ecology relationships and the response of biota to hydrological variability	p. 7
Knowledge of water and habitat requirements of floodplain wetland biota	p. 13
References	p. 13
Vegetation	p. 17
Introduction	p. 17
Trees	p. 18
Shrubs	p. 31
Grasses	p. 33
Sedges and rushes	p. 40
Aquatic macrophytes	p. 51
Herbs and forbs	p. 53
Summary of water requirements	p. 58
References	p. 73
Waterbirds	p. 83
Introduction	p. 83
Fish-eaters	p. 85
Deep-water foragers	p. 125
Dabbling ducks	p. 136
Grazing waterfowl	p. 150
Shoreline foragers	p. 156
Large waders	p. 164
Small waders	p. 178
Summary of water requirements	p. 187
References	p. 193
Fish	p. 205
Introduction	p. 205
Low-flow and wetland opportunists	p. 206
Main channel generalists and wetland opportunists	p. 214
Main channel specialists	p. 219
Flood spawners	p. 225
Alien species	p. 230
Summary of water requirements	p. 236
References	p. 244
Frogs	p. 253
Introduction	p. 253
Species profiles	p. 255
Summary of water requirements	p. 270
References	p. 272
Crustaceans and molluscs	p. 275
Introduction	p. 275
Molluscs - bivalves	p. 276
Molluscs - aquatic snails	p. 281
Crustacea	p. 289
Summary of water requirements	p. 298
References	p. 302
Impacts of hydrological changes on floodplain wetland biota	p. 311
Introduction	p. 311
Drivers of hydrological change	p. 312
Projected water availability	p. 314
Response of floodplain wetland biota to flood regime changes	p. 317
Conclusion	p. 325
References	p. 325
Management of water for floodplain wetland biota	p. 329
Introduction	p. 329
Complexity of science	p. 329
Complexity of policy	p. 330
Complexity of management	p. 331
Ways forward	p. 333
References	p. 334
Glossary	p. 336
Index	p. 341
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