Other information:
Freshwater Research Centre opens new regional facility
The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre’s newest research facility, the Northern Laboratory, will be officially opened by Senator The Hon. Ian Macdonald, Federal Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, on Wednesday the 27th August in Goondiwindi, southern Queensland.
Senator Macdonald will also announce an additional $400,000 in Federal funding for the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, 2003-2004.
“The Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology has established our centre in Goondiwindi specifically to operate in partnership with the community. The new laboratory allows us to provide an improved understanding of the region’s river and wetland systems,” said Dr Wilson, Scientist in Charge. “Operating out of a regional centre, we have unparalleled access to study sites, and the opportunity to establish genuine working relationships with the local community.”
The Northern Laboratory is boosting research into the river and wetland ecosystems of the northern Murray-Darling Basin.
“These northern river systems are driven by predominately summer rainfall patterns, in stark contrast to the winter rainfall experienced by larger southern catchments such as the Murray and Murrumbidgee,” Dr Wilson said. “As such, our understanding of how these ecosystems tick over, and their management requirements, must be based on research specific to this region,” he added.
“Rivers of the northern Murray-Darling Basin offer a unique mix of regulated and undeveloped freshwater systems,” Dr Wilson said. “At the Northern Laboratory we have an exciting opportunity to study their freshwater ecology, on the spot."
Dr Wilson said that a number of large research projects were already underway through the Northern Laboratory, to examine the flooding requirements of floodplain wetlands, the patterns of biodiversity along dryland rivers, and improved means for assessing river condition or ‘health’. “These are being undertaken in collaboration with both the New South Wales and Queensland state water agencies, as well as universities in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne.”
“The Northern Laboratory complements the other MDFRC laboratories, including the Lower Basin Laboratory near the base of the Darling River system in Mildura and the main facility in Albury-Wodonga,” Dr Wilson said.
Contacts
Dr Glenn Wilson, Scientist in Charge (Interviews)
Phone: 07 4671 4650 (BH) 0429 837 082
Facsimile 07 4671 4858
Ms Janey Adams, Senior Community Scientist (Media Liaison)
Phone 07 4671 4650 (BH) 0429 876 458
Dr Ben Gawne, Director, Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (Interviews, Wednesday)
Phone 0409 956 714
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre
Northern Laboratory
The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (MDFRC) undertakes strategic and topical research on Murray-Darling Basin river and wetland ecosystems, through the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology (CRCFE).
The MDFRC comprises three regional laboratories (Albury, Mildura, Goondiwindi), each focussing on freshwater research specific to its individual region. Therefore, the MDFRC is ideally positioned to generate new knowledge on the Murray-Darling Basin’s freshwater resources and to communicate this to the community. The Albury laboratory was opened in 1986, and the Lower Basin Laboratory at Mildura in 1996.
The laboratory at Goondiwindi is called the Northern Laboratory. It was established by the CRCFE in July 2000 with support from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Griffith University as new CRCFE partners. The Northern Laboratory was initially located in the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines building.
In July 2003, the Northern Laboratory expanded into new premises of its own in Goondiwindi’s Marshall Street, providing dedicated space for offices, laboratories, equipment storage and outdoor experiments.
Northern Laboratory Staff
Dr Glenn Wilson, Scientist-in-charge
Dr Cassandra James, Research scientist
Ms Janey Adams, Senior Community Scientist
Ms Melissa White, Research Assistant
Ms Angelene Wright, Research Assistant
Northern Laboratory research
At the Northern Laboratory we focus on:
(1) what happens to local freshwater plants and animals when more water is diverted from rivers for human purposes;
(2) the way dryland rivers function as refuges for fish, birds, turtles and other forms of life during drought periods; and
(3) methods for monitoring the condition or `health' of freshwaters and their inhabitants.
Current projects
Dryland river refugia. This CRCFE-funded project examines the importance of permanent waterholes for maintaining the plants, animals and functioning of dryland river systems.
For the first three years of the project, July 2000 – June 2003, the team has studied the occurrences of plants and animals at waterholes across the landscape. The team has asked: `Are these occurrences determined by physical or biological factors, or both?'
The project is looking at the Cooper Creek (Laye Eyre Basin), Warrego, and Macintyre-Barwon Rivers. In field work, the team has mapped the location, shape and hydrology of each waterhole, and sampled turtles, fish, macroinvertebrates (freshwater insects, crustaceans, etc.), algae, water chemistry, and plankton.
The second phase of the study will examine processes such as breeding and recruitment and growth, to see how they affect the variety of animals present at a place at any one time.
River health assessment in the northern Murray-Darling Basin. This CRCFE-funded project has two broad components.
(1) It compares the macroinvertebrates (freshwater insects, crustaceans, etc.), diatoms (one-celled algae) and plants at sites that have differing salinity, amounts of sediment, or where river flow has been altered to different extents. Managers use macroinvertebrates, diatoms and plants to indicate the condition of water quality and river health.
(2) The project is also comparing what we know about the habitats of fish and the distribution of key habitat features across a catchment, as a way of assessing stream health. Study sites are located in the Warrego, Condamine-Balonne, Border Rivers, and Gwydir catchments.
Ecological character of the Narran Lakes ecosystem. This Murray-Darling Basin Commission-funded project is a four-year study to investigate the ecosystem at the Narran Lakes in north-western NSW. Part of the Narran Lakes area is listed as a Ramsar wetland of international importance
The project team will investigate how the ecology of the lakes area is likely to change during water-resource development and climate-change.
In the field, the team will measure river flow, map the physical structure of the lakes and channels, sample fish and macroinvertebrates and plankton, count water birds, and measure water plants and water quality. In the laboratory, experiments will focus on seed and egg emergence, and the release of nutrients from sediments during various flows.
Local knowledge of the lakes will be documented by interviewing indigenous and agricultural landholders along the Narran River Valley.
Biodiversity of riverine landscapes: the role of patches and connectivity. Funded by Land and Water Australia, this three-year project is examining particular types of habitat, such as anabranches, deep holes, riffles, etc., to see how important they are for fish, plankton production, organic matter and water chemistry. The flooding patterns necessary to link the various habitats will also be determined.
Further information
Dr Glenn Wilson (interviews)
0429 837 082
gwilson@northernlab.net.au
Ms Janey Adams (Media liaison)
0429 876 458
jadams@northernlab.net.au |