Publication (Technical report): Selection and screening of aquatic taxa for proposed dryland refugium project

Publication Type:	Technical report / Consultancy
Publication Name:	Selection and screening of aquatic taxa for proposed dryland refugium project

Reference Information

Hughes, J. (2000) Selection and screening of aquatic taxa for proposed dryland refugium project. Final Report, ScC1.

Optional Information

Attached document(s):

- Selection and Screening.pdf

Other information:

Full report attached below (PDF 26KB)

Selection and Screening of aquatic taxa for proposed dryland refugium project. Final Project.ScC1.

Jane Hughes

Aim:

The broad aim of this project was to provide preliminary data for the dryland river refugia project.

Context:

Two key elements of the dryland river refugia project were:

1. the need to understand the pattern and extent of dispersal of aquatic organisms (how do they move within and between refugia, how far do they move and how quickly could they recolonise disturbed systems? This is of particular relevance to understanding how flow regulation and/r changes to water movement on floodplains affect refugia.

2. identification of particular catchments or subcatchments which contain unusually high levels of endemism among aquatic biota. Are there particular catchments of subcatchments with particularly high levels of biodiversity?
Analysis of the genetic structure of populations is one of the ,major tools that will be used in addressing these questions. These will be used as 'markers' for dispersal studies, as well as direct measures of endemism and biodiversity.

Preliminary data collection was required to determine:

1. the range of aquatic species to be examined

2. the spatial scale for sampling

3. the kinds of genetic markers to be used.

The specific objectives for the scoping study were:

1. to identify potential study sites for research proposed under the dryland refugia project

2. to determine the species of most interest to the project (e.g. species with apparently different life-histories and dispersal abilities that occur in sufficient numbers to be able to be sampled from each of a number of major river systems 3. for a subset of these species, to determine whether allozyme and/or mitochondrial DNA can be reliably used as markers. This was to include an initial screening to ensure assess the levels of variation between major drainages. For species of interest that showed limited variation microsatellite loci would need to be developed.

Search classifications

Administration