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Food Webs Theme research report FINAL 26-06-2019.pdf (3.87 MB)

Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research Project: Food Webs Theme Research Report

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posted on 2023-11-02, 00:46 authored by Darren S. Baldwin, Paul McInerney, Nick BondNick Bond, R. Keller Kopf, Rebecca LesterRebecca Lester, Darren Ryder, Ross Thompson, Kate Brandis, Gavin Butler, Romain Drouart, Lindsey Frost, Ben Gawne, Ivor Growns, Galen Holt, Wayne Koster, Ralph Mac Nally, Ashley Macqueen, Rob Rolls, Jason Thiem, Heather McGinness, Rochelle Petrie, Barbara Robson, Nikki Thurgate, Garth Watson, Brenton Zampatti
The EWKR food web theme identified that the relationship between flow variability and the provision of resources for consumers at critical life stages was a key knowledge gap in the management of environmental flows. The first phase of the EWKR food web theme (the conceptualisation phase) reviewed existing conceptual models and empirical research to assess our current knowledge status and the knowledge gaps surrounding the influence of flow on lowland river food webs. This work generated three scientific manuscripts that identified a framework for monitoring the effects of hydrological regimes on food webs, evaluated a range of analytical methods suitable for their assessment and highlighted that consideration of food web-hydrology interactions will improve environmental flow planning.
Empirical research carried out within the EWKR food web theme set out to address knowledge gaps identified within the conceptualisation phase. This work was undertaken at three scales: 1) mesocosm (an outdoor experimental system that examines the natural environment under controlled conditions) 2) river and 3) basin. Mesocosm experiments showed that green algae are a key basal resource for consumers, providing a high-quality food source. Essential fatty acids were traced from green algae through Food Webs from invertebrates to fish. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) based Food Webs by contrast, provided the lowest invertebrate density, richness and lowest fish growth and survival.

Funding

Department of Environment and Energy, Commonwealth Environmental Water Office

History

Publication Date

2019-06-01

Commissioning Body

Department of the Environment and Energy, Commonwealth Environmental Water Office

Publisher

Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems, La Trobe University

Place of publication

Wodonga, Victoria

Report Number

224

Pagination

33 pages

Rights Statement

The Author reserves all moral rights over the deposited text and must be credited if any re-use occurs. Documents deposited in OPAL are the Open Access versions of outputs published elsewhere. Changes resulting from the publishing process may therefore not be reflected in this document. The final published version may be obtained via the publisher’s DOI. Please note that additional copyright and access restrictions may apply to the published version.