Investigation of the aquatic vertebrate fauna (fish and turtles) in Lake Moodemere

"January 2011".

Project Number: Survey of the large bodied fish community in Lake Moodemere - with specific reference to the presence/absence of Catfish - M/BUS/370.

MDFRC item.

24 p. 1 of 2 reports associated with project see (Identification of the aquatic vertebrate values and their hydrological requirements for input into the Environmental Watering Plan for the Lake Moodemere-Sunday Creek wetland complex).

No freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus) were recorded in Lake Moodemere. It is possible that the introduced pest oriental weatherloach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) was mistakenly identified as catfish by the general public. Flyspecked hardyhead (Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum fulvus) are classified as threatened by the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1998 and were recorded in Lake Moodemere. All three turtles found within the Murray-Darling Basin were reasonably common in Lake Moodemere. The two turtle species of primary conservation concern — broad-shelled tortoise (Chelodina expansa) (Threatened, FFG 1998) and Murray River turtle (Emydura macquarii) (Data Deficient, FFG 1998) —were, surprisingly, the two most abundant turtles in Lake Moodemere. It is difficult to make any recommendations to the NECMA pertaining to the biodiversity value of Lake Moodemere due to (see Discussion for details): The need to view the vertebrate assemblage of this wetland within a broader spatial context—How does the biodiversity value of Lake Moodemere stack up with that of other wetlands in the north-east of Victoria? The difficulty of detecting the presence of rare species with a relatively small sampling effort. The fact that the importance of Lake Moodemere to aquatic vertebrates will almost certainly vary temporally. In conclusion, the most significant component of the vertebrate fauna recorded by this survey, from a biodiversity perspective, was the turtle assemblage. In particular, the threatened C. expansa was very abundant in Lake Moodemere. Further research would be required before we could make any statement regarding the overall biodiversity value of Lake Moodemere, relative to the many other wetlands within north-east Victoria.