Fish ecology and management

Fish are good indicators of the ecological health of river systems. They are identifiable and occupy a wide range of habitats longitudinally, from alpine to estuarine waterways, and laterally, from river channels to floodplain wetlands. Fish species occupy multiple trophic levels, ranging from algaevores/detritivores to apex predators.

Many species are long-lived and their populations can integrate ‘river health’ effects over multi-decadal timescales. Our research includes the dispersal or movement behaviours of native fish that can be critical to long-term population health.

Some of the key threats to fish dispersal are flow related and researching the performance and significance of fish dispersal behaviours is critical to evaluate whether river operations (flows and infrastructure) are performing in such a way as to promote healthy fish populations.

Members within this theme have a research experience in the functional ecology of freshwater fish and how the physiology of a species influences its fitness in changing environments.

• Associate Professor David Crook
• Katherine Harrisson
• Associate Professor Alison King
• Dr Nick Murphy
• Dr Sally Maxwell

• Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research Project (MDB EWKR)
• Long Term Intervention Monitoring Project (LTIM)
• Murray-Darling Basin Authority Collaboration
• Murray-Darling Water and Environment Research Program (MD-WERP)