Research Project
Researchers: Nick Bond (Principal investigator, Principal or Chief Investigator)
Full description The existing NESP project, Guiding the Strategic Management of Freshwater fish, was originally developed as a desktop project designed to use existing statewide datasets to then work with river managers to develop principles and approaches that can be used to manage and protect freshwater fish biodiversity in rivers and streams across Victoria. However, since the original project plan was developed, discussions with DEECA and others have led to a narrowing of focus to primarily consider threats to a small group of fishes that were once common in floodplain wetlands of the southern Murray-Darling Basin and more specifically in selected key Victorian catchments. A number of these species are now listed under National and/or State threatened species Legislation (including flathead galaxias, Murray hardyhead), while others (e.g. southern pygmy perch) have declined considerably in their distribution and abundance in recent decades and are increasingly being considered for listing Nationally in addition to existing State listings. Compared to riverine habitats, information on the status of wetland fish is comparatively sparse, and there has been limited research into, and investment in, strategies to restore local populations. Currently there is a tendency therefore to rely on restocking as the primary means for restoring local populations, but limited work to understand the success of restoration activities in the presence/absence of other management interventions. The revised project aims to fill this gap, and will generate information that will feed into regional and statewide management strategies. The updated project goals remain consistent with those in the original plan, but with a much narrower geographic and habitat focus, and a more bottom-up approach, involving more on-ground sampling and greater engagement with local land-managers, including Traditional Owners. The project will synthesise existing data and knowledge about threatened floodplain species, their current distributions, current threats (including invasive species, wetland persistence, and their likely future distributions given threats they are facing now and into the future. We will also undertake a global assessment of the literature to assess the global trends in wetland restoration techniques and synthesis this information to provide advice to support the management of wetland habitats within Victoria and river-floodplain habitats more generally.
