Fish responses to low flows in
lowland streams: a summary of
findings from the Granite
Creeks system, Victoria
Nick Bond
Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University
Low flows report series – June 2012
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© Commonwealth of Australia 2012
This work is copyright.
Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by
any process without prior written permission.
Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the
Communications Director, National Water Commission, 95 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra
ACT 2600 or email bookshop@nwc.gov.au.
Online/print: ISBN: 978-1-921853-75-3
Published by the National Water Commission
95 Northbourne Avenue
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: 02 6102 6000
Email: enquiries@nwc.gov.au
Date of publication: June 2012
An appropriate citation for this report is:
Bond N 2012, Fish responses to low flows in lowland streams: a summary of findings from the
Granite Creeks system, Victoria, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Disclaimer
This paper is presented by the National Water Commission for the purpose of informing
discussion and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Commission.
NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION — Low flows report series
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Low flows report series
This paper is part of a series of works commissioned by the National Water Commission on
key water issues. This work has been undertaken by Griffith University in consultation with the
Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, and the Victorian Environmental
Protection Agency, on behalf of the National Water Commission.
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Contents
Executive summary
Report context
1.
Introduction
2.
The Granite Creeks system
2.1.
Hydrology
2.2.
Fish population dynamics
2.3.
Habitat dynamics
2.4.
Dispersal and population connectivity
2.5.
Putting it all together – modelling population dynamics
2.6.
Summary
References
vii
ix
1
2
2
4
6
9
11
12
13
Tables
Table 1: Summary of system-wide pool persistence in the Granite Creeks for the
period 2007–09. .............................................................................................................................. 7
Figures
Figure S1: Context of reports produced for the Low Flow Ecological Response
and Recovery Project. Each circle represents the location of individual case
studies and the size of each circle represents the spatial extent of each case
study. ............................................................................................................................................. ix
Figure 1: Plot showing the location and layout of the Granite Creeks stream
network. .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Figure 2: Plotted flow-duration curves for two of the Granite Creeks showing
changes in runoff patterns under natural, current and a potential (2030
median) climate change scenario. .................................................................................................. 3
Figure 3: Proportion of streamflow gauges displaying perennial (+’ve) and
intermittent (-‘ve) streamflow in Victoria. Note pre-1930s data is unreliable
due to just one or two gauges being operational. Trend line displays moving
average of the two proportions and ranges between 0.5 (all perennial) and 0.5 (all intermittent). ........................................................................................................................ 4
Figure 4: Total abundances of native fish in relation to local a) dissolved organic
carbon, and b) dissolved oxygen concentrations in contracting summer
refuge pools. From McMaster and Bond (2008). ........................................................................... 5
Figure 5: Trends in the abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri) at
four fixed sites on Faithful Creek over the period 2004–09............................................................ 5
Figure 6: Trends in total abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri)
from 2007–09 in Faithful Creek. ..................................................................................................... 6
Figure 7: Trends in total abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri)
from 2007–09 in Faithful, Castle and Honeysuckle creeks. ........................................................... 7
Figure 8: Maps showing the distribution of persistent waterholes in 2007, 2008
and 2009. Note the greater number of waterholes in 2008, which is reflected
in Table 1. ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 9: Plot showing the number of fish caught at sites during spring as a
function of distance from permanent water at the end of the previous dry
period. ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 10: Examples of individual runs from the demographic model illustrating
the high inter-annual variability in population size in response to changing
habitat availability. Note in all cases that declining population sizes in
response to dry spells (grey boxes) are always lagged. From Perry and
Bond (2009). ................................................................................................................................. 11
Figure 11: Plot showing relative population change in relation to the availability of
wetted habitat along the channel from one year to the next. From Perry and
Bond (2009). ................................................................................................................................. 12
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Acknowledgements
Numerous staff and students helped collect field data as part of the Granite Creeks project. In
no particular order thanks are extended to Tom Daniel, Matthew Johnson, Damien McMaster,
Zoe Squires, Tim Dexter and Darren Giling. Paul Reich, Rob Hale and Sam Lake also shared
resources from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)-funded Riparian Restoration
Experiment being carried out on some of the same sites, and Paul Reich and Sam Lake
contributed to ongoing discussions throughout the course of the work. eWater CRC also
provided funding for much of the work and for Nick Bond during the course of the data
collection.
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Executive summary
The latest incarnation of the Granite Creeks project was established in 2006. It aimed to
understand the impacts of low-flow stress on fish population persistence at a landscape
(whole-of-river-system) scale in streams draining the Granite Creeks region in central Victoria.
The project included four primary areas of activity:
1. Empirical observation of fish population trajectories at individual sites
2. Empirical observation of habitat dynamics (hydrology and pool persistence) at a landscape
scale
3. Measurement of fish dispersal via the application of genetic approaches
4. Spatially explicit modelling of fish population persistence.
The purpose of the current document is not to present a detailed analysis of the data
collected as part of the Granite Creeks project, but instead to summarise some of the key
findings and to draw on these in presenting some of the lessons that have emerged through
the course of the research. A summary of the research program has yielded a number of key
lessons presented below.
Lesson 1
Perhaps with the exception of perennial streams and larger river systems with a relatively
high level of hydrologic connectivity and low transmission losses, available gauging data are
frequently unsuitable to support questions relating ecological dynamics to spatial and
temporal patterns of hydrologic variability.
Lesson 2
Farm dams can have a dramatic effect on flow permanency in small unregulated rivers, with
significant consequences for aquatic ecosystems, including the permanent loss of low-flowsensitive fish and invertebrate taxa.
Lesson 3
A number of native fish species found inhabiting drying pools in the Granite Creek system
show high levels of persistence at local scales even when exposed to very harsh
environmental conditions.
Lesson 4
While datasets such as the Granite Creeks dataset have provided some useful insights into
the effects of low flows, in highly variable climates such as Australia, long-term datasets are
essential to understand how populations are influenced by low-flow periods. Such datasets
are still uncommon.
Lesson 5
During low flows, dispersal distances of small-bodied native fish may be extremely limited,
leading to slow and constrained recolonisation of sites from which local populations have
been lost. This has implications for recovery rates following prolonged periods of low flow.
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Lesson 6
Consideration of the influence of climate variability on habitat persistence, together with the
influence of demographic characteristics in determining the lags in population response to
wet-dry cycles, provide a useful way of illustrating the potential thresholds in population
growth trends. Further work is needed to validate these predictions.
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Report context
This report is part of a larger series of reports produced for the National Water Commission’s
Low Flow Ecological Response and Recovery Project (Figure S1). This report presents one of
11 hydro-ecological case studies. The purpose of the case studies is to test hypotheses that
relate ecological process and function and biological traits to key hydrological measures that
are affected by low flows. A summary of the findings in this report and the other case studies
are contained in Synthesis of case studies quantifying ecological responses to low flows
(Marsh et al. 2012).
Guidance on ecological response and hydrological modelling for low-flow
water planning
Low-flow hydrological classification of Australia
Review of literature quantifying ecological responses to low flows
Early warning, compliance and diagnostic monitoring of ecological
responses to low flows
Synthesis of case studies quantifying ecological responses to low flows
Figure S1: Context of reports produced for the Low Flow Ecological Response and Recovery
Project. Each circle represents the location of individual case studies and the size of each
circle represents the spatial extent of each case study.
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1. Introduction
High inter-annual variability in runoff is a key feature of Australia’s aquatic ecosystems
(McMahon et al. 2007). This manifests itself as cycles of floods and droughts, giving rise to a
boom and bust ecology (Lake et al. 2006; Bunn et al. 2006; Jenkins & Boulton 2003). These
dynamic cycles have captured intense interest in large inland rivers but more recently they
have been considered in a wider context, largely driven by the recent protracted drought in
southeastern Australia. This has focussed considerable research effort on understanding the
impacts of low flows episodes in a much wider range of river types (Bond et al. 2008)
(Robson and Matthews 2004, Lind et al. 2006) (Chessman 2009).
The nature of dry cycles (and droughts) – their slow onset and large spatial scale – mean that
their effects are best studied over long time and large spatial scales (Lake et al. 2008). Yet
most traditional research is focused at the site-scale, both in terms of the scale at which
samples are collected and the scale at which relationships are assessed. The few studies
conducted at landscape scales demonstrate quite clearly the value of such a perspective.
For example, in a review of the consequences of flow variability in dryland rivers, Bunn et al
(2006) demonstrated the impacts of lengthy dry periods in isolating refuge waterholes over
many thousands of square kilometres. Thus, while much has been learnt from studying
assemblage composition and ecological processes within individual isolated waterholes
(Arthington et al. 2005; Balcombe et al. 2005; Marshall et al. 2006; Balcombe et al. 2007), it is
landscape-scale processes of waterhole persistence that ultimately set the context for longerterm patterns and dynamics. Similar findings have come from work conducted over smaller
scales examining the influence of low-flow stress on fish populations inhabiting intermittent
streams in the prairie streams of the United States (e.g. Labbe & Fausch 2000). Indeed, the
influence of landscape-scale habitat dynamics (patterns) on local-scale ecological processes
is at the very heart of landscape ecology (Turner 1989), which during the past 20 years has
transitioned from a sub-discipline to a core area of ecological research (Turner 2005).
It is in this context that the most recent incarnation of the Granite Creeks project was
established in 2006, with the aim of understanding the impacts of low-flow stress on fish
population persistence at a landscape (whole-of-river-system) scale. The project included four
primary areas of activity:
1. Empirical observation of fish population trajectories at individual sites
2. Empirical observation of habitat dynamics (hydrology and pool persistence) at a landscape
scale
3. Measurement of fish dispersal via the application of genetic approaches
4. Spatially explicit modelling of fish population persistence.
The purpose of the current document is not to present a detailed analysis of the data
collected as part of the Granite Creeks project, but instead, to summarise some of the key
findings and to draw on these in presenting some of the lessons that have emerged through
the course of the research.
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2. The Granite Creeks system
2.1. Hydrology
The Granite Creeks system consists of a series of neighbouring tributaries that arise in the
Strathbogie Ranges in central Victoria and flow northward into the Goulburn River (Figure 1).
In their upper reaches all of the streams, including Pranjip, Creightons, Castle, Sevens,
Faithful and Honeysuckle creeks, are perennial, largely due to the persistence of spring-fed
baseflows during summer. Only half of the creeks are gauged, and available time series are
of short duration and poorly correlated with the regime experienced along the length of each
creek.
Figure 1: Plot showing the location and layout of the Granite Creeks stream network.
Lesson 1: Perhaps with the exception of perennial streams and larger river systems with a
relatively high level of hydrologic connectivity and low transmission losses, available gauging
data are frequently unsuitable to support questions relating ecological dynamics to spatial and
temporal patterns of hydrologic variability.
In light of this shortcoming, Monash University contracted Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) to
develop rainfall-runoff models for each of the Granite Creeks mentioned above, the aim being
to provide modelled flow data that could be used to help support the interpretation of
hydrologic influences on ecological processes in this system (see Bell & Ramchurn 2011).
The modelling included the development of runoff sequences for ‘non-consumptive’, ‘current’
and ‘future’ scenarios, and these are particularly instructive in showing the potential impacts
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of anthropogenic water use on low-flow characteristics in unregulated systems. For example,
Castle Creek has already undergone an extensive change from a naturally perennial to now
quite intermittent river system, with an average runoff reduction of 40 per cent as a result of
farm dams (Bell & Ramchurn 2011). In contrast, Creightons Creek has undergone far less
dramatic changes in runoff (20 per cent) due to lower dam densities in the upper catchment.
These findings are consistent with work in other regions of south-eastern Australia, yet the
effects of farm dams on aquatic ecosystems are still largely ignored in a policy context.
Lesson 2: Farm dams can have a dramatic effect on flow permanency in small unregulated
rivers, with significant consequences for aquatic ecosystems including the permanent loss of
low-flow sensitive fish and invertebrate taxa.
10000
Castle Creek
Flow (ML/d)
1000
100
10
1
0.1
0%
20%
Natural
10000
40%
60%
80%
100%
Percentage Exceedance
Current
2030 Med CC 10th Percentile
Creightons Creek
Flow (ML/d)
1000
100
10
1
0.1
0%
20%
Natural
40%
60%
80%
100%
Percentage Exceedance
Current
2030 Med CC 10th percentile
Figure 2: Plotted flow-duration curves for two of the Granite Creeks showing changes in runoff
patterns under natural, current and a potential (2030 median) climate change scenario.
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Even where farm-dam impacts have had a minimal impact on streamflows, periodic droughts
can have a large impact on patterns of cease-to-flow in river systems such as the Granite
Creeks, as evidenced by Figure 3, which shows long-term trends in the proportion of Victorian
streamflow gauges exhibiting permanent flow each year. Note in particular the droughts of
1937–45, 1965–68, 1982–83 and post 2000, all of which caused a sharp spike in the
occurrence of intermittent flows.
Figure 3: Proportion of streamflow gauges displaying perennial (+’ve) and intermittent (-‘ve)
streamflow in Victoria. Note pre-1930s data is unreliable due to just one or two gauges being
operational. Trend line displays moving average of the two proportions and ranges between
0.5 (all perennial) and -0.5 (all intermittent).
2.2. Fish population dynamics
With flow intermittency comes a rapid fragmentation and contraction of habitat (Stanley et al.
1997) and rapid declines in water quality, including increasing temperatures, decreasing
oxygen concentrations, and in many lowland rivers in Australia, rapid increases in respiration
rates and concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from falling eucalyptus leaves.
The Granite Creeks project has examined both local-scale impacts of declining water quality
and whole-of-stream-scale changes in connectivity and habitat availability.
At a local scale, McMaster and Bond (2008) showed that a number of native fish species
occurring in lowland sections of the Granite Creeks system (including southern pygmy perch
(Nannoperca australis), mountain galaxias (galaxias olidus) and western carp gudgeon
(Hypseleotris klunzingeri)) were widely distributed in relation to low oxygen concentrations
and high DOC concentrations (Figure 4), appearing in lower numbers even where dissolved
oxygen (DO) concentrations fell below 2 mgl-1 (McMaster & Bond 2008). They subsequently
observed similar tolerances of adult fish in a series of laboratory experiments, but speculated
that metabolic costs were still being borne by individuals living in these environments, or that
other life stages such as eggs and larvae were more susceptible. More recently Morrongiello
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et al. (2011) confirmed sub-lethal effects of DOC on southern pygmy perch (N. australis), with
a reduced number of females reaching sexual maturity in experimental treatments consisting
of high DOC concentrations.
Figure 4: Total abundances of native fish in relation to local a) dissolved organic carbon, and
b) dissolved oxygen concentrations in contracting summer refuge pools. From McMaster and
Bond (2008).
These findings regarding fish survival in drying stream pools have been further confirmed by
multi-year surveys of fixed sites in the Granite Creeks system, which include a mix of
permanent and semi-permanent waterholes. One notable finding is the potential consequence
of sampling a small number of fixed sites, or simply choosing sites randomly with surface
water present on each sampling date. For example, sampling at two fixed sites on Faithful
Creek, which first dried completely in 2006, suggests a complete loss of western carp
gudgeons (H. klunzingeri) from this system (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Trends in the abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri) at four fixed
sites on Faithful Creek over the period 2004–09.
However, a wider survey of sites across Faithful Creek encompassing several permanent
waterholes suggests a somewhat different pattern – although abundances at these sites were
also low (Figure 6).
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Figure 6: Trends in total abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri) from 2007–09
in Faithful Creek.
Across a much larger set of sites (n=25) in Faithful, Honeysuckle, Castle and Sevens creeks
over the same period, H. klunzingeri abundances showed a quite different pattern (Figure 7),
with a notable increase in abundance in autumn 2009. These broader trends in fish
abundance are still under investigation, with sampling continuing up until the present
(although data are not currently available for inclusion here).
Lesson 3: A number of native fish species found inhabiting drying pools in the Granite Creek
system show high levels of persistence at local scales even when exposed to very harsh
environmental conditions.
2.3. Habitat dynamics
An important question being asked of this data is to what degree longer-term and landscapescale changes in abundance reflect changes in total habitat availability. For example, there
were approximately twice as many pools that persisted through the dry season of 2007–08
(Table 1). A further indication of the differences in habitat persistence is provided in Figure 8.
This increase in habitat may have reduced population densities and increased net
reproductive output of individuals that survived to breed successfully in 2008–09. This is one
potential explanation for the rise in overall abundances in the autumn 2009 surveys. At this
stage this hypothesis remains extremely speculative, although there is evidence from the
literature that severe drought years can increase density-dependent mortality and reduce
reproductive output (Bell et al. 2000; Elliott 2006). Notably, this evidence comes from a 30year study of population dynamics in a hydrologically stable region in England. The
uniqueness of the study by Elliot (2006) illustrates the importance of long-term data.
Lesson 4: While datasets such as the Granite Creeks dataset have provided some useful
insights into the effects of low flows, in highly variable climates such as Australia, long-term
datasets are essential to understand how populations are influenced by low-flow periods.
Such datasets are still uncommon.
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Figure 7: Trends in total abundance of western carp gudgeons (H. klunzingeri) from 2007–09
in Faithful, Castle and Honeysuckle creeks.
Table 1: Summary of system-wide pool persistence in the Granite Creeks for the period
2007–09.
Year
Mean %
Total number
Mean distance
Max distance
Rainfall in
flowing length
of pools
between pools
between
preceding year
per stream (m)
pools (m)
(mm)
per stream
2007
12.1
744
595.0
32877
286
2008
15.1
1796
243.0
9520
562
2009
12.1
624
661.0
37243
516
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2007
2008
2009
Figure 8: Maps showing the distribution of persistent waterholes in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Note the greater number of waterholes in 2008, which is reflected in Table 1.
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2.4. Dispersal and population connectivity
The preceding section on habitat dynamics illustrates that not only does habitat availability
change dramatically between years even during low-flow periods, but so too does the extent
of habitat isolation. Isolation of refuge habitats is an important element to predicting rates of
recolonisation and population recovery following low-flow disturbances (Lancaster & Belyea
1997); however, documenting dispersal distances in aquatic ecosystems is fraught with
challenges (Downes & Reich 2008; Hughes 2007). In the Granite Creeks system, our
complete mapping of permanent refuge habitats has provided a unique opportunity to
estimate minimum dispersal distances by fauna colonising previously dry sites following the
resumption of flow. The seasonal predictability of the dry period allowed us to map pools
close to the end of the dry season, and hence gather a reliable estimate of the location of
potential source populations. It is important to note that this approach provides estimates of
minimum distances only. Nevertheless, the results are illuminating. In short, of the three
native species caught in the surveys, only one, G. olidus, a notably good swimmer, was found
to have dispersed more than several hundred metres over the six-month period of hydrologic
connectivity. The species was found to have moved a maximum distance of 2000 m (Figure
9). This observation of limited dispersal was further supported by genetic data (Hughes &
Schmidt, unpublished data), although this information is not presented here. It is further worth
noting that more recent data from a flood year (2010; Dexter, unpublished data), suggests
that downstream and upstream movements of G. olidus may be much greater under
conditions of high flow.
Lesson 5: During low flows, dispersal distances of small-bodied native fish may be extremely
limited, leading to slow and constrained recolonisation of sites from which local populations
have been lost. This has obvious implications for recovery rates following prolonged periods
of low flow.
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150
100
50
0
total gudgeon
catch in
Spring
Total gudgeon
catch
in Spring
200
a) H. klunzingeri
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Minumum distance of site to pool in Autumn
600
minimum distance of site to pool in Autumn
400
300
200
100
0
total galaxid
catch
ininSpring
Total galaxid
catch
Spring
500
b) G. olidus
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Minumum distance of site to pool in Autumn
minimum distance of site to pool in Autumn
400
300
200
100
0
total southern
perch
catch
in Spring
Totalpygmy
southern pygmy
perch catch
in Spring
c) N. australis
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Minumum distance of site to pool in Autumn
minimum distance of site to pool in Autumn
Figure 9: Plot showing the number of fish caught at sites during spring as a function of
distance from permanent water at the end of the previous dry period.
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2.5. Putting it all together – modelling
population dynamics
A fitting endpoint for this summary of findings from the Granite Creeks project is to consider
the longer-term trajectories of fish populations via the application of spatial demographic
models. A spatially explicit individual-based population was constructed for the Granite
Creeks system to examine the likely long-term population persistence of carp gudgeons in
response to increased low-flow stress (Perry & Bond 2009). The model considered stochastic
inter-annual variation in rainfall, runoff and habitat persistence, and coupled this with
estimates of demographic rates – fecundity, survivorship and (limited) movement patterns –
to examine stochastic population dynamics over decadal time scales. Several key findings
emerged from this work. First, the model predicted extremely large fluctuations in population
density in relation to cycles of high- and low-flow periods (wet/dry climate cycles) Figure 10.
Figure 10: Examples of individual runs from the demographic model illustrating the high interannual variability in population size in response to changing habitat availability. Note in all
cases that declining population sizes in response to dry spells (grey boxes) are always
lagged. From Perry and Bond (2009).
Second, the model showed that on average, periods of population growth are restricted to
years when greater than 60 per cent of the stream length remained wet (Figure 11). Such
periods are already relatively rare due to the effects of farm dams in many rivers in the
Granite Creeks system, and are likely to become increasingly rare under future climate
change predictions (Figure 2). The model thus suggests that the long-term viability of
populations of H. klunzingeri in the Granite Creek system are under long-term threat from the
combined effects of catchment interception of runoff by farm dams and climate change. This
finding has since received further support from attempts to model range shifts of fish in
Victoria in response to climate change (Bond et al. 2012).
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Figure 11: Plot showing relative population change in relation to the availability of wetted
habitat along the channel from one year to the next. From Perry and Bond (2009).
Lesson 6: Consideration of the influence of climate variability on habitat persistence, together
with the influence of demographic characteristics in determining the lags in population
response to wet-dry cycles, provide a useful way of illustrating the potential thresholds in
population growth trends. Further work is needed to validate these predictions.
2.6. Summary
Overall, the various strings of empirical research discussed in this summary of the Granite
Creeks research have revealed a range of interesting insights into the capacity of fish in the
Granite Creeks system to endure low-flow disturbances (presented as a series of ‘lessons’
throughout the text). At the same time, measured responses coupled with longer-term
population dynamic models suggest these populations may – to coin a description applied to
streams in the Great Plains basins of the United States (Dodds et al. 2004) – be living on the
edge. This conclusion is also consistent with the results of the hydrologic classification
conducted as part of the NWC low flows project (Mackay et al. 2012), which identified a
number of streamflow classes likely to be particularly sensitive to additional low-flow stress.
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Mackay S, Marsh N, Sheldon F & Kennard M 2012, Low-flow hydrological classification of
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Marsh N, Sheldon F & Rolls R 2012, Synthesis of case studies quantifying ecological
responses to low flows, National Water Commission, Canberra
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Reports in the low flows series
Balcombe SR & Sternberg D 2012, Fish responses to low flows in dryland rivers of western
Queensland, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Barma Water Resources & Sinclair Knight Merz 2012, Low-flow hydrological monitoring and
modelling needs, report by for the National Water Commission, Canberra.
Barmah D & Varley I 2012a, Hydrologic modelling practices for estimating low flows –
stocktake, review and case studies, National Water Commission, Canberra
Barmah D & Varley I 2012b, Hydrologic modelling practices for estimating low flows –
guidelines, National Water Commission, Canberra
Bond N 2012, Fish responses to low-flows in lowland streams: a summary of findings from the
Granite Creeks system, Victoria, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Bond N, Thomson J & Reich P 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to antecedent flow, longterm flow regime characteristics and landscape context in Victorian rivers, National
Water Commission, Canberra.
Chessman B et al 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to low-flow conditions in New South
Wales rivers, National Water Commission, Canberra.
NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION — Low flows report series
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Deane D 2012, Macroinvertebrate and fish responses to low flows in South Australian rivers,
National Water Commission, Canberra.
Dostine PL & Humphrey CL 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to reduced baseflow in a
stream in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia, National Water Commission,
Canberra.
Hardie, SA et al 2012, Macroinvertebrate and water quality responses to low flows in
Tasmanian rivers, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Kitsios A et al 2012, Fish and invertebrate responses to dry season and antecedent flow in
south-west Western Australian streams, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Leigh, C 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to dry season and antecedent flow in highly
seasonal streams and rivers of the wet-dry tropics, Northern Territory, National Water
Commission, Canberra.
Mackay S et al; 2012, Low-flow hydrological classification of Australia, National Water
Commission, Canberra.
Marsh N et al 2012, Synthesis of case studies quantifying ecological responses to low flows,
National Water Commission, Canberra.
Marsh N et al 2012, Guidance on ecological responses and hydrological modelling for lowflow water planning, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Rolls R et al 2012, Review of literature quantifying ecological responses to low flows, National
Water Commission, Canberra.
Rolls R et al 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to prolonged low flow in sub-tropical
Australia, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Sheldon F et al 2012, Early warning, compliance and diagnostic monitoring of ecological
responses to low flows, National Water Commission, Canberra.
Smythe-McGuiness Y et al 2012, Macroinvertebrate responses to altered low-flow hydrology
in Queensland rivers, National Water Commission, Canberra.
NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION — Low flows report series
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