1

WELCOME We are pleased to announce and welcome you to The Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centres (MDFRC) newly released

newsletter MDFRC represents a longstanding partnership between CSIRO and La Trobe University with additional collaboration

agreements with the Murray-Darling Basin Joint Governments and the University of Canberra The Centre is one of the largest and

longest running freshwater research centres in Australia celebrating our 30 year anniversary in 2016

Meeting the challenge of sustainable water and catchment management is a high profile and often contentious issue within our

community and there is an ongoing need for objective scientific knowledge to help inform the management of natural assets

MDFRC has a longstanding reputation for contributing to the knowledge base that supports NRM decisions

Staff from MDFRC work closely with managers and policy makers from all tiers

of government and with local communities in both conducting and communicating scientific research Our newsletter will provide

an insight into the work that we do within the Centre including project updates and research highlights We hope you enjoy the

information provided and invite you to contact the Centre at wwwmdfrcorgau or my office on (02) 6024 9650 if you wish to find out

more about current research projects or our research capabilities

Nick Bond

Director

2

PROJECT NEWS

The Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research Project (MDB

EWKR)

The MDB EWKR team has recently completed a number of activities including

Conceptualisation process The four research teams (Waterbirds Food Web Vegetation and Fish) have completed

a review of available knowledge to enable the teams to develop conceptual models identify critical knowledge gaps

and provide a summary of the factors thought to influence the outcomes of environmental flows

Updated Multi-year and Annual Research Plans A key element of the Murray-Darling Basinrsquos EWKR Projectrsquos

management is to regularly update the Research Plans that underpin effective delivery of the project and support

communication on the projectrsquos direction with the Department of Environment and Energy and environmental water

managers The Research Plans were updated in December 2016 and have been uploaded onto the Resources page

Engagement with regional managers In May-June and November 2016 the project leadership team held a series of

workshops with water managers at the four research sites to update them on the project and seek their input to the

development of research outputs There has been consistent feedback that the EWKR Project should not invest

directly in decision-support tools but rather should conduct a process of continuous engagement over the life of the

project Workshops to present preliminary observations from field work and mesocosm studies will be held with water

managers in the second half of 2017 Read more

Long Term Intervention Monitoring Project (LTIM)

The LTIM Project is evaluating the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to achieving Basin Plan objectives The first

2014ndash15 Basin-scale evaluation of Commonwealth environmental water was completed in 2016 and is now available on the

Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO) website To view the report click here

Some of the key findings of the report were

1 Conditions across much of the Basin were considered dry in 2014ndash15 Within this context Commonwealth environmental water actions contributed to the inundation of approximately 79000 Ha of wetlands and floodplains across 11 river basins Environmental flows comprised between 0 and 86 of total stream flow in the Basinrsquos rivers and in rivers such as the Gwydir these flows reduced the duration of low flows For example at Allambie on the Gwydir the duration of very low flows was reduced from 54 to 23 of the year while medium low flows were reduced from 92 to 59 of the year

2 Vegetation communities consistently responded to environmental flows with increases in the extent and abundance of some plant species reduced relative cover and diversity of non-native plants as well as shifts in the composition of vegetation towards assemblages characterised by a high abundance of emergent aquatic and semi-aquatic species

3 Monitoring of fish populations from across the seven Selected Areas revealed very similar population structures between key species including Murray cod and Golden perch Murray Cod populations were characterised by larger numbers of young-of-year fish but fewer old fish Golden perch had few young-of-year fish but large numbers of older fish The finding is interesting because these patterns were consistent across sites suggesting that recruitment of these species may be taking place over much larger spatial scales than previously thought This finding may influence the way that environmental flows are managed to support fish recruitment

4 Across the Murray-Darling Basin Wetlands of International Importance (ie Ramsar sites) and Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (ie DIWA sites) benefited from Commonwealth environmental water including the Cardross Lakes (DIWA) Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes (DIWA and Ramsar) Macquarie Marshes (DIWA and Ramsar) and the Gingham and Lower Gwydir (DIWA and Ramsar) All of these wetlands are nationally recognised for their environmental values and Commonwealth environmental water was associated with provision of foraging habitat for waterbirds (Hattah and Gwydir) and frog breeding (Macquarie Marshes)

5 In 2014ndash15 18 species of conservation significance were recorded at sites that received Commonwealth environmental water including several threatened species This includes but is not limited to the Regent parrot and the Murray Hardyhead

3

The MDBA ndash MDFRC Collaboration Project (MMCP)

Funded by the MurrayndashDarling Basin Joint Governments The MDBAndashMDFRC Collaboration Agreement seeks to sustain the

collaboration between the MDBA and MDFRC and to further continue the commitments from the MDBA La Trobe University and

CSIRO in the generation and adoption of freshwater ecological knowledge The MDBA and MDFRC have agreed to work together

to maintain research capability and contribute supporting science to underpin the Basin-Wide Watering Strategy

The collaboration project will deliver on four specific research themes

1 Vegetation dispersal 2 Fish movement 3 Fish population and community dynamic modelling 4 Linking macroinvertebrate community structural changes to ecosystem outcomes

More information will be up on the MDFRC website regarding this project in the coming months For more information please

contact the Project Leader Dr Daryl Nielsen via email DarylNielsencsiroau or DNielsenlatrobeeduau or on his direct line 02

60249674

MDB EWKR Project ndash The fish and food-web themes working together at The

Ovens Floodplain

4

Madeline Riddle has also joined the team at MDFRC Wodonga She is a member of the 2017 La Trobe Graduate

Development Program and will be doing three different rotations of four months in departments at the AlburyWodonga

campus her first being with us at MDFRC

Having recently completed her Bachelor of Strategic Communication at La Trobe University Bundoora Madeline has

relocated to Wodonga for the Graduate Program Officer Role

During her rotation with MDFRC Madeline will be working on a large variety of communications based projects

For more information on the La Trobe Graduate Development Program follow this link

To see the full list of MDFRC staff from both Wodonga and Mildura click here

201617 Industry Cadet Program

Over the summer we were lucky enough to have three students from La Trobe University undertaking a 10 week Industry

Cadetship Program at MDFRC Mike Dunn and Adriana Galanakis were based in Wodonga while Juliet Talarico was

situated in the Mildura laboratory Each of the students used this time to work on a major individual project which

contributed to major collaborative projects at the Centre

The focus of the program is for the students to gain valuable experience working with leading research staff at the Centre

conducting a research project writing a report and present their research at a seminar at the end of the 10 weeks

For more information on the program the studentsrsquo projects or past projects click here

PEOPLE NEWS

New MDFRC Staff

We would like to welcome the following new staff

to the MDFRC team

Dr Susan Gehrig is a Research Fellow based at

MDFRC Mildura Susan joined us in October

2016 and is working on the MDB EWKR Project

for the vegetation theme and the Cultural Science

Research Project with the Barkindji Maraura

Elders Environment Team (BMEET)

Susanrsquos main research area of responsibility is

determining the water requirements of our river

wetland and floodplain vegetation

To see Susanrsquos full staff profile please follow this

link

5

Our Mildura cadet Juliet Talarico

Our Wodonga cadets Mike Dunn and Adriana

Galanakis

Congratulations - PhD Completions

A big congratulations to four of our PhD students for completing their PhDrsquos

Sha Sha (Xiaoying Liu) ndash Interactions between the aquatic vegetation and sediment and phosphorus dynamics in

ephemeral freshwater systems the case of Lake Cowl in south-eastern Australia

Supervisors Max Finlayson (Charles Sturt University) amp Daryl Nielson (MDFRC)

Paul McInerney ndash Effects of invasive willows (Salix spp) on stream ecosystem dynamics

Supervisors Phil Suter (LTU) Gavin Rees (MDFRCCSIRO) Ben Gawne (MDFRC University of Canberra

Annaleise Klein ndash Iron biochemistry in aquatic ecosystems

Supervisors Ewen Silvester (La Trobe University) Darren Baldwin (MDFRC)

Clayton Harris ndash Dissolved organic nitrogen in Rivers sources bioavailability and response to flow

Supervisors Ewen Silvester (La Trobe University) Gavin Rees (MDFRC)

Mildura Work Placement Student

Third year university student Brodie Aumont has recently finished up an 5 day placement with the MDFRC Lab in Mildura

Brodie studies a Bachelor of Environmental Science at Deakin University and has experienced a number of diverse activities

throughout the placement She assisted David Wood for a number of days with an assessment of the health of Black Box

and River Red Gum trees on the floodplain of the Murray River just west of Mildura She also stayed out at Nedrsquos Corner

with the MDFRC team and experienced the diverse flora and fauna ndash and at least one snake

Thanks to Brodie for undertaking this work placement with the MDFRC and good luck with the rest of your studies

6

MDB EWKR FORUM

The Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research (MDB EWKR) ndash Research Forum provides an

opportunity for the theme coordinators and their leadership teams to work together in reviewing and planning for the annual

update of their research plans

The forum is held once a year and aims to provide an opportunity for the researchers to work on their individual theme

research plans ndash vegetation fish food-webs and waterbirds ndash and to also identify new opportunities to integrate research

Nearly 20 researchers attended the forum this year which was held from the 14th - 16th of February and came from South

Australia Queensland New South Wales Victoria and the ACT The researchers were primarily from universities but also

came from research centres within state departments

For up to date news on the MDB EWKR project make sure you join the project collaboration space

The researchers from the MDB EWKR Forum

6

MDB EWKR FORUM

The Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research (MDB EWKR) ndash Research Forum provides an

opportunity for the theme coordinators and their leadership teams to work together in reviewing and planning for the annual

update of their research plans

The forum is held once a year and aims to provide an opportunity for the researchers to work on their individual theme

research plans ndash vegetation fish food-webs and waterbirds ndash and to also identify new opportunities to integrate research

Nearly 20 researchers attended the forum this year which was held from the 14th - 16th of February and came from South

Australia Queensland New South Wales Victoria and the ACT The researchers were primarily from universities but also

came from research centres within state departments

For up to date news on the MDB EWKR project make sure you join the project collaboration space

The researchers from the MDB EWKR Forum

7

After a long absence the native grass Eriochloa crebra (commonly known as lsquoCup Grassrsquo) has emerged following summer flooding

Cup Grass is a tufted grass that can grow to

about 60 cm tall Although widespread across

much of Australia it is known in Victoria from

only a few historic collections recorded in 1981

1988 and 2011 from the far north west of the

state

Following flooding over summer Cup Grass has

flourished in some areas within the Murray-

Sunset National Park Patches have been

observed on the east side of Lindsay Island and

parts of Wallpolla Island

Jack Kelly (Parks Victoria) brought the discovery

to the attention of the Murray-Darling Freshwater

Research Centre (MDFRC) in February

Specimens of Cup Grass are kept on site in the

Mildura herbarium MDFRC Vegetation Ecologist

Cherie Campbell and Vegetation Research

Technician Fiona Freestone sent two of these

samples to Senior Conservation Botanist Neville

Walsh at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria to

update distribution and habitat notes in the State

Herbarium

NATIVE GRASS

FLORUISHES

8

RECENT MDFRC PUBLICATIONS

Bond N (2016) Environmental Flows Environmental Watering Pages 1-4 in E Editors Finlayson M Everard M Irvine K

McInnes RJ Middleton BA can Dam AA Davidson NC The Wetland Book I Structure and Function Management and

Methods Springer Netherlands Dordrecht httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-6172-8_350-1

Dabrowski J Baldwin DS Dabrowski JM Hill L Shadung (2017) Impact of temporary desiccation on mobility of nutrients

and metals from sediments of Loskop Reservoir Olifants River Water SA Vol43 No

1 httpdxdoiorg104314wsav43i102

Durant RA Nielsen DL Ward KA (2016) Evaluation of Pseudoraphis spinescens (Poaceae) seed bank from Barmah Forest

floodplain Australian Journal of Botany 64 669-677 httpdxdoiorg101071BT15288

Freestone FL Brown P Campbell CJ Wood DB Nielsen DL Henderson MW (2017) Return of the lignum dead

Resilience of an arid floodplain shrub to drought Journal of Arid Environments 138 9-

17 httpdxdoiorg101016jjaridenv201611011

Portinho JL Nielsen DL Ning N Paul W Noguiera M (2016) Spatial variability of aquatic plant and microfaunal seed and

egg bank communities within a forested floodplain system of a temperate Australian river Aquatic

Sciences httpdxdoiorg101007s00027-016-0514-z

Tonkin Z Kearns J Lyon J Balcombe S King A Bond N (2017) Regional-scale extremes in river discharge and localised

spawning stock abundance influence recruitment dynamics of a threatened freshwater

fish Ecohydrology httpdxdoiorg101002eco1842

MDFRC LABORATORY

Did you know the services of the MDFRC Laboratory in Wodonga can be used by the general public

The MDFRC Laboratory provides specialised environmental and water quality testing capabilities and tailors environmental

and water monitoring programs to meet the needs of key partners and corporate organisations within the Basin

For more information on the Lab including prices or to receive an Analysis Request form please contact John Pengelly

on jpengellylatrobeeduau or alternatively call the Centre on (02) 6064 9650

The Laboratory is accredited by The National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (NATA) meaning the facility is

nationally recognised as being compliant with system and program standards

8

RECENT MDFRC PUBLICATIONS

Bond N (2016) Environmental Flows Environmental Watering Pages 1-4 in E Editors Finlayson M Everard M Irvine K

McInnes RJ Middleton BA can Dam AA Davidson NC The Wetland Book I Structure and Function Management and

Methods Springer Netherlands Dordrecht httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-6172-8_350-1

Dabrowski J Baldwin DS Dabrowski JM Hill L Shadung (2017) Impact of temporary desiccation on mobility of nutrients

and metals from sediments of Loskop Reservoir Olifants River Water SA Vol43 No

1 httpdxdoiorg104314wsav43i102

Durant RA Nielsen DL Ward KA (2016) Evaluation of Pseudoraphis spinescens (Poaceae) seed bank from Barmah Forest

floodplain Australian Journal of Botany 64 669-677 httpdxdoiorg101071BT15288

Freestone FL Brown P Campbell CJ Wood DB Nielsen DL Henderson MW (2017) Return of the lignum dead

Resilience of an arid floodplain shrub to drought Journal of Arid Environments 138 9-

17 httpdxdoiorg101016jjaridenv201611011

Portinho JL Nielsen DL Ning N Paul W Noguiera M (2016) Spatial variability of aquatic plant and microfaunal seed and

egg bank communities within a forested floodplain system of a temperate Australian river Aquatic

Sciences httpdxdoiorg101007s00027-016-0514-z

Tonkin Z Kearns J Lyon J Balcombe S King A Bond N (2017) Regional-scale extremes in river discharge and localised

spawning stock abundance influence recruitment dynamics of a threatened freshwater

fish Ecohydrology httpdxdoiorg101002eco1842

MDFRC LABORATORY

Did you know the services of the MDFRC Laboratory in Wodonga can be used by the general public

The MDFRC Laboratory provides specialised environmental and water quality testing capabilities and tailors environmental

and water monitoring programs to meet the needs of key partners and corporate organisations within the Basin

For more information on the Lab including prices or to receive an Analysis Request form please contact John Pengelly

on jpengellylatrobeeduau or alternatively call the Centre on (02) 6064 9650

The Laboratory is accredited by The National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (NATA) meaning the facility is

nationally recognised as being compliant with system and program standards

9

LINKS WE LIKE A collection of the things we are reading

watching and consuming

This article about Tangled Lignum that the

MDFRC Mildura team contributed to

The Australian River Restoration website

The Riverspace website

A number of articles on PhD candidate Conrad

Bilney and his landmark witchery grub study an

article from the Border Mail and one from

the ABC

(photo credit Mark Jesser from the Border

Mail)

Follow us on social media to keep up to date with all the latest MDFRC news

Share this newsletter with your friends

Share

Tweet

Forward

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All rights reserved

Our mailing address is

mdfrclatrobeeduau