May 072014
 

By Greg Wallis (pseudechis) at YouTube

This school of Northwest Glassfish (Ambassis sp.) was filmed in a rainforest spring tributary of the Finniss River near Batchelor in the Northern Territory of Australia. Although this species is very common it remains officially undescribed. At one stage it was referred to as Ambassis muelleri which is now a synonym of Ambassis agassizii, a fish found through much of the Murray River system much further south.

For information on Northwest Glassfish see the fact sheet at Aquagreen

http://www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_dat…

For information on a closely related species the Sailfin Glassfish, Ambassis agrammus see the Fishes of Australia website

http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/h…

CAAB Taxon Code: 37310008 a closely related species

www.gregwallis.com

Filmed with a Gopro Hero HD1 camera with an “eye of mine” housing

May 032014
 

The ConversationOriginal story by Tom Rayner, Charles Darwin University and Richard Kingsford at The Conversation

Wetlands and rivers need water – not least in the case of Australia’s biggest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, which has been the target of an “environmental watering” plan designed to preserve its water levels and quality.
Water management in the Murray-Darling may be inadvertently helping the common carp at the expense of native fish. Photo: Tom Rayner

Water management in the Murray-Darling may be inadvertently helping the common carp at the expense of native fish. Photo: Tom Rayner

But our research shows that, during the 2010-11 floods, measures taken to manage water levels and preserve local wildlife ended up helping alien species, such as the troublesome common carp.

A helping hand for fish

Environmental watering programs are used worldwide to replenish previously degraded catchments. One of the ways to test how well they are working is to look at what happens to native fish. Our evidence suggests that efforts in the Murray-Darling, although on the right track, might need some refinement to ensure we help the right species.

The 2010-11 episode also highlights the difficulty of performing what amounts to “environmental triage” on degraded river systems such as the Murray-Darling, while still ensuring that everything stays in balance. Continue reading »

Apr 272014
 

By Greg Wallis (pseudechis) at YouTube

The Northern Snake-necked or Long-necked Turtle (Chelodina [Macrochelodina] oblonga [until recently referred to as rugosa]) is a common turtle of the lowland freshwater areas of northern Australia.

This video was filmed in a rainforest spring in the catchment of the Finniss River in the Northern Territory, Australia.

The Northern Snake-necked Turtle is a much sort after food source by the local Aboriginal people.

The back legs and tail of a small Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni) is visible along the left hand edge of the screen just above the centre about half way through the video.

www.gregwallis.com

Apr 192014
 

The ConversationOriginal story by Peter Kyne, Charles Darwin University at The Conversation

Sharks and rays are some of the world’s most threatened animals, with a quarter of all species at risk of extinction. Among the sharks and rays, sawfish are some of the most threatened, with all five species listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Largetooth Sawfish is one of the world’s largest fishes, growing to more than 6 metres. Photo: Miguel Clavero

The Largetooth Sawfish is one of the world’s largest fishes, growing to more than 6 metres. Photo: Miguel Clavero

The Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis), previously known locally as the Freshwater Sawfish, is one of the planet’s largest fish, growing to over 6.5m in length.

The Largetooth Sawfish is a “euryhaline” species: capable of moving freely across a range of salinities from pure freshwater to the oceans. Its life cycle is complex and fascinating, encompassing a wide variety of habitats – floodplains, billabongs, creeks, rivers, estuaries and marine waters.

Young Largetooth Sawfish are born in estuaries before migrating upstream to spend their first 4-5 years of life in river systems. Locally they have been recorded up to 400 kilometres from the coast in the Fitzroy River. Upon nearing maturity they move back to coastal and marine waters.

Status

Historically the Largetooth Sawfish was a wide-ranging species of tropical regions with four distinct populations – eastern Atlantic, western Atlantic, eastern Pacific and the Indo-west Pacific. It is now extinct or severely depleted across much of this range and is globally listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered.

Northern Australia represents one of the only remaining population strongholds for this sawfish and although it has also declined significantly here, it is holding on.

The relatively pristine nature of large northern Australian rivers are essential for juvenile Largetooth Sawfish. We have some understanding of the importance of rivers such as the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley and the Daly River in the Top End. However, we know little about the adult population.

Is the species still declining, or are protection and fisheries-management measures working? A research project is focusing on this question, using new genetic techniques to understand the species’ status.

Northern Australian is the last stronghold for the Largetooth Sawfish. Photo: Peter Kyne

Northern Australian is the last stronghold for the Largetooth Sawfish. Photo: Peter Kyne

Threats

Unregulated and unmanaged fisheries, and habitat loss and degradation, all threaten sawfish across the globe. Their long-toothed snout (or “rostrum”) is easily entangled in nets, making them susceptible to capture in a variety of fishing gear. Sawfish products, particularly their fins (used for shark fin soup) and their rostrum (sold as a curio) are highly valued.

Sawfish have not been commercially targeted in Australia, but have suffered from incidental capture (“bycatch”) in northern Australian gillnet and trawl fisheries. This has severely impacted Australian populations. Some fisheries now have a code of conduct to release sawfish alive, but large individuals can be difficult to handle and death from commercial fishing is an ongoing issue.

The Largetooth Sawfish is encountered on occasion by recreational fishers and there have been instances of illegal harvest, including retaining the rostrum as a trophy. Fishers can follow simple guidelines to release sawfish safely.

There is considerable pressure to develop the freshwater resources of northern Australia, but proposals will firmly need to consider impacts on Largetooth Sawfish. Structures such as dams and barrages in rivers are barriers to sawfish migration, while dry season water extraction could reduce available river habitat. Connectivity from estuaries through to upstream reaches of rivers is essential for allowing the species to complete its lifecycle.

Sawfish survival from Northern Biodiversity on Vimeo.

Strategy

Globally, the IUCN Shark Specialist Group will soon release its Global Sawfish Conservation Strategy which outlines a series of global objectives and actions to meet its vision: “a world where sawfishes are restored to robust populations within thriving aquatic ecosystems.”

These include improved fisheries management, strategic research, species and habitat protection, trade limitation, capacity building, outreach and fundraising.

Nationally, Australia has shown a strong commitment to sawfish conservation, particularly important given the significance of our waters for sawfishes. The Largetooth Sawfish, along with the Dwarf Sawfish and the Green Sawfish are completely protected throughout Australia.

The Narrow Sawfish has not been afforded that level of protection but its global threatened status warrants it, and Australia has an opportunity to continue its leadership in sawfish conservation by fully protecting this species.

A multi-species recovery plan for sawfishes and endangered river sharks is currently available for public comment. The challenge will be to turn these actions into real conservation benefits.

Conclusion

The importance of northern Australia for Largetooth Sawfish and the other three species of threatened sawfishes which occur here cannot be overlooked. Northern Australia is like a “lifeboat” for sawfish; if they have disappeared elsewhere, Australia may be their last hope.The Conversation

Peter Kyne receives funding from the Marine Biodiversity Hub and the Northern Australia Hub, collaborative partnerships supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Research Program (NERP). He is Regional Vice-Chair of the Australia and Oceania IUCN Shark Specialist Group.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read the original article.

Apr 182014
 

Original story by , Canberra Times

Along the bottom of the beautiful Murrumbidgee gorge south of Canberra science is turning up the heat on huge carp.
Senior fisheries technician Prue McGuffie of the NSW Department of Primary Industries with a carp that didn't get away. Photo: Jay Cronan

Senior fisheries technician Prue McGuffie of the NSW Department of Primary Industries with a carp that didn’t get away. Photo: Jay Cronan

In the first project to track carp in an upland river system in NSW, data will be gathered to learn seasonal migration patterns and the best opportunities to trap large numbers of aggregating carp.

Using fine nets and electro fishing, researchers gathered in carp, cod and freshwater prawns on Tuesday.

Acoustic tags were inserted into some of the big carp, which were released back into the eight-metre-deep hole at Bush Heritage Australia’s ”Scottsdale” reserve.

The tag sends out a ping to a listening station in a white buoy in the river. Every time a tagged fish passes, the station records a ping, enabling researchers to download information every few months.

Other carp were dissected to remove their ear bone to determine their age, a key to analysing population structure and determining good years of spawning.

Senior NSW Fisheries technician Prue McGuffie, who netted the hulking, slimy green and grey carp, also kept a watch out for endangered Macquarie perch, which she is researching.

Ms McGuffie netted two cod fingerlings that she will genetically test to determine if they are Murray cod or trout cod.

Meanwhile, on the banks with varying vested interests, scientists, a fly fisherman and a potato farmer’s son watched intensely as a four-kilometre stretch of the river was netted.

Fisherman Steve Samuels is providing local knowledge for the project, and can recount the 1970s when the Murrumbidgee teemed with spawning silver perch. ”You’d only see one or two carp,” he said. ”Trout were all the way up the river.”

Laurence Koenig, whose family grows organic garlic and potatoes on ”Ingelara” next door to Scottsdale, was there to collect dead carp, humanely dispatched in a tub of ice.

Mr Koenig hopes researchers will continue to catch carp from the big hole. It could give him a tonne of fertiliser at each trapping session.

University of Canberra ecologist Mark Lintermans netted the hole overnight for juvenile Macquarie perch, but came up empty-handed.

”They are a long-lived species, so that is not a problem; it just means they have missed a year,” Dr Lintermans said.

Bush Heritage regional manager Peter Saunders said data would determine the best carp removal and control options to safeguard native fish. “We hope this work will fill a gap in Australia’s understanding of carp biology and behaviour in upland river systems, and guide new trials for targeted carp removal to better protect our native fish and river habitats,” he said.

Dr Lintermans said that if carp moved broadly along the river, trapping may not be effective. If they stayed in one spot, they could be controlled.

Observations so far show carp will jump barriers like waterfalls, whereas native fish will not. Carp will congregate in warmer pockets of the river and, at other times, for bait feeding or spawning. Dr Lintermans said Murray cod were rare in that section of the river.

Apr 152014
 

Original story by  Jake Sturmer, ABC News

Researchers in New South Wales have begun a trial to search for the “Achilles heel” of carp.
Carp Etch. Image: DAFF Qld

Carp Etch. Image: DAFF Qld

The introduced species is considered to be one of the world’s most invasive and scientists say they are Australia’s worst aquatic pest.

The project will tag and track carp in the upper Murrumbidgee River, which have played a part in the significant decline of native fish.

Scientists estimate 90 per cent of all native fish have been lost in the river since European settlement.

University of Canberra Associate Professor Mark Lintermans says the fish have had a significant impact on the waterways.

“[They compete] for food, they carry parasites that then spread on to native fish,” he said.

“There’s even a suggestion that they might be hoovering up eggs of native fish as they feed along the bottom.”

The research is being done with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Bush Heritage Australia in its Scottsdale Reserve.

“This project is initially about gathering information – there’s a gap of knowledge of the carp in the upper reaches of the Murrumbidgee,” reserve manager Peter Saunders said.

“So we’re looking to understand what they’re doing, where they’re aggregating, what their populations are and how they’re breeding and where they’re breeding.

“Then [we plan to] expand that project into actually starting to remove them to benefit the native fish which we know are in here in small numbers.”

Local angler and member of the Capital Region Fishing Alliance, Steve Samuels, says a lot has changed since he began fishing in the river in the 1970s.

“There was Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Silver Perch – it was a wonderful place to fish,” he said.

“But today as you see it, the water’s a lot dirtier and carp now dominate as the most prolific fish in the system.”

Contact Investigations@abc.net.au

Apr 152014
 

published by the Department of Environment

Wetlands Australia: National Wetlands Update February 2014

Wetlands Australia: National Wetlands Update February 2014

Download

Introduction

The international theme of World Wetlands Day 2014 is “Wetlands and Agriculture: Partners for Growth”. For millennia, wetlands have been used directly for agriculture, and for supplying food, fuel and fibre to support lives and livelihoods. Wetlands continue to play an essential role in supporting modern day agriculture. They provide water storage, flood buffering, nutrient removal, water purification and erosion control. Sustainable practices which support both agriculture and healthy wetlands are therefore coming to the fore.

This edition of Wetlands Australia includes several feature articles on wetlands and agriculture, along with many other articles on current wetland projects and programs.

Australia was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (more commonly known as the Ramsar Convention), and in 1974 designated the world’s first Ramsar site: Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory.  In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Ramsar designation, this edition of Wetlands Australia also features 23 articles celebrating Australian Ramsar sites.

If you would like to contribute to future editions of Wetlands Australia, please contactwetlandsmail@environment.gov.au

Download individual chapters

Introduction and contents (PDF – 698.64 KB)

Wetlands and Agriculture: Partners for Growth (PDF – 888.7 KB)

  • Wimmera wetland project benefits whole farm
  • Murray Wetland Carbon Storage project
  • Territory Conservation Agreements – helping pastoralists look after wetlands
  • Agricultural water supports wetlands and tourism
  • I’d like to order some bitterns and rice, please
  • Burdekin cane farmer builds a wetland for the future

Ramsar wetland management in Australia (PDF – 749.5 KB)

  • Ramsar in New South Wales – a tale of 12 sites
  • Queensland wetlands celebrate 20 years of Ramsar listing
  • Banrock Station wetland and vineyard – a perfect blend
  • Record breaking flight signals the importance of conserving wetlands
  • Environmental flows bring waterbirds to Tuckerbil Swamp Ramsar site
  • Managing weed and sea level rise threats to Kakadu’s tropical river floodplains

Wetland conservation and restoration (PDF – 807.27 KB)

  • An update on wetland restoration on private land in South Australia and Victoria
  • Protecting and enhancing the wonderful Moolort Wetlands of Victoria
  • Using historical mine pits in Western Australia to create a wetlands complex for the benefit of water bird conservation and the local community
  • Doing it together – a good news story about the fairies and the ferry
  • From little things, big things grow
  • Successful rehabilitation of a Waterbird Refuge
  • Kids tell companies to mind their business
  • Students and surf club – the clean-up team!

Water management and wetlands (PDF – 828.02 KB)

  • Environmental watering in the Lower Lachlan River catchment, New South Wales
  • To wade or not to wade – hydrological management effects on species composition
  • Partnering to restore the Mallowa Creek floodplain wetlands

Wetland management and research (PDF – 706.58 KB)

  • Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program
  • The Finke River- salty & lovin’ it
  • Novel ecosystem, novel approaches
  • Sixth Lake Eyre Basin Conference – cross-border collaboration

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention in Australia – a showcase of Australian Ramsar sites (PDF – 2.94 MB)

  • Cobourg Peninsula Ramsar Site, Northern Territory
  • Kakadu National Park Ramsar Site, Northern Territory
  • Barmah Forest Ramsar Site, Victoria
  • Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar Site, Tasmania
  • Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site, Victoria
  • Logan Lagoon Ramsar Site, Tasmania
  • Moulting Lagoon Ramsar Site, Tasmania
  • Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site, Victoria
  • Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar Site, New South Wales
  • Towra Point Ramsar Site, New South Wales
  • The Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Ramsar Site, South Australia
  • Macquarie Marshes Ramsar Site, New South Wales
  • Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site, South Australia
  • Eighty-mile Beach Ramsar Site, Western Australia
  • Lake Toolibin Ramsar Site, Western Australia
  • Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar Site, Western Australia
  • Blue Lake Ramsar Site, New South Wales
  • Ginini Flats Wetland Complex Ramsar Site, Australian Capital Territory
  • Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site, Queensland
  • Banrock Station Wetland Complex Ramsar Site, South Australia
  • Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Ramsar Site, Coral Sea Islands Territory
  • The Dales Ramsar Site, Christmas Island
  • Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands Ramsar Site, South Australia

Calendar of events (PDF – 482.54 KB)

Previous editions of Wetlands Australia are also available:

Apr 122014
 

Media release from Springer

Rainbowfish raised in the wild braver than those bred in captivity, study shows

The boldest black-lined rainbowfish are those that are born in the wild. Also more fearless are those that analyze information both sides of their brains. This is the conclusion of Australian researchers Culum Brown and Anne-Laurence Bibost from Macquarie University, in a study published in Springer’s journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Melanotaenia nigrans, Scotts Ck, Adelaide River. Photo: Gunther Schmida

Melanotaenia nigrans, Scotts Ck, Adelaide River. Photo: Gunther Schmida

The preference to analyze and react to information with either the left or right hemisphere of the brain is called cerebral lateralization, and is widespread among vertebrates. Lateralization is seen in the preference of humans or parrots to use one hand or claw over the other or to always turn to the same side when moving around objects.

The researchers first tested wild rainbowfish against captive rainbowfish. They then used a modified version of the mirror test to find out if a fish showed a lateral preference to view itself with either its left or right eye. Levels of boldness were tested by timing how long it took a fish to emerge from a safe hiding place.

Non-lateralized fish that did not analyze information in a specific brain hemisphere were significantly bolder than both left- and right-lateralized fish. This suggests that fear is heightened when primarily processed by a single hemisphere, making lateralized fish less bold. Previous studies have shown that complex tasks are more difficult to perform when information processing is shared between two brain hemispheres. It therefore boils down to a question of speed. A non-lateralized fish in a potentially life-threatening situation must first draw information from both hemispheres, and compare and integrate it before it can make a decision. Strongly lateralized fish, on the other hand, can act more quickly because they only draw on information from a single hemisphere.

If non-lateralized fish process fear-related stimuli comparatively slowly or inefficiently, it may be that the moderating effect of fear is somewhat lessened in comparison to strongly lateralized fish. The researchers think this may result in a reduced level of fear generally, or perhaps the decision to explore is already made before the moderating effect of fear comes into play. Either scenario would adequately explain their observation that non-lateralized fish are bolder than lateralized fish.

The researchers were not surprised that wild fish were significantly bolder than captive-reared fish, as previous work they had done showed that populations that are hunted by predators were braver than those from low-predation areas.

“The similarities between personality and laterality are certainly intriguing and hint at a single underlying function or mechanism,” says Brown. “We suggest that these aspects of personality traits are actually caused by variation in laterality.”

Reference: Brown, C. & Bibost, A-L. (2014). Laterality is linked to personality in the black-lined rainbowfish, Melanotaenia nigransBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, DOI 10.1007/s00265-014-1712-0