Academic literature on the topic 'Dryland rivers'
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Journal articles on the topic "Dryland rivers"
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Parsons, Melissa, and Mark Southwell. "Flooding and geomorphology influence the persistence of the invasive annual herb Noogoora burr (Xanthium occidentale Bertol.) in the riparian zone of the dryland Darling River, Australia." Rangeland Journal 37, no. 5 (2015): 433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj14116.
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The relationship between flooding, and the establishment and persistence of exotic species, is not well understood in highly variable dryland rivers. Increased moisture associated with floods is likely to stimulate establishment and growth of exotic plants, but floods may also act as a stress to exotic plants if floods last for weeks to months. This study examined how physical drivers of dryland rivers – flood inundation and geomorphology – influence the persistence of Xanthium occidentale Bertol. in the dryland Darling River, Australia. The distribution of X. occidentale was associated with flood-related moisture subsidy, moderated by channel geomorphology. Dead stalks and burrs on the ground occurred above the 8-m height of the previous flood. Adult and juvenile plants occurred below 8 m corresponding to smaller flood events. Flatter geomorphic units (floodplains and benches) contained more plants and burrs, whereas steeper geomorphic units (banks) did not retain burrs, limiting plant abundance. Flooding is not a stress to X. occidentale. A glasshouse experiment showed that flood durations of up to 40 days had minimal effect on the germination, survival and growth of X. occidentale burrs, seeds or seedlings. Weed management strategies for X. occidentale in dryland rivers could be enhanced by targeting periods following flooding when moisture availability is increased on the flatter geomorphic units in the river channel.
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Sandercock, P. J., J. M. Hooke, and J. M. Mant. "Vegetation in dryland river channels and its interaction with fluvial processes." Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment 31, no. 2 (April 2007): 107–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309133307076106.
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Vegetation forms a major component of the channel environment of dryland rivers in Mediterranean Europe yet the interactions between vegetation and fluvial processes in dryland river channels have received relatively little attention. Characteristic of dryland channels is a degree of complexity and irregularity in morphology coupled with abrupt changes in patterns of riparian vegetation along their course. This is in contrast to more temperate and humid channels, which show strong downstream trends in morphology and a regularity in the distribution of vegetation across the valley floor. The general effect of vegetation in these channels appears to be to enhance the processes of sedimentation and increase resistance to erosion. However, at high stress levels vegetation may be removed. The limited work that has been undertaken indicates that there is considerable variability in the effect that vegetation has on channel processes, depending on both the magnitude of the flow and characteristics of the vegetation, such as their distribution and positioning within the channel and factors such as plant flexibility, cross-sectional area (blockage ratio), number of stems. Studies of sediment connectivity are beginning to yield new insights into the dynamics of dryland rivers, and in particular the role of vegetation in reducing the connectivity of sediment transfers downstream. Detailed surveying at monitored sites such as is being carried out within the EU-funded project RECONDES is required to study the interactions between vegetation, sediment and flow in dryland rivers of the Mediterranean region.
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Burford, Michele A., Andrew J. Cook, Christine S. Fellows, Stephen R. Balcombe, and Stuart E. Bunn. "Sources of carbon fuelling production in an arid floodplain river." Marine and Freshwater Research 59, no. 3 (2008): 224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf07159.
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Dryland rivers are characterised by highly pulsed and unpredictable flow, and support a diverse biota. The present study examined the contribution of floodplain sources to the productivity of a disconnected dryland river; that is a waterhole, after a major overland flood event. Rate measures of productivity were combined with stable isotope and biomass data on the food web in the waterhole and floodplain. The present study estimated that 50% of the fish carbon in the waterhole after flooding was derived from floodplain food sources. In the few months after retraction of the river to isolated waterholes, the large biomass of fish concentrated from the flooding decreased by 80%, most likely as a result of starvation. Based on the development of a carbon budget for the waterhole, mass mortality is hypothesised to be the cause of the high rates of heterotrophic production in the waterhole. The present study suggests that floodplain inputs are important for fuelling short-term production in waterholes, but via an unconventional pathway; that is, fish mortality. The episodic nature of flooding in dryland rivers means that changes in flow regimes, such as water regulation or abstraction, will reduce flooding and hence floodplain subsidies to the river. This is likely to have significant impacts on river productivity.
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Costa, A. C., A. Bronstert, and J. C. de Araújo. "A channel transmission losses model for different dryland rivers." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 16, no. 4 (April 3, 2012): 1111–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1111-2012.
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Abstract. Channel transmission losses in drylands take place normally in extensive alluvial channels or streambeds underlain by fractured rocks. They can play an important role in streamflow rates, groundwater recharge, freshwater supply and channel-associated ecosystems. We aim to develop a process-oriented, semi-distributed channel transmission losses model, using process formulations which are suitable for data-scarce dryland environments and applicable to both hydraulically disconnected losing streams and hydraulically connected losing(/gaining) streams. This approach should be able to cover a large variation in climate and hydro-geologic controls, which are typically found in dryland regions of the Earth. Our model was first evaluated for a losing/gaining, hydraulically connected 30 km reach of the Middle Jaguaribe River (MJR), Ceará, Brazil, which drains a catchment area of 20 000 km2. Secondly, we applied it to a small losing, hydraulically disconnected 1.5 km channel reach in the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Arizona, USA. The model was able to predict reliably the streamflow volume and peak for both case studies without using any parameter calibration procedure. We have shown that the evaluation of the hypotheses on the dominant hydrological processes was fundamental for reducing structural model uncertainties and improving the streamflow prediction. For instance, in the case of the large river reach (MJR), it was shown that both lateral stream-aquifer water fluxes and groundwater flow in the underlying alluvium parallel to the river course are necessary to predict streamflow volume and channel transmission losses, the former process being more relevant than the latter. Regarding model uncertainty, it was shown that the approaches, which were applied for the unsaturated zone processes (highly nonlinear with elaborate numerical solutions), are much more sensitive to parameter variability than those approaches which were used for the saturated zone (mathematically simple water budgeting in aquifer columns, including backwater effects). In case of the MJR-application, we have seen that structural uncertainties due to the limited knowledge of the subsurface saturated system interactions (i.e. groundwater coupling with channel water; possible groundwater flow parallel to the river) were more relevant than those related to the subsurface parameter variability. In case of the WEGW application we have seen that the non-linearity involved in the unsaturated flow processes in disconnected dryland river systems (controlled by the unsaturated zone) generally contain far more model uncertainties than do connected systems controlled by the saturated flow. Therefore, the degree of aridity of a dryland river may be an indicator of potential model uncertainty and subsequent attainable predictability of the system.
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Balcombe, Stephen R., Angela H. Arthington, Neal D. Foster, Martin C. Thoms, Glenn G. Wilson, and Stuart E. Bunn. "Fish assemblages of an Australian dryland river: abundance, assemblage structure and recruitment patterns in the Warrego River, Murray - Darling Basin." Marine and Freshwater Research 57, no. 6 (2006): 619. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf06025.
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Fish in dryland rivers must cope with extreme variability in hydrology, temperature and other environmental factors that ultimately have a major influence on their patterns of distribution and abundance at the landscape scale. Given that fish persist in these systems under conditions of high environmental variability, dryland rivers represent ideal systems to investigate the processes contributing to and sustaining fish biodiversity and recruitment in variable environments. Hence, spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblage structure was examined in 15 waterholes of the Warrego River between October 2001 and May 2003. Fish assemblages in isolated waterholes were differentiated at the end of the dry 2001 winter but were relatively similar following high summer flows in January 2002 as a consequence of high hydrological connectivity among waterholes. Small, shallow waterholes supported more species and higher abundances than large-deep waterholes. Large, deep waterholes provided important refuge for large-bodied fish species such as adult yellowbelly, Macquaria ambigua, and the eel-tailed catfish, Tandanus tandanus. Recruitment patterns of bony bream (Nematalosa erebi), Hyrtl’s tandan (Neosilurus hyrtlii) and yellowbelly were associated with high flow events and backwater inundation; however recruitment of yellowbelly and bony bream was also evident following a zero-flow period. Departures from typical flood-induced seasonal spawning patterns may reflect opportunistic spawning behaviours appropriate to the erratic patterns of flooding and dry spells in dryland rivers.
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Costelloe, J. F., J. R. W. Reid, J. C. Pritchard, J. T. Puckridge, V. E. Bailey, and P. J. Hudson. "Are alien fish disadvantaged by extremely variable flow regimes in arid-zone rivers?" Marine and Freshwater Research 61, no. 8 (2010): 857. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf09090.
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The proliferation of alien fish in dryland rivers potentially obstructs the maintenance of river health. Modified flow regimes are hypothesised to facilitate invasions by alien fish but in unregulated dryland rivers, large floods provide a recruitment advantage for native over alien species whereas droughts favour alien species. We tested these hypotheses by using data from a 3-year study (2000–2003) of fish populations in the unmodified rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) of Australia. Results from a lower reach of Cooper Creek were compared with those of an earlier study (1986–1992). During both periods, large floods occurred, with return periods ranging from >1 in 5 to >1 in 25 years. In the lower Cooper, decreases in the abundance of alien species relative to native species, and dramatic increases in recruitment of native species, were observed during a 1–3-year period following large floods. In two other rivers in 2000–2003, there was no statistically significant change in the already low abundances of alien species. We suggest that the naturally variable hydrological regimes and native-dominant fish assemblages of the unregulated LEB rivers afford some resistance to the establishment and proliferation of alien fish through flood and drought conditions.
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Tooth, Stephen, and Gerald C. Nanson. "EQUILIBRIUM AND NONEQUILIBRIUM CONDITIONS IN DRYLAND RIVERS." Physical Geography 21, no. 3 (May 2000): 183–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02723646.2000.10642705.
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FELLOWS, CHRISTINE S., STUART E. BUNN, FRAN SHELDON, and NERIDA J. BEARD. "Benthic metabolism in two turbid dryland rivers." Freshwater Biology 54, no. 2 (February 2009): 236–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2008.02104.x.
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Costa, A. C., A. Bronstert, and J. C. de Araújo. "A channel transmission losses model for different dryland rivers." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions 8, no. 5 (October 4, 2011): 8903–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hessd-8-8903-2011.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Channel transmission losses in drylands take place normally in extensive alluvial channels or streambeds underlain by fractured rocks. They can play an important role in flood prediction, groundwater recharge, freshwater supply and channel-associated ecosystems. We aim to develop a semi-distributed channel transmission losses model, a coupling of formulations which are more suitable for data-scarce dryland environments, applicable for both hydraulically disconnected losing streams and hydraulically connected losing(/gaining) streams. Hence, this approach should be able to cover a large variation in climate and hydro-geologic controls, which are typically found in dryland regions of the world. Traditionally, channel transmission losses models have been developed for site specific conditions. Our model was firstly evaluated for a losing/gaining, hydraulically connected 30 km reach of the Jaguaribe River, Ceará, Brazil, which controls a catchment area of 20 000 km2. Secondly, we applied it to a small losing, hydraulically disconnected 1.5 km channel reach in the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Arizona, USA. The model based on the perceptual hydrological models of the reaches was able to predict reliably the stream flow for the both case studies. For the larger river reach, the evaluation of the hypotheses on the dominant hydrological processes was fundamental for reducing structural model uncertainties and improving the stream flow prediction, showing that both lateral stream-aquifer water fluxes and groundwater flow in the underlying alluvium parallel to the river course are necessary to predict stream flow and channel transmission losses, the former process being more relevant than the latter. The sensitivity analysis showed that even if the parameters can "potentially" produce large flow exchanges between model units in the saturated part of the modelling, large flow exchanges do not happen because they are restricted by the actual hydraulic gradient between the model units. Moreover, the saturated-part-based parameters (active in the larger river) produced much smaller variation in the sensitivity coefficient than those (active in the smaller river) which drive the unsaturated part of the channel transmission losses model.
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Wan, Wenhua, Hang Zheng, Yueyi Liu, Jianshi Zhao, Yingqi Fan, and Hongbo Fan. "Ecological Compensation Mechanism in a Trans-Provincial River Basin: A Hydrological/Water-Quality Modeling-Based Analysis." Water 14, no. 16 (August 18, 2022): 2542. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14162542.
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Ecological compensation is an important economic means of water pollution control and quality management, especially for trans-regional rivers with unbalanced economic and social development between upstream and downstream. The Tangbai River Basin (TRB), a watershed crossing Henan province and Hubei province, China, forms one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions. The TRB has been exposed to high doses of fertilizers for a long time. This study simulates hydrologic and nutrient cycling in the TRB using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with limited data available. The results indicate that dryland fields, which constitute 62% of the basin area, produce 80% of total nitrogen (TN) and 85% of total phosphorus (TP) yields of the whole river basin. The water quality of river sections at the provincial boundary shows that only 29% of the time from 2000 to 2019 met the Class III standard regarding TN and TP concentrations, and the concentrations in the spring flood season are approximately three times the mean in the non-flood season. The Grain for Green ecological restoration measure in Henan province shows that restoration of non-flat drylands can reduce nutrient loads at trans-provincial sections by 3.5 times compared to that of slope-independent drylands; however, the water quality compliance rate remains similar. The value of ecological compensation can also vary widely depending on different quantitative criteria. The SWAT-based pollutant quantification method adopted in this study could have implications for ecological compensation in trans-regional rivers.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Dryland rivers"
1
Carini, Giovannella, and n/a. "Effects of Contemporary and Historical Processes on Population Genetic Structure of Two Freshwater Species in Dryland River Systems (Western Queensland, Australia)." Griffith University. Australian School of Environmental Studies, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20050113.081250.
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Arid and semiarid river systems in Western Queensland, Australia, are characterized by the unpredictable and highly variable nature of their hydrological regimes as a result of the episodic nature of rain events in the region. These dryland rivers typically experience episodic floods and extremely low or no flow periods. During low or no flow periods, water persists only in relatively wide and deep sections of the river channels, which are called 'waterholes'. These isolated waterholes serve as refugia for aquatic species during protracted intervals between floods. In such discontinuous riverine habitat, dispersal of freshwater species may be achieved only during wet seasons, when water is flowing in rivers and the nearby floodplains. Obligate aquatic species occur in habitats that represent discrete sites surrounded by inhospitable terrestrial landscapes. Thus, movements are very much limited by the physical nature and arrangement of the riverine system. In addition, the distribution of a species may be also largely dependent on historical events. Landscape and river courses continually change over geological time, often leaving distinct phylogenetic 'signatures', useful in reconciling species' biology with population connectivity and earth history. The main aim of this study was to resolve the relative importance of contemporary and historical processes in structuring populations of two freshwater species in Western Queensland river systems. To address this aim, a comparative approach was taken in analysing patterns of genetic variation of two freshwater invertebrates: a snail (Notopala sublineata) and a prawn (Macrobrachium australiense). Mitochondrial sequences were used for both the species. In addition, allozyme and microsatellites markers were employed for N. sublineata. These species have similar distributions in Western Queensland region, although N. sublineata appears to be extinct in some catchments. M. australiense is thought to have good dispersal abilities due to a planktonic larval phase in its life cycle and good swimming capabilities, whereas N. sublineata is thought to have limited dispersal abilities, because of its benthic behaviour and because this species is viviparous. It was hypothesised that these freshwater invertebrates, would display high levels of genetic structure in populations, because physical barriers represented by terrestrial inhospitable habitat, are likely to impede gene flow between populations inhabiting isolated river pools. Genetic data for the two species targeted in this study supported this hypothesis, indicating strong population subdivision at all spatial scales investigated (i.e. between and within catchments). This suggests that contemporary dispersal between isolated waterholes is relatively restricted, despite the potential good dispersal abilities of one of the species. It was hypothesised that levels of gene flow between populations of aquatic species were higher during the Quaternary (likely movements of individuals across catchment boundaries) and that they have been isolated relatively recently. There is evidence that historically gene flow was occurring between populations, suggesting that episodic dispersal across catchment boundaries was likelier in the past. Episodic historical movements of aquatic fauna were facilitated by higher patterns of river connectivity as a result of the climate changes of the Pleistocene. Because the two species targeted in this study exhibit analogous spatial patterns of evolutionary subdivision it is likely that they have a shared biogeographic history. The unpredictable flow regime of rivers in Western Queensland is likely to have considerable effects on the genetic diversity of aquatic populations. First, if populations of obligate freshwater organisms inhabiting less persistent waterholes are more likely to experience periodic bottlenecks than those inhabiting more persistent ones, they would be expected to have lower levels of genetic diversity. Second, if populations inhabiting less persistent waterholes periodically undergo local extinction with subsequent recolonisation, there should be higher levels of genetic differentiation among them, due to the founder effects, than among those populations inhabiting more persistent waterholes. Contrary to the first prediction, the observed levels of genetic diversity in both N. sublineata and M. australiense were high in both more persistent and less persistent waterholes. There was no tendency for genetic diversity to be lower in less persistent than in more persistent waterholes. However, when Cooper waterholes were ranked in order of persistence, positive correlation between water persistence time in waterholes and genetic diversity was detected in N. sublineata but not in M. australiense. Contrary to the second prediction, highly significant genetic differentiation was found among populations from both less persistent and more persistent waterholes. This indicates that not only populations from less persistent but also those from more persistent waterholes were very dissimilar genetically. This study demonstrated the importance of both contemporary and historical processes in shaping the population structure of obligate freshwater species in Western Queensland river systems. It has indicated that contemporary movements of freshwater species generally are extremely limited across the region, whereas episodic dispersal across catchment boundaries was possible during the Pleistocene, due to different patterns of river connectivity.
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Carini, Giovannella. "Effects of Contemporary and Historical Processes on Population Genetic Structure of Two Freshwater Species in Dryland River Systems (Western Queensland, Australia)." Thesis, Griffith University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367070.
Full textAbstract:
Arid and semiarid river systems in Western Queensland, Australia, are characterized by the unpredictable and highly variable nature of their hydrological regimes as a result of the episodic nature of rain events in the region. These dryland rivers typically experience episodic floods and extremely low or no flow periods. During low or no flow periods, water persists only in relatively wide and deep sections of the river channels, which are called 'waterholes'. These isolated waterholes serve as refugia for aquatic species during protracted intervals between floods. In such discontinuous riverine habitat, dispersal of freshwater species may be achieved only during wet seasons, when water is flowing in rivers and the nearby floodplains. Obligate aquatic species occur in habitats that represent discrete sites surrounded by inhospitable terrestrial landscapes. Thus, movements are very much limited by the physical nature and arrangement of the riverine system. In addition, the distribution of a species may be also largely dependent on historical events. Landscape and river courses continually change over geological time, often leaving distinct phylogenetic 'signatures', useful in reconciling species' biology with population connectivity and earth history. The main aim of this study was to resolve the relative importance of contemporary and historical processes in structuring populations of two freshwater species in Western Queensland river systems. To address this aim, a comparative approach was taken in analysing patterns of genetic variation of two freshwater invertebrates: a snail (Notopala sublineata) and a prawn (Macrobrachium australiense). Mitochondrial sequences were used for both the species. In addition, allozyme and microsatellites markers were employed for N. sublineata. These species have similar distributions in Western Queensland region, although N. sublineata appears to be extinct in some catchments. M. australiense is thought to have good dispersal abilities due to a planktonic larval phase in its life cycle and good swimming capabilities, whereas N. sublineata is thought to have limited dispersal abilities, because of its benthic behaviour and because this species is viviparous. It was hypothesised that these freshwater invertebrates, would display high levels of genetic structure in populations, because physical barriers represented by terrestrial inhospitable habitat, are likely to impede gene flow between populations inhabiting isolated river pools. Genetic data for the two species targeted in this study supported this hypothesis, indicating strong population subdivision at all spatial scales investigated (i.e. between and within catchments). This suggests that contemporary dispersal between isolated waterholes is relatively restricted, despite the potential good dispersal abilities of one of the species. It was hypothesised that levels of gene flow between populations of aquatic species were higher during the Quaternary (likely movements of individuals across catchment boundaries) and that they have been isolated relatively recently. There is evidence that historically gene flow was occurring between populations, suggesting that episodic dispersal across catchment boundaries was likelier in the past. Episodic historical movements of aquatic fauna were facilitated by higher patterns of river connectivity as a result of the climate changes of the Pleistocene. Because the two species targeted in this study exhibit analogous spatial patterns of evolutionary subdivision it is likely that they have a shared biogeographic history. The unpredictable flow regime of rivers in Western Queensland is likely to have considerable effects on the genetic diversity of aquatic populations. First, if populations of obligate freshwater organisms inhabiting less persistent waterholes are more likely to experience periodic bottlenecks than those inhabiting more persistent ones, they would be expected to have lower levels of genetic diversity. Second, if populations inhabiting less persistent waterholes periodically undergo local extinction with subsequent recolonisation, there should be higher levels of genetic differentiation among them, due to the founder effects, than among those populations inhabiting more persistent waterholes. Contrary to the first prediction, the observed levels of genetic diversity in both N. sublineata and M. australiense were high in both more persistent and less persistent waterholes. There was no tendency for genetic diversity to be lower in less persistent than in more persistent waterholes. However, when Cooper waterholes were ranked in order of persistence, positive correlation between water persistence time in waterholes and genetic diversity was detected in N. sublineata but not in M. australiense. Contrary to the second prediction, highly significant genetic differentiation was found among populations from both less persistent and more persistent waterholes. This indicates that not only populations from less persistent but also those from more persistent waterholes were very dissimilar genetically. This study demonstrated the importance of both contemporary and historical processes in shaping the population structure of obligate freshwater species in Western Queensland river systems. It has indicated that contemporary movements of freshwater species generally are extremely limited across the region, whereas episodic dispersal across catchment boundaries was possible during the Pleistocene, due to different patterns of river connectivity.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
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Baggiano, Olivier. "The Murray - Darling Turtles: Gene Flow and Population Persistance in Dryland Rivers." Thesis, Griffith University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367471.
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Australia’s largest and most important waterway- the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) - is under threat owing to predicted increases in temperature extremes and reduction in rainfall - runoff in the coming decades. Management strategies are required that incorporate an understanding of dispersal patterns of the MDB fauna and flora. Patterns of dispersal have typically been studied through direct organismal studies but genetic approaches, in which the movement of genes in the landscape is used as a correlate of species dispersal, can provide a more comprehensive view by investigating at a much larger temporal and spatial scale. Genetic connectivity (dispersal) is influenced by the biology of the species, and by flow regime and the dendritic pattern of the network in riverine landscapes. An understanding of the relative influence of each on connectivity is required to deliver informed management
strategies. Decisions regarding whether management for conservation is necessary also require an understanding of a species susceptibility to a changing environment. Species already exhibiting deleterious trajectories under current flow regimes in the basin may require more drastic measures than those that have remained unaffected.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith School of Environment
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Cunha, Costa Alexandre. "Analyzing and modelling of flow transmission processes in river-systems with a focus on semi-arid conditions." Phd thesis, Universität Potsdam, 2012. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2012/5969/.
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One of the major problems for the implementation of water resources planning and management in arid and semi-arid environments is the scarcity of hydrological data and, consequently, research studies. In this thesis, the hydrology of dryland river systems was analyzed and a semi-distributed hydrological model and a forecasting approach were developed for flow transmission processes in river-systems with a focus on semi-arid conditions.
Three different sources of hydrological data (streamflow series, groundwater level series and multi-temporal satellite data) were combined in order to analyze the channel transmission losses of a large reach of the Jaguaribe River in NE Brazil. A perceptual model of this reach was derived suggesting that the application of models, which were developed for sub-humid and temperate regions, may be more suitable for this reach than classical models, which were developed for arid and semi-arid regions. Summarily, it was shown that this river reach is hydraulically connected with groundwater and shifts from being a losing river at the dry and beginning of rainy seasons to become a losing/gaining (mostly losing) river at the middle and end of rainy seasons.
A new semi-distributed channel transmission losses model was developed, which was based primarily on the capability of simulation in very different dryland environments and flexible model structures for testing hypotheses on the dominant hydrological processes of rivers. This model was successfully tested in a large reach of the Jaguaribe River in NE Brazil and a small stream in the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in the SW USA. Hypotheses on the dominant processes of the channel transmission losses (different model structures) in the Jaguaribe river were evaluated, showing that both lateral (stream-)aquifer water fluxes and ground-water flow in the underlying alluvium parallel to the river course are necessary to predict streamflow and channel transmission losses, the former process being more relevant than the latter. This procedure not only reduced model structure uncertainties, but also reported modelling failures rejecting model structure hypotheses, namely streamflow without river-aquifer interaction and stream-aquifer flow without groundwater flow parallel to the river course. The application of the model to different dryland environments enabled learning about the model itself from differences in channel reach responses. For example, the parameters related to the unsaturated part of the model, which were active for the small reach in the USA, presented a much greater variation in the sensitivity coefficients than those which drove the saturated part of the model, which were active for the large reach in Brazil.
Moreover, a nonparametric approach, which dealt with both deterministic evolution and inherent fluctuations in river discharge data, was developed based on a qualitative dynamical system-based criterion, which involved a learning process about the structure of the time series, instead of a fitting procedure only. This approach, which was based only on the discharge time series itself, was applied to a headwater catchment in Germany, in which runoff are induced by either convective rainfall during the summer or snow melt in the spring. The application showed the following important features:
• the differences between runoff measurements were more suitable than the actual runoff measurements when using regression models;
• the catchment runoff system shifted from being a possible dynamical system contaminated with noise to a linear random process when the interval time of the discharge time series increased;
• and runoff underestimation can be expected for rising limbs and overestimation for falling limbs.
This nonparametric approach was compared with a distributed hydrological model designed for real-time flood forecasting, with both presenting similar results on average.
Finally, a benchmark for hydrological research using semi-distributed modelling was proposed, based on the aforementioned analysis, modelling and forecasting of flow transmission processes. The aim of this benchmark was not to describe a blue-print for hydrological modelling design, but rather to propose a scientific method to improve hydrological knowledge using semi-distributed hydrological modelling. Following the application of the proposed benchmark to a case study, the actual state of its hydrological knowledge and its predictive uncertainty can be determined, primarily through rejected hypotheses on the dominant hydrological processes and differences in catchment/variables responses.Die Bewirtschaftung von Wasserressourcen in ariden und semiariden Landschaften ist mit einer Reihe besonderer Probleme konfrontiert. Eines der größten Probleme für die Maßnahmenplanung und für das operationelle Management ist der Mangel an hydrologischen Daten und damit zusammenhängend auch die relativ kleine Zahl wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten zu dieser Thematik. In dieser Arbeit wurden 1) die grundlegenden hydrologischen Bedingungen von Trockenflusssystemen analysiert, 2) ein Modellsystem für Flüsse unter semiariden Bedingungen, und 3) ein nichtparametrisches Vorhersage-verfahren für Abflussvorgänge in Flüssen entwickelt. Der Wasserverlust in einem großen Abschnitt des Jaguaribe Flusses im nordöstlichen Brasilien wurde auf Basis von Daten zu Abflussraten, Grundwasserflurabstände und mit Hilfe multitemporaler Satellitendaten analysiert. Dafür wurde zuerst ein konzeptionelles hydrologisches Modell über die Mechanismen der Transferverluste in diesem Abschnitt des Trockenflusses erstellt. Dabei ergab sich, dass der Flussabschnitt mit dem Grundwasser hydraulisch verbunden ist. Der Flussabschnitt weist in der Trockenenzeit und am Anfang der Regenzeit nur Wasserverlust (Sickerung) zum Grundwasser auf. Im Laufe der Regenzeit findet auch ein gegenseitiger Austausch vom Grundwasser mit dem Flusswasser statt. Aufgrund dieser hydraulischen Kopplung zwischen Flusswasser und Grundwasser sind für diesen Flussabschnitt hydrologische Modellansätze anzuwenden, die generell für gekoppelte Fluss-Grundwassersysteme, v.a. in feuchtgemäßigten Klimaten, entwickelt wurden. Es wurde ein neuartiges hydrologisches Simulationsmodell für Transferverluste in Trockenflüssen entwickelt. Dieses Modell ist für unterschiedliche aride und semiaride Landschaften anwendbar und hat eine flexible Modellstruktur, wodurch unterschiedliche Hypothesen zur Relevanz einzelner hydrologische Prozesse getestet werden können. Es wurde für den zuvor genannten großen Abschnitt des Jaguaribe Flusses im nordöstlichen Brasilien und für einen kleinen Flussabschnitt im „Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed“ (WGEW) in Arizona, Südwest-USA, angewendet. Für die eine prozess-orientierte Simulation von Abflussbedingungen und Transferverlusten im Einzugsgebiet des Jaguaribe hat sich gezeigt, dass die am besten geeignete Modellstruktur sowohl den Austausch zwischen Flusswasser und Grundwasser (senkrecht zur Fließrichtung des Flusses) als auch die parallel zum Fluss verlaufende Grundwasserströmung enthält. Die Simulationsexperimente mit unterschiedlichen Modellstrukturen („Hypothesentest“) reduzierte nicht nur die Modellstrukturunsicherheit, sondern quantifizierte auch die Qualität der Modellergebnisse bei folgenden Varianten der Modellstruktur: a) Abflluss im Fluss ohne Interaktion mit dem Grundwasser (keine Transferverluste) und b) Interaktion zwischen Fluss und Grundwasser ohne parallelen Grundwasserstrom zum Flussstrom. Durch die Anwendung auf die beiden unterschiedlichen Trockenflusssysteme wurden neue Erkenntnisse über die Sensitivität des Modells unter verschiedenen Bedingungen erworben. Beispielsweise waren die Parameter der ungesättigten Zone, die von hoher Relevanz für den kleinen Flussabschnitt im WGEW waren, viel sensitiver als die Parameter der gesättigten Zone, die besonders relevant für den Jaguaribe Flussabschnitt in Brasilien waren. Die Ursache für diese sehr unterschiedliche Sensitivität liegt darin, dass beim WGEW das Flusswasser nur mit der ungesättigten Zone in Kontakt steht, da sich in diesem Gebiet, welche im Vergleich zur Jaguaribe-Region noch deutlich trockener ist, kein Grund-wasserleiter bildet. Letztlich wurde ein nicht-parametrisches Verfahren, zur Simulation der deterministischen Evolution und stochastischen Fluktuation der Abflussdynamik entwickelt. Im Unterschied zu prozessbasiertem Modellsystemen basiert dieses Verfahren nicht auf Modellkalibrierung sondern auf einem Lernprozess, basierend auf Zeitreihendaten. Als Anwendungsbeispiel wurde ein mesoskaliges Einzugsgebiet im Erzgebirge, NO-Deutschland gewählt, in dem starke Abflussereignisse entweder durch konvektive Niederschlagsereignisse oder durch Schneeschmelze generiert werden. Die folgenden wichtigsten Ergebnisse wurden erzielt: • Regressionsmodellansätze basierend auf den zeitlichen Änderungen der Abflüsse liefern bessere Ergebnisse gegenüber Ansätzen basierend auf direkten Abflussdaten; • mit zunehmendem Vorhersagehorizont wandelt sich das hydrologische System von einem mit Zufallsanteilen verrauschten dynamischen System zu einem linearen probabilistischen Zufallsprozess; • Bei zunehmendem Abfluss (ansteigenden Ganglinie) erfolgt meist eine Abflussunterschätzung, bei abnehmendem Abfluss (fallende Ganglinie) erfolgt meist eine Abflussüberschätzung. Dieses nichtparametrische Verfahren ergibt im Vergleich mit einem prozess-orientierten und flächenverteilten hydrologischen Hochwasservorhersagemodell bis zu einem Vorhersagezeitraum von 3 Stunden Ergebnisse von vergleichbar guter Qualität. Letztendlich wurde ein Vorgehen bzgl. künftiger Forschungen zu hydrologischer Modellierung vorgeschlagen. Das Ziel dabei war ein wissenschaftliches Verfahren zur Verbesserung des hydrologischen Wissens über ein Einzugsgebiet. Diese Verfahren basiert auf einem Hypothesentest zu den relevanten hydrologischen Prozessen und der Untersuchung der Sensitivitäten der hydrologischen Variablen bei unterschiedlichen Einzugsgebieten.
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Capon, Samantha Jane, and n/a. "Flow Variability and Vegetation Dynamics in a Large Arid Floodplain: Cooper Creek, Australia." Griffith University. Australian School of Environmental Studies, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20040513.110733.
Full textAbstract:
Throughout arid and semi-arid inland Australia, many extensive floodplains occur in association with rivers which are amongst the most hydrologically variable in the world. As rainfall in these areas is characteristically low and patchy, conditions in Australia's 'dryland' floodplains fluctuate unpredictably between extended periods of drought and huge floods that transform vast areas into wetlands, often for months at a time. Vegetation in these floodplains is commonly dominated by short grass and forb associations and patches of open succulent shrubland which are attributed with high ecological and socio-economic values due to their provision of habitat to a diverse array of terrestrial and aquatic fauna and their productive native pasture growth. In temperate and tropical floodplains, a substantial number of studies have shown that plant community composition and structure is determined primarily by flow and alterations to flow in these areas, through water extraction or river regulation, have resulted in many changes to the vegetation including loss of biodiversity and mass invasions of exotic species. Despite increasing pressure for water resource development in 'dryland' regions, relatively little is known regarding the effects of highly variable flows on the vegetation dynamics of arid floodplains, particularly in Australia. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by examining the role of flow in the vegetation dynamics of a large arid floodplain in central Australia: the Cooper Creek floodplain. The effects of flow on plant community dynamics, from an organism level to that of the landscape, are examined across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Results are presented from a two year temporal vegetation survey during which time two flood pulse events of differing sizes occurred. A large-scale spatial survey was also conducted to determine the effects of flood history on spatial variation in plant community composition and structure. The composition of the soil seed bank and its contribution to vegetation dynamics were additionally investigated through a series of germination trials. Amongst common arid floodplain plants, life history traits that enable persistence under variable hydrological conditions were also considered via several experiments aimed at determining the effects of flow on the outcomes of various life history stages including germination, growth and dispersal. Throughout the study, results are presented for plant groups that were predefined on the basis of life form, life span and taxonomic divisions within these categories. Plant community composition and structure in the Cooper Creek floodplain exhibits significant shifts both temporally, in response to flood pulse wetting and drying, and spatially, in response to flood history. Flood pulse inundation has the potential to influence each life history stage across the range of plant groups present and the outcomes of these appear to be determined by hydrological attributes such as flood pulse timing, duration and rate of drawdown. Vegetation consequently exhibits gradual zonation on a gradient of flood frequency along which plant groups occur at predictable locations depending on their life history traits and recent hydrological conditions. A substantial proportion of species display ruderal life history traits including large, persistent soil seed banks and rapid life cycles which enable escape in time from the stresses associated with flooding and drought. These species, mostly comprising annual monocots and forbs, are widespread throughout the landscape and their presence in the extant vegetation is related primarily to the time since the last flood pulse event and the hydrological attributes of this. Perennial species, particularly shrubs, do not appear to rely similarly on the soil seed bank for recruitment and their distribution in the floodplain vegetation is likely to be determined more by their ability to tolerate either flooding or drought. Overall, this study demonstrates that flow, despite its variability, has an overriding influence on vegetation dynamics in the arid floodplain of the Cooper Creek. The spatial and temporal variability of flow maintains a heterogeneous mosaic of plant communities of differing composition and structure. Given this close relationship between flow and vegetation dynamics, anthropogenic alterations to flow are likely to result in changes to the vegetation including homogenisation of plant communities across the floodplain landscape and eventual loss of biodiversity.
6
Capon, Samantha Jane. "Flow Variability and Vegetation Dynamics in a Large Arid Floodplain: Cooper Creek, Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366451.
Full textAbstract:
Throughout arid and semi-arid inland Australia, many extensive floodplains occur in association with rivers which are amongst the most hydrologically variable in the world. As rainfall in these areas is characteristically low and patchy, conditions in Australia's 'dryland' floodplains fluctuate unpredictably between extended periods of drought and huge floods that transform vast areas into wetlands, often for months at a time. Vegetation in these floodplains is commonly dominated by short grass and forb associations and patches of open succulent shrubland which are attributed with high ecological and socio-economic values due to their provision of habitat to a diverse array of terrestrial and aquatic fauna and their productive native pasture growth. In temperate and tropical floodplains, a substantial number of studies have shown that plant community composition and structure is determined primarily by flow and alterations to flow in these areas, through water extraction or river regulation, have resulted in many changes to the vegetation including loss of biodiversity and mass invasions of exotic species. Despite increasing pressure for water resource development in 'dryland' regions, relatively little is known regarding the effects of highly variable flows on the vegetation dynamics of arid floodplains, particularly in Australia. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by examining the role of flow in the vegetation dynamics of a large arid floodplain in central Australia: the Cooper Creek floodplain. The effects of flow on plant community dynamics, from an organism level to that of the landscape, are examined across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Results are presented from a two year temporal vegetation survey during which time two flood pulse events of differing sizes occurred. A large-scale spatial survey was also conducted to determine the effects of flood history on spatial variation in plant community composition and structure. The composition of the soil seed bank and its contribution to vegetation dynamics were additionally investigated through a series of germination trials. Amongst common arid floodplain plants, life history traits that enable persistence under variable hydrological conditions were also considered via several experiments aimed at determining the effects of flow on the outcomes of various life history stages including germination, growth and dispersal. Throughout the study, results are presented for plant groups that were predefined on the basis of life form, life span and taxonomic divisions within these categories. Plant community composition and structure in the Cooper Creek floodplain exhibits significant shifts both temporally, in response to flood pulse wetting and drying, and spatially, in response to flood history. Flood pulse inundation has the potential to influence each life history stage across the range of plant groups present and the outcomes of these appear to be determined by hydrological attributes such as flood pulse timing, duration and rate of drawdown. Vegetation consequently exhibits gradual zonation on a gradient of flood frequency along which plant groups occur at predictable locations depending on their life history traits and recent hydrological conditions. A substantial proportion of species display ruderal life history traits including large, persistent soil seed banks and rapid life cycles which enable escape in time from the stresses associated with flooding and drought. These species, mostly comprising annual monocots and forbs, are widespread throughout the landscape and their presence in the extant vegetation is related primarily to the time since the last flood pulse event and the hydrological attributes of this. Perennial species, particularly shrubs, do not appear to rely similarly on the soil seed bank for recruitment and their distribution in the floodplain vegetation is likely to be determined more by their ability to tolerate either flooding or drought. Overall, this study demonstrates that flow, despite its variability, has an overriding influence on vegetation dynamics in the arid floodplain of the Cooper Creek. The spatial and temporal variability of flow maintains a heterogeneous mosaic of plant communities of differing composition and structure. Given this close relationship between flow and vegetation dynamics, anthropogenic alterations to flow are likely to result in changes to the vegetation including homogenisation of plant communities across the floodplain landscape and eventual loss of biodiversity.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
Full Text
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Fox, John Tyler. "Spatiotemporal Patterns and Drivers of Surface Water Quality and Landscape Change in a Semi-Arid, Southern African Savanna." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/81462.
Full textAbstract:
The savannas of southern Africa are a highly variable and globally-important biome supporting rapidly-expanding human populations, along with one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the continent. Savannas occupy a fifth of the earth's land surface, yet despite their ecological and economic significance, understanding of the complex couplings and feedbacks that drive spatiotemporal patterns of change are lacking. In Chapter 1 of my dissertation, I discuss some of the different theoretical frameworks used to understand complex and dynamic changes in savanna structure and composition. In Chapter 2, I evaluate spatial drivers of water quality declines in the Chobe River using spatiotemporal and geostatistical modeling of time series data collected along a transect spanning a mosaic of protected, urban, and developing urban land use. Chapter 3 explores the complex couplings and feedbacks that drive spatiotemporal patterns of land cover (LC) change across the Chobe District, with a particular focus on climate, fire, herbivory, and anthropogenic disturbance. In Chapter 4, I evaluated the utility of Distance sampling methods to: 1) derive seasonal fecal loading estimates in national park and unprotected land; 2) provide a simple, standardized method to estimate riparian fecal loading for use in distributed hydrological water quality models; 3) answer questions about complex drivers and patterns of water quality variability in a semi-arid southern African river system. Together, these findings have important implications to land use planning and water conservation in southern Africa's dryland savanna ecosystems.Ph. D.
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Carver, Scott Stevenson. "Dryland salinity, mosquitoes, mammals and the ecology of Ross River virus." University of Western Australia. School of Animal Biology, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0100.
Full textAbstract:
[Truncated abstract] In an era of emerging and resurging infectious diseases, understanding the ecological processes that influence pathogen activity and the influences of anthropogenic change to those are critical. Ross River virus (RRV, Togoviridae: Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne zoonosis occurring in Australia with a significant human disease burden. In the southwest of Western Australia (WA) RRV is principally vectored by Aedes camptorhynchus Thomson (Diptera: Culicidae), which is halophilic. The inland southwest, the Wheatbelt region, of WA is substantially affected by an anthropogenic salinisation of agricultural land called dryland salinity, which threatens to influence transmission of this arbovirus. This study assessed the ecological impacts of dryland salinity on mosquitoes, mammalian hosts and their interactions to influence the potential for RRV transmission. Many aquatic insect taxa colonise ephemeral water bodies directly as adults or by oviposition. Using a manipulative experiment and sampling from ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt, I demonstrated that salinity of water bodies can modify colonisation behaviour and the distribution of some organisms across the landscape. Halosensitive fauna selected less saline mesocosms for oviposition and colonisation. In particular, Culex australicus Dobrotworksy and Drummond and Anopheles annulipes Giles (Diptera: Culicidae), potential competitors with Ae. camptorhynchus, avoided ovipostion in saline mesocosms and water bodies in the field. This finding suggests salinity influences behaviour and may reduce interspecific interactions between these taxa and Ae. camptorhynchus at higher salinities. Using extensive field surveys of ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt I found mosquitoes frequently colonised ephemeral water bodies, responded positively to rainfall, and populated smaller water bodies more densely than larger water bodies. The habitat characteristics of ephemeral water bodies changed in association with salinity. Consequently there were both direct and indirect associations between salinity and colonising mosquitoes. Ultimately the structure of mosquito assemblages changed with increasing salinity, favouring an increased regional distribution and abundance of Ae. camptorhynchus. The direct implication of this result is secondary salinisation has enhanced the vectorial potential for RRV transmission in the WA Wheatbelt. ... This thesis contributes to an emerging body of research aimed at delineating important ecological processes which determine transmission of infections disease. Collectively the findings in this study suggest dryland salinity enhances the potential for RRV activity in the Wheatbelt. Currently, human RRV notifications in the Wheatbelt do not reflect the salinity-RRV transmission potential in that area, but appear to be associated with dispersal of RRV from the enzootic coastal zone of southwest WA. I speculate dryland salinity is a determinant of potential for RRV transmission, but not activity. Dryland salinity is predicted to undergo a two to four fold expansion by 2050, which will increase the regional potential for RRV activity. Preservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems may ameliorate the potential for transmission of RRV and, possibly, human disease incidence.
9
Boys, Craig Ashley, and n/a. "Fish-Habitat Associations in a Large Dryland River of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia." University of Canberra. Resource, Environmental & Heritage Sciences, 2007. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20070807.112943.
Full textAbstract:
Many aspects concerning the association of riverine fish with in-channel habitat remain
poorly understood, greatly hindering the ability of researchers and managers to address
declines in fish assemblages. Recent insights gained from landscape ecology suggest
that small, uni-scalar approaches are unlikely to effectively determine those factors that
influence riverine structure and function and mediate fish-habitat associations. There
appears to be merit in using multiple-scale designs built upon a geomorphologically-derived
hierarchy to bridge small, intermediate and large spatial scales in large rivers.
This thesis employs a hierarchical design encompassing functional process zones
(referred to hereafter as zones), reaches and mesohabitats to investigate fish-habitat
associations as well as explore patterns of in-channel habitat structure in one of
Australia's largest dryland river systems; the Barwon-Darling River.
In this thesis, empirical evidence is presented showing that large dryland rivers are
inherently complex in structure and different facets of existing conceptual models of
landscape ecology must be refined when applied to these systems. In-channel habitat
and fish exist within a hierarchical arrangement of spatial scales in the riverscape,
displaying properties of discontinuities, longitudinal patterns and patch mosaics. During
low flows that predominate for the majority of time in the Barwon-Darling River there
is a significant difference in fish assemblage composition among mesohabitats. There is
a strong association between large wood and golden perch, Murray cod and carp, but
only a weak association with bony herring. Golden perch and Murray cod are large
wood specialists, whereas carp are more general in there use of mesohabitats. Bony
herring are strongly associated with smooth and irregular banks but are ubiquitous in
most mesohabitats. Open water (mid-channel and deep pool) mesohabitats are
characterised by relatively low abundances of all species and a particularly weak
association with golden perch, Murray cod and carp. Murray cod are weakly associated
with matted bank, whereas carp and bony herring associate with this mesohabitat patch
in low abundance.
Nocturnal sampling provided useful information on size-related use of habitat that was
not evident from day sampling. Both bony herring and carp exhibited a variety of
habitat use patterns throughout the die1 period and throughout their lifetime, with
temporal partitioning of habitat use by juvenile bony herring and carp evident. Much of
the strong association between bony herring and smooth and irregular banks was due to
the abundance of juveniles (<100mm in length) in these mesohabitats. Adult bony
herring (>100mm length) occupied large wood more than smooth and irregular banks.
At night, juvenile bony herring were not captured, suggesting the use of deeper water
habitats. Adult bony herring were captured at night and occupjed large wood, smooth
bank and irregular bank. Juvenile carp (<200mm length) were more abundant at night
and aggregated in smooth and irregular banks more than any other mesohabitat patch.
Adult carp (>200mm length) occupied large wood during both day and night.
There is a downstream pattern of change in the fish assemblage among river zones, with
reaches in Zone 2 containing a larger proportion of introduced species (carp and
goldfish) because of a significantly lower abundance of native species (bony herring,
golden perch and Murray cod) than all other zones. In comparison, the fish assemblage
of Zone 3 was characterised by a comparatively higher abundance of the native species
bony herring, golden perch and Murray cod. A significant proportion of the amongreach
variability in fish assemblage composition was explained at the zone scale,
suggesting that geomorphological influences may impose some degree of top-down
constraint over fish assemblage distribution. Although mesohabitat composition among
reaches in the Barwon-Darling River also changed throughout the study area, this
pattern explained very little of the large-scale distribution of the fish assemblage, with
most of the variability in assemblage distribution remaining unexplained. Therefore,
although mesohabitat patches strongly influence the distribution of species within
reaches, they explain very little of assemblage composition at intermediate zone and
larger river scales. These findings suggest that small scale mesohabitat rehabilitation
projects within reaches are unlikely to produce measurable benefits for the fish
assemblage over intermediate and large spatial scales in the Barwon-Darling River. This
indicates the importance taking a holistic approach to river rehabilitation that correctly
identifies and targets limiting processes at the correct scales.
The variable nature of flow-pulse dynamics in the Barwon-Darling River creates a
shifting habitat mosaic that serves to maintain an ever-changing arrangement of habitat
patches. The inundation dynamics of large wood habitat described in this thesis
highlights the fragmented nature of mesohabitat patches, with the largest proportion of
total in-channel large wood remaining unavailable to fish for the majority of the time.
At low flows there is a mosaic of large wood habitat and with increasing discharge more
potential large wood habitat becomes available and does so in a complex spatial
manner. What results in this dryland river is a dynamic pattern of spatio-temporal
patchiness in large wood habitat availability that is seen both longitudinally among
different river zones and vertically among different heights in the river channel. Water
resource development impacts on this shifting habitat mosaic.
Projects undertaking both fish habitat assessment and rehabilitation need to carefully
consider spatial scale since the drivers of fish assemblage structure can occur at scales
well beyond that of the reach. Fish-habitat associations occurring at small spatial scales
can become decoupled by process occurring across large spatial scales, making
responses in the fish assemblage hard to predict. As rivers become increasingly
channelised, there is an urgent need to apply research such as that conducted in this
thesis to better understand the role that in-channel habitats play in supporting fish and
other ecosystem processes. Habitat rehabilitation projects need to be refined to consider
the appropriate scales at which fish assemblages associate with habitat. Failure to do so
risks wasting resources and forgoes valuable opportunities for addressing declines in
native fish populations. Adopting multi-scalar approaches to understanding ecological
processes in aquatic ecosystems, as developed in this thesis, should be a priority of
research and management. To do so will enable more effective determination of those
factors that influence riverine structure and function at the approariate scale.
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Medeiros, Elvio S. F., and n/a. "Trophic Ecology and Energy Sources for Fish on the Floodplain of a Regulated Dryland River: Macintyre River, Australia." Griffith University. Australian School of Environmental Studies, 2005. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20051115.174552.
Full textAbstract:
Drylands occupy about one-third of the world's land surface area and rivers in these regions have less predictable flow regimes than those in humid tropical and temperate regions. Australia's dryland river-floodplain systems cycle through recurrent periods of floods and droughts, oflen resulting in extreme hydrological variability. As a result, these systems have been described as having a 'boom and boost' ecology with periods of high productivity associated with flooding. Not surprisingly, flow and its variability have been recognised as major driving forces in the ecological functioning of Australian rivers and responses to flow variability from fish and aquatic invertebrates have been reasonably well described. Furthermore, the reduced amount of water reaching floodplain waterbodies due to river regulation has been held responsible for successional changes in aquatic biota and, consequently, the resources available for both fish and invertebrates. However, information regarding the impacts of water resource development has generally focused on within-channel processes of Australian rivers, not on floodplains, which are arguably more affected by water development. The following dissertation is concerned with how different types of natural and modified floodplain lagoons are able to trophically support their fish communities in the floodplain of the Macintyre River, Border Rivers catchment (QLD/NSW), a regulated dryland river. This study focuses on the influence of flooding and the implications of an extended dry period, and different levels of flow regulation, on the feeding ecology of selected fish species (Ambassis agassizil, Lelopotherapon unicolor and Nematalosa erebi) between 2001 and 2003. Food resources consumed by fish are hypothesised to vary in response to flooding, when inundation of isolated lagoons and vast floodplain areas can result in a burst of primary and secondary productivity. Given the permanently elevated water levels of some regulated floodplain lagoons, fish diets are hypothesised to be less variable in these floodplain habitats in comparison to diets of fish from floodplain lagoons with natural flow and water regime. Feeding ecology is examined firstly, in terms of diet composition of selected fish species, using stomach content analysis, and secondly, in relation to possible energy sources sustaining fish (using stable isotope analysis) in selected floodplain lagoons and a site in the main channel of the Macintyre River. The information produced should allow managers to take variations in food resources, food web structure and dietary ecology into account in management regimes for refugia and dryland systems in general. Factors such as diel and ontogenetic variations in dietary composition and food intake by fish are shown to considerably affect ovemll dietary patterns of each study species. Therefore, it is important to understand the contributions of such factors to the variability of fish dietary patterns before performing studies on resource use by fish in floodplain habitats of the Macintyre River. Major food categories consumed by the study species were zooplankton, aquatic invertebrates and detrital material. Zooplankton was of particular importance as this food item was ingested by all three study species at some stage of their life history. Spatial and temporal variation in diet composition of the study species was mostly associated with changes in prey items available across floodplain habitats and between seasons (summer/winter). The low magnitude of flooding events during the study period is arguably the most likely factor influencing the lack of patterns of variation in fish diets in floodplain habitats subject to flooding, whereas in non-flooded lagoons the observed dietary variation was a consequence of successional changes in composition of the aquatic fauna as the dry season progressed. Water regime had an important effect on differences in fish diet composition across lagoons, but further evaluation of the influence of flooding is needed due to overall lack of major flooding events during the study period. Autochthonous resources, namely plankton, were the basis of the food web and phytoplankton in the seston is the most likely ultimate energy source for fish consumers, via planktonic suspension feeders (zooplankton). Nevertheless, organic mailer could not be disregarded as an important energy source for invertebrates and higher consumers. In general, the present study does not provide support for the major models predicting the ftinctioning of large rivers, such as the River Continuum Concept and Flood Pulse Concept, which argue that allochthonous organic matter either from upstream or from the floodplain are the most important sources of carbon supporting higher consumers. In contrast, the Riverine Productivity Model would be more appropriate to describe the food web and energy sources for consumers in the Macintyre River floodplain as this model suggests that local productivity, based on autochthonous phytoplankton and organic matter, ftiels food webs in large rivers. The results of this study suggest that factors known to affect phytoplankton production in floodplain lagoons (e.g. flow regulation, turbidity and nutrient/herbicide inputs) must be seriously considered in current landscape and water management practices.
Books on the topic "Dryland rivers"
1
Graf, William L. Fluvial processes in dryland rivers. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1988.
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2
Graf, William L. Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83048-8.
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3
William, L. Graf. Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers. The Blackburn Press, 2002.
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4
Kirkby, M. J., and L. J. Bull. Dryland Rivers: Hydrology and Geomorphology of Semi-Arid Channels. Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, John, 2007.
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5
Briggs, Mark K., and Waite R. Osterkamp. Renewing Our Rivers: Stream Corridor Restoration in Dryland Regions. University of Arizona Press, 2021.
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6
(Editor), L. J. Bull, and M. J. Kirkby (Editor), eds. Dryland Rivers: Hydrology and Geomorphology of Semi-arid Channels. Wiley, 2002.
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7
Briggs, Mark K., and Waite R. Osterkamp. Renewing Our Rivers: Stream Corridor Restoration in Dryland Regions. University of Arizona Press, 2020.
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8
Graf, William. Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers (Springer Series in Physical Environment). Springer, 1988.
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9
Kwesi, Darkoh M. B., Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern Africa., and Research Programme on Environment and International Security., eds. African river basins and dryland crises. [Addis Ababa]: Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern Africa, 1992.
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10
Salama, RB, ed. Physical and Chemical Techniques for Discharge Studies - Part 1. CSIRO Publishing, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643105331.
Full textAbstract:
Groundwater discharge is associated with salinity and pollution problems. The widespread presence of millions of saline lakes in North America, Africa and Australia, shows that across the geological record, most salinity and desertification problems have been caused by saline groundwater discharge. In recent times, dryland salinity has spread widely in southern Australia, resulting in the loss of more than 50% of the fresh streams in Western Australia and causing major salinity problems in the Murray River in South Australia.
Book chapters on the topic "Dryland rivers"
1
Graf, William L. "Vegetation and Dryland Rivers." In Springer Series in Physical Environment, 233–58. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83048-8_6.
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2
Graf, William L. "Generalizations for Dryland Rivers." In Springer Series in Physical Environment, 294–301. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83048-8_8.
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3
Graf, William L. "Fluvial Sediment in Dryland Rivers." In Springer Series in Physical Environment, 113–68. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83048-8_4.
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Powell, D. Mark. "Dryland Rivers: Processes and Forms." In Geomorphology of Desert Environments, 333–73. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5719-9_12.
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Graf, William L. "Direct Human Impacts on Dryland Rivers." In Springer Series in Physical Environment, 259–93. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83048-8_7.
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Amede, Tilahun, Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, Bancy Matti, and Muluneh Yitayew. "Managing Rainwater for Resilient Dryland Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Evidences." In Nile River Basin, 517–40. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02720-3_26.
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Kington, Elizabeth A., and Keith R. J. Smettem. "Evaluation of Policy Approaches to Dryland Salinity Management in the Kent River Catchment." In Land Degradation, 347–61. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_22.
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Compson, Zacchaeus G., Wendy A. Monk, Romain Sarremejane, Amanda G. DelVecchia, Ryan M. Burrows, Shang Gao, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Yang Hong, and Daniel C. Allen. "Dryland Rivers and Streams." In Encyclopedia of Inland Waters, 616–27. Elsevier, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819166-8.00156-0.
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"Dryland Farming in the Northern Monsoon Frontier." In Monsoon Rains, Great Rivers and the Development of Farming Civilisations in Asia, 148–85. Cambridge University Press, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781139342889.005.
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Barker, Graeme. "Weed, Tuber, and Maize Farming in the Americas." In The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory. Oxford University Press, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199281091.003.0012.
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The American continent extends over 12,000 kilometres from Alaska to Cape Horn, and encompasses an enormous variety of environments from arctic to tropical. For the purposes of this discussion, such a huge variety has to be simplified into a few major geographical units within the three regions of North, Central, and South America (Fig. 7.1). Large tracts of Alaska and modern Canada north of the 58th parallel consist of tundra, which extends further south down the eastern coast of Labrador. To the south, boreal coniferous forests stretch eastwards from Lake Winnipeg and the Red River past the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, and westwards from the slopes of the Rockies to the Pacific. The vast prairies in between extend southwards through the central United States between the Mississippi valley and the Rockies, becoming less forested and more open as aridity increases further south. South of the Great Lakes the Appalachian mountains dominate the eastern United States, making a temperate landscape of parallel ranges and fertile valleys, with sub-tropical environments developing in the south-east. The two together are commonly referred to as the ‘eastern Woodlands’ in the archaeological literature. On the Pacific side are more mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada, separated from the Rockies by arid basins including the infamous Death Valley. These drylands extend southwards into the northern part of Central America, to what is now northern Mexico, a region of pronounced winter and summer seasonality in temperature, with dryland geology and geomorphology and xerophytic vegetation. The highlands of Central America, from Mexico to Nicaragua, are cool tropical environments with mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. The latter develop into oak-laurel-myrtle rainforest further south in Costa Rica and Panama. The lowlands on either side sustain a variety of tropical vegetation adapted to high temperatures and frost-free climates, including rainforest, deciduous woodland, savannah, and scrub. South America can be divided into a number of major environmental zones (Pearsall, 1992). The first is the Pacific littoral, which changes dramatically from tropical forest in Colombia and Ecuador to desert from northern Peru to central Chile. This coastal plain is transected by rivers flowing from the Andes, and in places patches of seasonal vegetation (lomas) are able to survive in rainless desert sustained by sea fog.
Conference papers on the topic "Dryland rivers"
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Ielpi, Alessandro, Mathieu Lapotre, Mathieu Lapotre, Alvise Finotello, Alvise Finotello, Massimiliano Ghinassi, Massimiliano Ghinassi, Andrea D'Alpaos, and Andrea D'Alpaos. "PREDICTIONS OF STRATIGRAPHIC ARCHITECTURE IN RELATION TO CHANNEL MOBILITY OF DRYLAND RIVERS: INSIGHT FROM THE MOJAVE RIVER OF CALIFORNIA (USA)." In GSA 2020 Connects Online. Geological Society of America, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2020am-359714.
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van Toorenenburg, K. A., M. E. Donselaar, and G. J. Weltje. "Floodplain Aggradation as a Dominant Control on Autocyclic Switching of Low-gradient Dryland Rivers in Endorheic Basins." In Fifth EAGE Shale Workshop. Netherlands: EAGE Publications BV, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.201600400.
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Moorhead, Mackenzie, John Holbrook, Henry Henk, Simon Lang, Victorien Paumard, Mick O'Leary, and Pomeroy Smith. "BAR MIGRATION IN DRYLAND RIVER WITH HIGH-DISCHARGE VARIABILITY, THE DEGREY RIVER, NORTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA." In GSA Connects 2022 meeting in Denver, Colorado. Geological Society of America, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2022am-378888.
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Dean, David J., and David J. Topping. "GEOMORPHIC CHANGE AND BIOGEOMORPHIC FEEDBACKS IN A DRYLAND RIVER: THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER, ARIZONA, USA." In GSA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA - 2019. Geological Society of America, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2019am-339900.
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Yu, G., Z. Li, and M. Disse. "Sediment transport and fluvial processes of a regulated dryland river—case of the Tarim River in China." In The International Conference On Fluvial Hydraulics (River Flow 2016). Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742: CRC Press, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781315644479-160.
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Finger-Higgens, Rebecca. "IMPACTS OF EXPERIMENTAL AND OBSERVED DROUGHT ON UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN DRYLANDS." In Joint 118th Annual Cordilleran/72nd Annual Rocky Mountain Section Meeting - 2022. Geological Society of America, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2022cd-373682.
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Wilson, Glenn. "Flow as a disturbance agent: fish responses to serial flooding in a hydrologically-variable dryland river system, Australia." In 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology. Jyväskylä: Jyvaskyla University Open Science Centre, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.17011/conference/eccb2018/108200.
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Nagler, Pam, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Ibrahima Sall, and Kamel Didan. "ESTIMATES OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION AND CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE FOR THE RIPARIAN AREAS OF THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER IN THE DRYLANDS OF NORTHEAST ARIZONA, USA." In Joint 118th Annual Cordilleran/72nd Annual Rocky Mountain Section Meeting - 2022. Geological Society of America, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2022cd-373574.
Full textReports on the topic "Dryland rivers"
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Sims, Kate. Education, Girls’ Education and Climate Change. Institute of Development Studies, March 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.19088/k4d.2021.044.
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This Emerging Issue Report (EIR) explores research and evidence on the relationship between education, girls’ education and climate change. There is scientific consensus that climate change is real, manifested through increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including drought, flooding and cyclones. Climate change, environmental degradation and climate vulnerability are closely linked. Climate change exacerbates environmental and land degradation, especially in areas with drylands and permafrost, river deltas and low-lying coastal areas. There is high confidence that people living in areas affected by environmental degradation are experiencing an increase in the negative effects of climate change. Gender, alongside other drivers of vulnerability and exclusion, is a key determinant of an individual’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation and influences how climate change is experienced. It is estimated that at least 200 million adolescent girls living in the poorest communities face a heightened risk from the effects of climate change. Evidence and commentary on the role of education, and girls’ education, to address climate change through adaptation, resilience and mitigation is limited, albeit growing. This EIR identifies and summarises the evidence and key commentary around the following themes: links between education, particularly girls’ education, and climate change; how climate and environment matter for achieving gender equality; and why securing girls’ education is an important strategy in addressing climate change. The EIR draws on academic research and literature from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as well as policy frameworks and grey literature, media articles and blogs from the climate, education and gender fields.