Current Research Projects
Basin-scale Projects
Waterbird breeding and foraging thresholds
Project Leads: Kate Brandis, Heather McGinness
The Basin contains wetlands that are crucial to the successful breeding and foraging of group-nesting waterbirds. This project will determine flow and non-flow conditions needed by waterbirds at key wetlands. This will help water managers make better decisions about environmental water delivery to support waterbird populations.
Flows and inundation
Project Leads: Ashmita Sengupta, Tony Weber
Our evaluation relies on quality flow and inundation information. Using a decade of data and recent technical innovations, this project will refine metrics, develop new methods, and expand them to a Basin-wide scale. It will also pilot environmental water delivery in the Condamine Balonne to ensure methods are fit for evaluating ecological outcomes.
Will climate change alter phenology of critical ecological events?
Project Leads: Luke McPhan, Alison King
Climate change will affect river flows and temperatures. This project will determine how these changes will affect the timing and outcomes of important ecological events, such as germination, breeding and movement, for plants and animals, such as fish and waterbirds.
Unintended ecological outcomes
Project Leads: Jackie O’Sullivan, Sue Cuddy
Environmental water delivery can lead to unintended adverse outcomes, such as fish kills, invasive species spread and water-quality issues. This project will explore when, where and why these occur, and their impacts. It will develop strategies to minimise risks while maximising the ecological benefits of environmental water.
Water Packet Poker
Project Leads: Darren Giling, Paul McInerney
Every litre of water tells a story. The history of a ‘packet’ of water can influence its ultimate ecological outcomes. This project will characterise functional indicators of water packets, such as nutrient concentrations, dissolved organic carbon and zooplankton biomass, to inform environmental water management and maximise ecological outcomes.
Do complex habitats mediate ecological outcomes?
Project Leads: Luke McPhan, Alison King
River shape, vegetation and woody debris like logs make river habitats more complex.Complex habitats may enhance fish recruitment by having more food and hiding places for larval fish. This project will investigate these relationships to help target environmental water delivery to more complex river reaches for the most benefit.
Interactive effects of non-flow drivers
Project Lead: Jackie O’Sullivan
Non-flow drivers include grazing, fire and land use. This project will improve understanding of how non-flow drivers interact and affect the ecological benefits of environmental water to enhance the effectiveness of non-flow management interventions and their resilience under climate change.
Area-scale Projects
River Metabolism: Generality of metabolism response to flow events among rivers of the GRANT Area
This research project will look to continue to monitor metabolism at legacy sites in the lower Goulburn River to maintain the long-term dataset and consolidate our understanding of metabolic processes in this system. In addition, we will expand the spatial footprint of this research to relate ecosystem metabolism responses to flows on the Broken, Campaspe and Loddon rivers.
Use of river channels for habitat, nesting and feeding by Native Waterbirds – a literature review
This research project will explore the role rivers might play in sustaining native waterbird species and how CEW delivery could be managed to meet waterbird requirements in the GRANT Area. This project will conduct a review of published literature and citizen science data, to determine:
• How many and which of the approximately 80 species that use freshwater habitats in Victoria may make significant use of river channels?
• Which of these species depend on resources that may be influenced by environmental flows delivered in-channel?
Calibration of drone methods to survey cover of bank vegetation
This research project will trial new methods to capture high-resolution drone imagery (orthomosaic “images”), from which the Flow-MER team can extract data on the spatial cover of vegetation through time (seasonal/annual patterns, changes before vs after flow events) and space (laterally up the bank and longitudinally along the river channel).
Native Vegetation: Calibration and application of rapid VEFMAP methods
This research project will explore ways to improve the efficiency of vegetation monitoring, either by continuing the current method with a reduced the number of transects per site, or by developing a replacement methodology that can rapidly provide data of a similar standard. A rapid method using quadrats has been successfully applied for vegetation monitoring on the Broken Creek (IVT surveys) and other waterways (VEFMAP), and we will test whether this method can be successfully applied in the lower Goulburn River in Flow-MER.
Investigation of the drivers of cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Brewster
Investigating key drivers of cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Brewster and reviewing how releases from Lake Brewster affect water quality in the Lachlan River.
Lignum shrubland responses to flow in the Lower
Using spatial data and historical field data to develop conceptual and predictive models on the changes in lignum shrubland extent and condition in relation to altered flow regimes and/or other disturbances.
Upstream extension of the data underpinning the hydraulic regime indicator
Creating the necessary underpinning data to extend the evaluation undertaken as part of the hydraulic regime indicator upstream from Lock 6 to Lock 10.
The role of environmental flows in determining the nutrient budget of the Coorong
Determining the role of environmental flows in drawing nutrients out of the Coorong and improving water quality in the South Lagoon.
Fish Movement
Using acoustic tracking of target fish species to understand hydrological drivers on fish movement, including: spawning movements; migration pathways and barriers to movement through the Macquarie Marshes; and population connectivity with the Barwon and boarder Murray–Darling Basin.
Comparing inundation methods to evaluate the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to wetland and floodplain forest inundation
This research project will support evaluating the extent of wetland inundation in the Werai Lands, under the River Flows and Connectivity theme.
The project will review three remote sensing approaches which have been used to detect wetland inundation in the Murray Darling Basin. The project will identify which approach is best suited to the Werai Lands. Using the chosen approach, the project will evaluate wetland inundation with two key objectives: improving understanding of the pattern of inundation, and quantifying the extent of inundation. The ultimate aim is to support evaluation of the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to wetland inundation, which can then improve future monitoring and management. An example of one approach is shown in the image below. The approach uses an adaptive threshold to identify water hidden under vegetation and not captured using conventional remote sensing techniques – mapping from late October 2024, during the spring watering event.
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Image: Output of inundation modelling showing the area of Werai Lands inundated on 31 Oct 2024, during the 2024 spring watering action. The modelling uses an adaptive threshold to identify water hidden under vegetation and not captured using conventional remote sensing techniques.
Engaging with Wetlands through Multi-modal
Building on The Sound of Water, this research project will combine innovative visualisation and storytelling with image, video and audio capture in order to extend opportunities for public engagement.