Waterbird use of farm dams in south-eastern Australia: Abundance and influence of biophysical and landscape characteristics

Abstract

Background: While agriculture has taken much environmental water in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin, agricultural expansion has resulted in a vast number of farm dams, almost three-quarters of a million in the Murray-Darling Basin alone. Methods: Over a summer we studied (1) waterbird abundance and species richness and (2) the influence of biophysical and landscape characteristics across 49 farm dams at a large mixed-enterprise farm in northern Victoria on the southern reach of the Murray-Darling Basin. Results: On average, dams were found to host 27.1 ± 71.1 individuals/ha and 1.8 ± 2.9 species per pond. Such densities are comparable to those on natural wetlands. Dam surface area and perim..