Journal article
Impacts of flow regulation on slackwaters in river channels
GJ Vietz, MJ Sammonds, MJ Stewardson
Water Resources Research | AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION | Published : 2013
DOI: 10.1002/wrcr.20094
Abstract
Flow regulation between irrigation storages and demand offtakes often results in prolonged elevated flows in the river channel during a period that would otherwise typically experience lower flows. This is a growing concern worldwide with negative implications for aquatic flora and fauna susceptible to changes in the hydraulic environment. Slackwaters, a hydraulic patch characterized by low velocities and shallow depths, are important habitat for zooplankton and have been associated with an order of magnitude more fish and shrimp than midchannel patches. Slackwaters are vulnerable to flow regulation and reductions in slackwater area have been shown to reduce abundances of juvenile and larval..
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Funding Acknowledgements
For reviews, which substantially improved this paper, we extend our thanks to Ben Gawne and Nathan Ning (Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre) and Tim Fletcher (Melbourne University). For contributions of knowledge and data, we thank: Daryl Nielsen and Susanne Watkins (Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre), John Langford, Andrew Western, and Biju George (Melbourne University), and Nick Bond (Monash University). For fieldwork assistance, we thank Jonathan Ho, Rachel Qiao, Paul McKercher, and Bo Gao and, for coding assistance, Will Morris. This research was undertaken as part of the Farms Rivers Markets Project: an initiative of Uniwater and funded by the National Water Commission, the Victorian Water Trust, The Dookie Farms 2000 Trust (Tallis Trust), and The University of Melbourne. The project was supported by the Departments of Sustainability and Environment and Primary Industry, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, and Goulburn-Murray Water.