Summary 1. AusRivAS (Australian River Assessment Scheme) models were developed, using macroinvertebrates as indicators, to assess the ecological condition of rivers in Western Australia as part of an Australia‐wide program. The models were based on data from 188 minimally disturbed reference sites and are similar to RIVPACS models used in Britain. The major habitats in the rivers (macrophyte, channel) were sampled separately and macroinvertebrates collected were identified to family level. 2. Laboratory sorting of preserved macroinvertebrate samples recovered about 90% of families present when 150 animals were collected, whereas live picking in the field recovered only 76%. 3. Reference sites clustered into five groups on the basis of macroinvertebrate families present. Using seven physical variables, a discriminant function allocated 73% of sites to the correct classification group. A discriminant function based on seven physical and two chemical variables allocated 81% of sites to the correct group. However, when the same reference sites were re‐sampled the following year, the nine variable discriminant function misallocated more sites than the seven variable function, owing to annual fluctuations in water chemistry that were not accompanied by changes in fauna. 4. In preliminary testing, the wet season channel model correctly assessed 80% of reference sites as undisturbed in the year subsequent to model building (10% of sites were expected to rate as disturbed because the 10th percentile was used as the threshold for disturbance). Nine sites from an independent data set, all thought to be disturbed, were assessed as such by the model. Results from twenty test sites, chosen because they represented a wide range of ecological condition, were less clear‐cut. In its current state the model reliably distinguishes undisturbed and severely disturbed sites. Subtle impacts are either detected inconsistently or do not affect ecological condition.

Summary 1. The northern half of Western Australia is a large, sparsely populated area with a climate that ranges from monsoonal in the Kimberley to arid in the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions. The aquatic invertebrate fauna is poorly known. 2. Fifty‐one sites located on 14 river systems were sampled three times between August 1994 and October 1995. A total of 90 taxa, most identified to family level, were collected. The fauna was dominated by insects, which constituted 74% of the total number of taxa collected. 3. Major habitats at each site were sampled separately and sites with more habitats tended to have a richer fauna. All habitats showed significant differences in taxonomic richness between regions. Family richness decreased with increasing latitude, being highest in the Kimberley region and lowest in the Gascoyne. 4. Despite the differences in taxon richness between regions, community composition of the aquatic invertebrate fauna at the family level did not differ greatly. Four major groups of sites were identified by cluster analysis, based on the invertebrate families present at each site, but differences between groups were small. 5. Significant temporal variation in taxon richness was found in channel habitat but not the three other habitats sampled (riffle, macrophyte, pool‐rocks). Community composition in channel habitat varied temporally among groups of sites identified by cluster analysis but the pattern was not consistent.

The George Gill Range (24�S,132�E) 220 km south west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, lies within one of the driest regions of Australia. Diel and seasonal temperature differences are extreme and the average rainfall is 250 mm per annum. The streams of the Range are the largest group within the Central Ranges and are relatively pristine. Their flow regimes are episodic but deep rock pools appear to act as reservoirs of surface runoff and may also receive groundwater from the Mereenie aquifer. The waterbodies of the Range and some nearby areas were sampled in July and December 1986 to determine the composition of the macroinvertebrate communities and biogeographical relationships with the fauna of lotic systems elsewhere in Australia. Macroinvertebrate species richness at the Range was comparable with that of other Australian streams but no Plecoptera, Isopoda or Amphipoda were collected. The almost complete absence of shredders may reflect low allochthonous inputs, because riparian vegetation in the arid zone is generally sparse. A small proportion of the fauna of the Range appears to be a relictual stream fauna. Species of low vagility such as the waterpenny, Sclerocyphon fuscus, would not be capable of dispersal across the large tracts of arid land that now separate the Range from southern Australia, where it is also found. The occurrence of new species at the Range suggests that it is also a site of allopatric speciation within some groups. The conservation values of the streams of the George Gill Range and other sites, such as Giles Springs in the Chewings Range, are extremely high. They represent unique aquatic communities of both ecological and evolutionary importance in the arid zone.

Changes in lotic macroinvertebrate communities 8 years after logging were examined in two sets of paired catchments (Sutton and Lewin) in south-western Western Australia by using analysis of variance, classification (TWINSPAN), and ordination (semi-strong hybrid multidimensional scaling). Both paired catchments contained an undisturbed stream and a stream where clearfelling had been taken to the stream edges. The Sutton catchment also contained a stream where clearfelling had occurred but a 100 m-wide strip of vegetation had been retained as a buffer zone. Differences in richness and abundance of animals between the undisturbed and clearfelled streams in the two catchments were obscured by differences between the sites within each stream. However, ordination of the samples revealed differences in the composition of the macroinvertebrate communities between the clearfelled and undisturbed streams in both catchments. Underlying environmental gradients that separated the invertebrate communities in the clearfelled streams from those in the undisturbed streams, in ordination space, were conductivity, the amount of coarse and fine particulate organic matter, and a reduction in total nitrogen. In all, 11 macroinvertebrate taxa were found to be associated with the separation of samples from the undisturbed and clearfelled streams, this response probably being due to increases in conductivity within the clearfelled streams. Macroinvertebrate community structure in the buffered stream was different from that in the undisturbed stream but was more similar to the latter than to that in the clearfelled stream. Physical and chemical parameters of the buffered stream were also more similar to those of the undisturbed stream. These results indicated that the 100 m-wide buffer zone appeared to be effective in ameliorating any disturbance due to clearfelling.

Macro-invertebrates, zooplankton and water quality variables were sampled at 33 wetlands near Perth, Western Australia, in January-February 1989. Wetlands were classified and ordinated using the invertebrate data. Correlations of environmental variables with the ordination were calculated and the importance of seasonality and geomorphology of the wetlands were investigated. The wetlands were also classified and ordinated using the chemical data. Analysis of variance was used to compare species richness, abundances of all invertebrates, macro-invertebrates, copepods and total phosphorus levels among groups. Six groups of wetlands were identified from the invertebrate data, two of which were outliers on the basis of very low pH and high salinity, respectively. The majority of the wetlands grouped on the basis of their degree of nutrient enrichment and colour. The analyses of chemical data gave similar groups. The coloured wetlands and least nutrient enriched non-coloured wetlands were identified as being closest to the probable state of wetlands prior to European settlement. The greatest numbers of rare species were found in wetlands from these two groups. Species richness was significantly higher in the moderately enriched wetlands than in any other group but decreased in the most enriched wetlands where abundances of invertebrates were highest. Changes in community composition among the groups of wetlands are discussed. The most highly nutrient enriched wetlands were dominated by cosmopolitan species with high abundances, whereas less enriched and coloured wetlands had species with more restricted distributions and lower abundances.