Four desert waters: Setting arid zone wetland conservation priorities through understanding patterns of endemism

Fish Distribution in Far Western Queensland, Australia: The Importance of Habitat, Connectivity and Natural Flows

“…The main sampling effort (from 2006 to 2008) formed part of his PhD research [29], and since that time Adam has continued to work in the rivers and spring complexes of arid Queensland, as well as advocate for their preservation [18,[30][31][32].…”

Molecular evidence for mid-Pleistocene divergence of populations of three freshwater amphipod species (Talitroidea : Chiltoniidae) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, with a new spring-associated genus and species

“…In Australia, these climatic shifts are thought to have further driven the aridification of inland Australia that began in the late Miocene, with long periods of substantial cooling and decreased precipitation creating stony deserts and sand dune systems in formerly warm forest areas that would have had permanent lake and river systems (Markgraf et al 1995;Byrne et al 2008;Davis et al 2013). Within this changeable landscape southern Australian freshwater habitats, and their associated aquatic invertebrate fauna, became fragmented and aquatic refugia were formed: karstification events created caves and subterranean aquifers, waterholes formed in dry riverine systems, and localised and artesian springs became regional sources of fresh water (Fensham et al 2011;Davis et al 2013). Within South Australia, groundwater-fed spring systems ('mound springs') in the Lake Eyre Basin, fed by uplifted water along the southwestern edge of the subterranean Great Artesian Basin (Fig.…”

“…Within South Australia, groundwater-fed spring systems ('mound springs') in the Lake Eyre Basin, fed by uplifted water along the southwestern edge of the subterranean Great Artesian Basin (Fig. 1), are important locally as permanent habitats for freshwater invertebrates (Prescott and Habermehl 2008;Fensham et al 2011).…”

The ecology of narrow-range endemic macro-invertebrates of Great Artesian Basin springs

“…Springs are unique and diverse freshwater ecosystems that emerge in a diverse range of contexts, but those in arid regions are particularly important because they provide a reliable source of water in areas characterised by water scarcity and impermanence (Box et al, 2008;Davis et al, 2013;Shepard, 1993). They act as 'islands' of hospitable wetland in a 'sea' of aridity (Ponder, 1995) that are used as watering points for broadly distributed species, and provide critical wetland environments for suites of organisms endemic to springs Fensham et al, 2011;Myers & Resh, 1999). Extensive spring systems are present in the arid and semi-arid regions of most continents, with each region sharing parallel stories of uniqueness, fragility and destruction Unmack & Minckley, 2008).…”

“…Modern molecular techniques have provided particular insights, uncovering cryptic species complexes (King, 2009) and highlighting the importance of divergent populations within species endemic to GAB springs Mossop et al, 2015;Murphy et al, 2013;Murphy et al, 2010;Ponder et al, 1995) as well as the relict and isolated nature of populations of coastal and tropical wetland species that, whilst not endemic to the system, represent populations with evolutionary histories distinct from their coastal counterparts (Clarke et al, 2013;Gellie et al, 2015). In general, accumulating studies suggest that the GAB springs system is one of high biodiversity, composed primarily of taxa that are found only in springs fed by the GAB and that have small geographical distributions (<50km 2 ) (Fensham et al, 2004b;Fensham et al, 2011;Harvey, 2002;Ponder, 1995). Many species endemic to springs lack the adaptations other arid-zone aquatic flora and fauna have that tune their life-histories to the "boom and bust" cycle of water availability in the aridzone (Arthington & Balcombe, 2011).…”