The Macquarie Marshes in Arid Australia and their waterbirds: A 50-year history of decline

Kingsford, Richard T.; Thomas, Rachael F.

doi:10.1007/bf02471938

Cited by 165 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In one sense, they are also one of the easier elements of a wetland ecosystem to census or measure. With aerial surveys, many wetlands can be monitored (Kingsford 1999b;Kingsford et al 1999b), providing long-term data on the health of wetlands and the species involved (Kingsford and Thomas 1995;Kingsford and Johnson 1998;Leslie 2001). With such data, real changes may be effected for the management of water resources for all aquatic flora and fauna.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two species, the Little Bittern and the Cotton Pygmygoose, are considered near threatened at a national level (Garnett and Cowan's (1973) review, and subsequently, but the pattern for most species is not clear (Kingsford et al , 2000. Nevertheless, numbers and composition have declined on individual wetlands Kingsford and Thomas 1995) and the ranges of some species have contracted (e.g. Magpie Goose, Cotton Pygmy-goose, Green Pygmy-goose, Black-necked Stork, Brolga).…”

Section: Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Macquarie Marshes, for example, have been reduced in area covered by flood water by at least 40-50%, with a consequent decrease in numbers of waterbirds and their diversity, and the frequency and extent of breeding of colonial waterbirds (Kingsford and Thomas 1995;Kingsford and Johnson 1998). Similar changes have affected waterbirds in the Barmah-Millewa forest on the Murray River (Leslie 2001) and are likely to be widespread (Kingsford 2000a) wherever major impoundments regulate rivers to divert water, reducing available wetland habitat for waterbirds.…”

Section: Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Australian waterbirds—products of the continent's ecology

Kingsford

Norman

2002

Emu - Austral Ornithology

109

107

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Abstract. Some aspects of the ecology of 93 waterbird species, found predominantly on freshwater ecosystems, are reviewed. These species, belonging to six major orders -Anseriformes (ducks, geese and Black Swan), Podicipediformes (grebes), Pelecaniformes (Australian Pelican and cormorants), Ciconiiformes (herons, ibis, spoonbills and bitterns), Gruiformes (cranes, rails, crakes and gallinules), and Charadriiformes (waders and terns) -use a wide range of habitats and about half occur throughout the continent. Knowledge of their ecology remains poor for many waterbirds, particularly cryptic and rare species, and is moderate to good for hunted species. Life histories of Australian waterbirds differ from their counterparts elsewhere. Australia's highly variable climate and river-flooding patterns create wetland habitats, the spatial and temporal variability of which strongly influence the ecology of local waterbirds. Many waterbirds respond to newly generated habitats to feed and/or breed and then disperse or die as wetlands dry. Regular movements are not common in most Australian species although some, particularly waders, migrate between Northern Hemisphere breeding grounds and non-breeding habitat in Australia. Breeding of Australian waterbirds coincides with food abundance in the southern spring, the wet season in the tropics and following floods inland. Habitat loss through draining of wetlands, regulation of rivers, diversion of water for irrigation and floodplain development are currently the major threats to waterbirds. Other potentially threatening processes include exotic plants and animals, pollution, climate change and over-harvesting but evidence for the impact of these factors remains poor. Understanding of waterbird, particularly waterfowl, ecology has contributed significantly to the conservation management of wetlands in Australia. Research on single species, studies of movements using satellite technology, further investigation of the effects of hunting, long-term monitoring and large-scale analyses of the availability of wetland habitat should be future research priorities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Australian waterbirds—products of the continent's ecology

Kingsford

Norman

2002

Emu - Austral Ornithology

109

107

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“…Anthropogenic activities such as extraction and diversion of water have had adverse impacts on rivers in the arid-zone of Australia (Walker 1985;Kingsford and Thomas 1995). High natural variation in water availability coupled with anthropogenic activities and climate change has the potential to catastrophically affect arid-species that depend on water availability (Roshier et al 2001;McKenzie et al 2007;Saunders et al 2013).…”

Section: Loss Of Sources Of Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats and Water: Anthropogenic Alterations Threaten Global Bat Populations

Korine

Adams

Russo

et al. 2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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Natural bodies of open water in desert landscapes, such as springs and ephemeral pools, and the plant-life they support, are important resources for the survival of animals in hyper arid, arid and semi-arid (dryland) environments. Human-made artificial water sources, i.e. waste-water treatment ponds, catchments and reservoirs, have become equally important for wildlife in those areas. Bodies of open water are used by bats either for drinking and/or as sites over which to forage for aquatic emergent insects. Due to the scarcity of available water for replenishing water losses during roosting and flight, open bodies of water of many shapes and sizes may well be a key resource influencing the survival,

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“…Respective percentages of mesics and xerics increased, while hydrics decreased dramatically. Replacement of hydric species by more mesic species has been recorded in studies of floodplains subjected to flow regulation (Bren 1992;Kingsford and Thomas 1995). Two divergent responses to flow regime change in two stages of hydrologic modification indicates that the structure of the plant moisture group had a certain tolerance to water availability loss.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of hydrologic modifications to riparian plant communities in a large river system in northern China

Xiu

Gerisch

Ilg

et al. 2015

Ecological Research

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Hydrologic modifications to rivers caused by anthropogenic activity have major impacts on riparian ecosystems. Alterations to the hydrologic regime and their interactions with natural environmental parameters exert selective pressures on riparian vegetation, resulting in adaptations to specific flow attributes. However, few studies have attempted to detect these effects under multiple hydrologic conditions, especially for rivers in semi-dry and semi-humid regions. Using the ''space-for-time substitution'' method, we investigated the effects of hydrologic modifications to the riparian plant community along the Yongding River of northern China, by comparing community structure metrics (diversity, plant moisture affinity group, and lifespan) and a function metric (biomass) under three streamflows (perennial, seasonal and dried-up). Among these streamflows, seasonal flow reaches had the greatest plant diversity. Responses of plant moisture group and lifespan were inconsistent in different hydrologic stages, although they varied significantly (P < 0.01). Annuals and biennials greatly increased from perennial to seasonal streamflow ($59 %), while perennials decreased ($41 %). However, from seasonal to dried-up flow, the percentage of mesics and xerics increased by 12.8 and 11.8 %, respectively, while hydrics decreased dramatically (by 24.6 %). Perennial flow had significantly greater aboveground biomass (P < 0.05) than the other two flows. Hydrologic conditions and their related soil nutrients were the main driving factors of community structure and function, which explained 21.0 and 18.0 % of variation, respectively. These findings reveal the response process of the riparian plant community during hydrologic modification from perennial to dried-up streamflow.

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The Macquarie Marshes in Arid Australia and their waterbirds: A 50-year history of decline

Abstract: / We investigated the relationship between total annual flow of water in the Macquarie River and the extent of flooding in the northern part of the Macquarie Marshes and trends in waterbird populations from 1983 to 1993.

Cited by 165 publications

References 20 publications

Australian waterbirds—products of the continent's ecology

Australian waterbirds—products of the continent's ecology

Bats and Water: Anthropogenic Alterations Threaten Global Bat Populations

Effects of hydrologic modifications to riparian plant communities in a large river system in northern China

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