Stories of science from the Australian Rivers Institute
Rivers, lakes, and wetlands support extraordinary diversity. Such bodies of water host more species per square kilometre than forests or oceans. Yet they are losing this biodiversity two to three times faster than forests and oceans. Populations of freshwater animals, including river dolphins, sturgeon, beavers, crocodiles, and giant turtles, have already plummeted by 88%.
By Dr Chris Brown Reading Time: 557 words about 3 minutes. We usually think of nutrients moving down rivers to the ocean, not the other way around. But in many temperate rivers of the northern hemisphere migration of salmon brings nutrients from the ocean to rivers and surrounding vegetation. Male Pink Salmon, identifiable because of [...]
There is an urgent need to understand what factors contribute to successful breeding and juvenile survival for Australia’s freshwater fishes, especially as many freshwater fish species are affected by events like those that led to the recent fish kills in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Catchment to Coast 