Bulletin

Issue: January/February 2007

News

Boost to Murray-Darling water research

La Trobe University has announced a dramatic boost to its research capability in freshwater and riverine ecology in the critical drought-stricken Murray-Darling Basin region.

Photo: Arthur Mostead, Murray-Darling
Basin Commission.

The University is trebling staff and forging broader research alignments in this specialised field located at its Albury- Wodonga and Mildura campuses.

Dean of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, Professor David Finlay, said this follows La Trobe’s new joint venture membership of the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (MDFRC), which was officially signed in February.

It has resulted in 20 scientists and technical staff from the Centre joining the University. La Trobe previously had about ten staff members working in freshwater ecology.

‘It’s a wonderful chance to build substantial additional research strengths in what is a very pressing new area for research and fundamental knowledge,’ Professor Finlay said. ‘It gives La Trobe staff and students a real advantage in fresh-water ecology and the ability to increase research for the benefit of the whole Murray-Darling Basin area.’

The initiative will underpin the development of greater collaborative relationships between freshwater expertise and existing research in ecological science and environmental management, both in the Faculty and other areas of the University.

Professor Finlay said developing collaborative research across disciplines was essential to address complex environmental challenges.

‘With rapid environmental change, it is becoming increasingly important for studies into the health of Australian rivers to intersect more broadly with terrestrial ecology and other disciplines such as sociology and economics.

‘This expanded group of specialist researchers will now be able to interact with another 15 experts at the University in land-based ecology, many from the main Melbourne campus at Bundoora.

‘Such studies at La Trobe range from conservation biology along the Murray Darling right up into the Alpine regions.

‘For example, extensive research into the effects of bushfires, led by zoologist Dr Mike Clarke, is already supported by a variety of water catchment management authorities.’

The new team will also give the University more expertise in studies of fresh-water ecology, Professor Finlay said.

New team led by Dr Ben Gawne

The new group is headed by leading Australian freshwater scientist and Director of the MDFRC, Dr Ben Gawne.

Dr Gawne has led the MDFRC since 2002. Prior to that he was Scientist in Charge of the Centre’s Lower Basin Laboratory in Mildura.

Formerly a Senior Research Scientist in the CSIRO’s Rivers and Estuaries Research Directorate, he was a member of the Living Murray’s Scientific Reference Panel. He also helped develop the Sustainable Rivers Audit and the Review of the Murray-Darling Basin Cap.

Dr Gawne’s research includes productivity in lowland rivers, flowecology relationships and wetland ecology and management. He also specialises in macroinvertebrate ecology and algal interactions.

Other leading figures in the venture are Dr Phil Suter and Dr Roger Croome, both Associate Professors in the Department of Environmental Management and Ecology at the Albury-Wodonga campus.

Dr Suter’s research deals with freshwater ecology of species such as mayflies, how they are affected by drought, and their usefulness as indicators of the water quality and the health of rivers.

He has worked extensively on conservation management of the River Murray system and the effects of discharge of chlorinated sewage effluent on freshwater environments.

Dr Croome specialises in descriptive and applied aquatic ecology, with a particular focus on algae, phytoplankton taxonomy and ecology.

He is well known for his contributions to lake and river management, studies into the water quality of lakes and rivers and the use of planktonic algae in environmental assessment.

He also has extensive experience in the conduct and overview of ecological research having worked with both State and Federal water resource agencies.

Two of the key researchers at the Mildura Lower Basin Laboratory are Dr Todd Wallace, who was recently appointed Officer-in-Charge of the laboratory, and Dr Lorenzo Vilizzi, a freshwater ecologist from Italy.

Dr Wallace’s research expertise ranges from environmental triggers for algal blooms in marine and freshwater systems, fish biology and the impact of changing land use on river systems.

He has sound knowledge of ecological issues facing the lower Murray, having worked on the Chowilla floodplain on the NSW, Victorian and South Australian border.

Dr Vilizzi is a fish ecologist with highly specialised skills in experimental design, computer modelling and statistical analysis.

Familiar with many of the issues facing native fish in the Murray River system - his PhD research was on the growth and early life of carp - he is working on the recruitment of native larval fish at Lindsay Island. There, floodwaters from the Murray have helped create an important habitat for flora and fauna.

The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre - whose other members are the CSIRO and Murray-Darling Basin Commission - was a significant component of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology from 1993 until 2005, when the CRC was disbanded.

Its main laboratory is based on the University’s Albury-Wodonga campus and its Lower Basin Laboratory on La Trobe’s Mildura campus.

The MDFRC was originally formed in 1986 to generate and communicate knowledge for managing aquatic ecosystems, particularly iconic assets such as the Murray River. It celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.

Additional investment in its work is provided by the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.