Environmental flow rules in river tributaries boost productivity in the Barwon-Darling (Barka) River
Tributary inflows play an important role in delivering resources such as organic matter and nutrients to the mainstem of a river. Our study showed how essential food resources from the Mehi and Namoi tributaries provide an important boost to riverine food webs which support native fish in the Barwon-Darling River.
Our project investigated how much water is needed to flow through the Barwon-Darling River (Barka) pools to keep the river healthy. When sufficient water flows through the pools, thermal stratification is less likely to occur which reduces the risk of toxic algae blooms and possible fish deaths.
The NSW Government are collaborating with the University of New England to track how different river flows impact the movement of freshwater turtles through the Northern Murray-Darling Basin.
Scientists from the department's Surface Water Science team, are conducting field work to monitor the health of plant communities in the Northern Murray Darling Basin.
We used satellite imagery to monitor the replenishment of remnant pools and low flow connectivity during a protected environmental flow event in the most recent drought.