HEADLINE TO BE PLACED IN
THIS SPACE
CLLAMMecology
Key Species Program
David Paton, Daniel Rogers, Sabine Dittmann, Alec Rolston, Qifeng Ye,
Craig Noell, Bronwyn Gillanders and Andrew Munro
CLLAMMecology Research Cluster partners:

Key species responses
Document responses for a suite of species from key
functional groups to water regimes:
-Aquatic plants (Ruppia tuberosa)
-Macrobenthic invertebrates (polychaetes, dipterans)
-Fish (abundant species, commercial species)
-Aquatic birds (waders, piscivores, herbivores)
•In situ observations along the salinity gradient of the Coorong
•In situ responses to changes in salinity (environmental flows)
•Ex situ – experimental manipulations where feasible
•Where available used long-term data sets to track changes over time

Ruppia tuberosa

Sampling sites and
regions for Ruppia
tuberosa
Winter = red spots
Summer = red & yellow spots

Changes in abundance of Ruppia
tuberosa at five sites sampled in
winter from 1999- 2008

Changes in abundances of Ruppia tuberosa
propagules (seeds & turions) in January at five
sites in the southern Coorong.
% Contribution of turions to propagule bank
2001-2006: 46-82
2007: 15
2008: 3

Response outputs from Non-
Parametric Multiplicative
Regressions conducted on field
data using Hyperniche software.
Best Model (highest xR2) had four
explanatory variables:
- max salinity
- min salinity
- aver salinity
- water level days

Distribution of
Ruppia tuberosa in the
Coorong.
Predicted
- dark blue = absent
- red = highest abundances
Actual
- Black + = absent
- Yellow spots= present

Benthic macro-invertebrates in the
Coorong

December '06
Site
Species 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Capitella sp.
Australonereis ehlersi
Simplisetia aequisetis
Annelida
Nephtys australiensis
Boccardiella limnicola
Phyllodoce novaehollandiae
Oligochaeta indet.
Distribution of macrobenthic
Helograpsus
invertebrates
Mollusca Crustacea
Macropthalmus latifrons
Amphipoda
Salinator fragilis
Hydrobia sp.
Arthritica helmsi
Chironomid sp.
Dec 06 to Mar 07
Dolichopodidae
Insecta
Ceratopogonidae
Tabanid sp.
Insecta indet.
January '07
Site
Species 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Capitella sp.
Australonereis ehlersi
Simplisetia aequisetis
Annelida
Nephtys australiensis
Boccardiella limnicola
Phyllodoce novaehollandiae
Oligochaeta indet.
Helograpsus
Mollusca Crustacea
Macropthalmus latifrons
Amphipoda
Murray Estuary (sites 1, 2, 3, 5)
Salinator fragilis
Hydrobia sp.
Arthritica helmsi
North Lagoon (sites 6, 7, 8, 9)
Chironomid sp.
Dolichopodid sp. South Lagoon (sites 10, 11,12)
Insecta
Ceratopogonid sp.
Tabanid sp.
Insecta indet.
Mar-07
Site
Species 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Capitella sp.
Australonereis ehlersi
Simplisetia aequisetis
Annelida
Nephtys australiensis
Boccardiella limnicola
Phyllodoce novaehollandiae
Oligochaeta indet.
Helograpsus
Mollusca Crustacea
Macropthalmus latifrons
Amphipoda
Salinator fragilis
Hydrobia sp.
Arthritica helmsi
Chironomid sp.
Dolichopodid sp.
Insecta
Ceratopogonid sp.
Tabanid sp.
Insecta indet.

Dec '06
A).
14 Insecta
12 Bivalva
Gastropoda
10
Crustacea
8
Oligochaeta
6 Polychaeta
4 Number of species of
2
macrobenthic invertebrates for
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 sites along the Coorong Dec
Site
06 to Mar 07
Jan '07
B).
14
12
10
8
6
Murray Estuary (sites 1, 2, 3, 5)
4 North Lagoon (sites 6, 7, 8, 9)
2 South Lagoon (sites 10, 11,12)
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site
Mar '07
C).
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site

Annelida Capitella spp.
Mean Abundance m 50000 * * 40000 *
-2
35000
Dec-06
Individuals m
40000
30000
-2
Jan-07 Dec '06
30000 25000
*
Mar-07 Jan '07
* 20000 * Mar '07
20000 *
15000
10000 * 10000
* *
5000
0
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site
Crustacea Simplisetia aequisetis
Mean Abundance m
50000 10000
* 9000
-2
*
Individuals m
40000 8000
-2
7000
30000 6000
20000 * * 5000
4000 *
3000
10000 * 2000
1000
0
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site
Mollusca Nephtys australiensis
1600
Mean Abundance m
40000
-2
1400
Individuals m
30000 1200
-2
1000
20000 800
600
10000
* 400
200
0
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site
Insecta Arthritica helmsi
Mean Abundance m
2000
18000
-2
1750 * 16000
Individuals m
1500 14000
-2
1250 12000
1000 * * 10000
750 8000
* *
500 6000
* * * 4000
250
2000
0
0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site

Total Juvenile Benthos 20000 Arthritica helmsi
80000
Dec '06 18000
70000
16000
60000 Jan '07
14000
Individuals m-2
Individuals m-2
50000 Mar '07
12000
40000 May '07 10000
July '07 8000
30000
Oct '07 6000
20000
4000
10000
2000
0 0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site
9000 Simplisetia aequisetis
50000
Capitella spp.
8000
45000
40000 7000
Abundances of
Individuals m-2
35000 6000
Individuals m-2
30000 5000
25000
20000
4000
3000
juveniles of
15000
10000
5000
0
2000
1000
0
selected benthic
1 2 4 5 6 7
Site
8 9 10 11 12 1 2 4 5 6 7
Site
8 9 10 11 12
macro-
1600
1400
Boccardiella limnicola 800
700
Nephtys australiensis
invertebrates
1200 600
Individuals m-2
Individuals m-2
1000 500
800 400
600 300
400 200
200 100
0 0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site
Oligochaeta 6000 Chironomidae:Tanytarsus barbitarsus
6000
5000 5000
Individuals m-2
Individuals m-2
4000 4000
3000 3000
2000 2000
1000 1000
0 0
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Site Site

Outcome of translocation experiments of macrobenthos
Translocation Abundance Diversity
Higher salinities decrease decrease
Lower salinities increase increase
Increased exposure decrease decrease
Decreased exposure increase increase

Fish populations in the Coorong

Changes in fish species
richness and abundance
of selected fish along the
Coorong during 2006-07

Dendogram of abundance of fish species from 100 seine net samples using Bray-Curtis similarities
and illustrating presence of six clusters (48% similarity or greater) spread along the Coorong.

MDS ordination of the species abundance data 1(00 seine net samples) between October 2006
and September 2008. Boundaries indicate the six groups at similarity levels of 48%. Stress =
0.14.

Field-based salinity ranges for fish sampled in the
Coorong (2006-08)
Species Salinity (g/L)
min max
Smallmouth Hardyhead 13 134
Yellow-eye Mullet 13 74
Greenback Flounder 13 74
Sandy Sprat 13 69
Mulloway 13 62
Tamar Goby 13 60
West Aust Salmon 13 60
Bony Bream 30 60
Black Bream 30 60
Congoli 39 62
Common Galaxias 30 45

14
(a) 120
12
100
10
Patterns of otolith chemistry for
-1
80
8
Smallmouth Hardyhead
Salinity
Ba:Ca µmol
60
6 sampled along the Coorong
mol
4 40 showing that Barium:Calcium
c
2 20 ratios increase at higher
0 0
salinities while Strotium:
B19 BCS LBC CS PP MP NM HG JP SC
Calcium ratios do not.
Location
5 This may allow periods of historic
(b)
120 exposure to higher salinities to be
4
100
determined for fish in the Coorong
and assist in understanding their
-1
3 80
movements and preferences for
Salinity
Sr:Ca mmol
60 water of different salinity
2
mol
40
c
1
20
0 0
B19 BCS LBC CS PP MP NM HG JP SC
Location

Aquatic birds in the Coorong

Map showing
sites used for
monitoring bird
behaviour and
regions used in
analyses of water
bird counts and
food resources

NMS plot of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities for waterbird communities in
different regions of the Coorong. (Fourth root transformed abundance
data for waterbird species over 7 regions and 8 years. Final stress
0.14).

NMS ordination plot of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities of the Coorong waterbird
communities for the three components of each region (stress = 0.11). Ordination is
based on fourth-root transformed data of the mean abundance (n = 8 years) of each
waterbird species within each region and component.

Changes in bird species richness (red) and diversity (blue) along the Coorong

Changes in the
abundances of
selected water birds in
the South Lagoon

Species 1985 2000-2007 (X±SE) 2000-2007 (Range) % change
Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus 6045 1370.9 ± 320.4 394-2600 -77.3
Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris 1190 72.3 ± 52.1 0-430 -93.9
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 263 19.4 ± 11.2 0-94 -92.6
Hoary-headed Grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalus 16766 2517.9 ± 954.7 50-8141 -85.0
Black Swan Cygnus atratus 676 275.1 ± 58.3 68-526 -59.3
Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides 6059 3290.4 ± 625.3 1339-6242 -45.7
Grey Teal Anas gracilis 59113 8727.1 ± 2692.8 2446-24460 -85.2
Chestnut Teal Anas castanea 660 4110.8 ± 989.1 430-10147 +522.8
White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae 128 39.1 ± 8.4 15-75 -69.4
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 313 59.6 ± 10.6 16-103 -80.1
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata 6013 2218.4 ± 515.7 188-4202 -63.1
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis 29020 9197.9 ± 2298.0 1591-22453 -68.3
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 9449 548.6 ± 394.7 7-3198 -94.2
Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris 142 59.6 ± 12.0 15-113 -58.0
Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles 323 162.0 ± 20.6 86-262 -49.8
Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus 2158 535.3 ± 121.6 206-1038 -75.2
Banded Stilt Cladorhynchus leucocephalus 6208 22257.4 ± 9284.9 1297-64250 +258.5
Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra nov’ehollandiae 7210 1819.8 ± 564.0 104-4864 -74.8
Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae 4090 2830.4 ± 895.0 1077-8445 -30.8
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus 2656 1096.6 ± 273.5 334-2847 -58.7
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia 329 79.9 ± 42.1 0-345 -75.7
Fairy Tern Sterna nereis 1330 238.9 ± 74.7 6-586 -82.0
Crested Tern Sterna bergii 6687 3293.6 ± 864.3 877-8186 -50.7

Abundances of Black Swan in
the South Lagoon correlate
with changes in the abundance
of Ruppia tuberosa in the
South Lagoon

Abundances of Fairy Terns and
Australian Pelicans in the South
Lagoon correlate with abundances of
Hardyhead fish in the South Lagoon

No relationship between
migratory sandpipers and
measures of food abundance
Lack of relationship may be due to:
-food density not sufficiently low to affect rates
at which birds harvest food
- brine shrimps and or ostracods may help
counter shortage of chironomids and Ruppia
propagules

Foraging performance
deteriorates rapidly on exposed
mudflats with distance away
from waterline for migratory
shorebirds
Area of exposed mudflat is not a measure
of habitat availability for shorebirds

Foraging by migratory
sandpipers is sensitive to small
changes (1-5cm) in water depth
Foraging is limited to areas covered by
shallow water (< 5cm). This variable
should be used to assess habitat
availability for these species

Key species responses: Conclusions
Marked longitudinal gradient in invertebrate, fish and bird
communities along the Coorong
.
Changes correlate with changes in salinity
- higher salinities support less diverse but different assemblages
- many species appear limited by high salinities
Different communities form part of the region’s biodiversity and
the diversity of these communities needs to be conserved

Key species responses: Conclusions
Significant reductions in distribution and abundance during
period of no flow linked to increasing salinity in southern
Coorong
.
Addressing high salinity is key management action required
Fish and benthic macro-invertebrates are likely to respond
quickly to reductions in salinity
Restoration of Ruppia tuberosa is likely to require additional
intervention given poor propagule bank

Key species responses: Conclusions
Bird populations likely to respond to increases in food resources,
particularly distribution of key foods
.
Precautionary notes
- conclusions and initial models largely based on correlations during a period of
ecological collapse and not “cause and effect”
- recovery may not follow the reverse trajectory
- need to monitor on-going changes to the system during no flow to test and refine
models
- need to repeat the above sampling when environmental flows are returned to test and
refine models for recovery