Australian Waterways and Management Flashcards
What is the biggest waterway in straya?
The Murry Darling Basin
What is riparian vegetation?
riverbank vegetation
Freshwater systems play a large role in the _______ and _____ systems of wildlife
transitory and migratory
Where does most of the waterway runoff happen?
in the northern tropics
T/F: Staya has generally predictable rainfall
FALSE - el nina and el nino yo
Most waterways lie where?
on the coast
List 3 of the permanent coastal rivers
Burnett
Mary
Tully
(BMT)
Biological consequences of Aussie’s scarce waterways
- Restrictions to waterways
- generally no req. for water-related adaptations (less specialization)
- diversity
- sort of endimism
Human impacts on waterways (2)
- settlement/agriculture
- modification of water flow
List 3 of the permanent inland rivers?
BMD
- Burnett
- Murray
- Darling
What does surface water refer to?
rivers and flood plains
What are differences between coastal and inland rivers?
- highly varable flow
- slow flow (flat topography)
- turbid (muddy)
- lower oxygen
- some water adapt. required
- larger animals
Name 2 intermittent inland rivers
CG
- Coopers
- Georgia
Describe inland intermittent rivers
- defined riverbeds
- deeper slow pools
- cooler with low oxygen
- periodic flooding
What is a river catchment?
Basin where water drains out to?
Bio consequences of intermittent rivers
- genetic similarity (mix of spp during floods)
- adaptations to low oxygen
- less endimism
- regulation of reproduction
- only large trees permanent
- low human influence
What does anastomozing mean?
when two water bodies rejoin after previously branching out
Name 2 inland flood plains
Queensland Channel Country
Paroo
Describe characteristics of inland flood plains
- anastomozing channels/rivers
- long periods of drought
- wide flooding
- hot
- shallow turbid water
- non restricted water (little structure)
Bio consequences of intermittent rivers
- spp not restricted (low endimism)
- highly migratory/mobile spp
- wide adaptation ranges
- opportunistic spp
- minimal human impact
What are salt lakes and clay plans? (examples?)
“end of the road” where salt/clay/sediment collect to form soils
extremes in all aspects
examples: lake Eyre (central aussie)
What does opportunistic life history mean?
mass production of reproduction, fast life cycles
Bio consequences of Salt Lakes
- massive extremes in population size
- tolerance to multiple extreme water conditions
- almost zero human influence
How do organisms survive in desert waters?
- very flat area allows water to stay for a while
- species have dormant life stages
