Abstract: |
This project aims to investigate the impacts of human disturbance on evolutionary processes that affect the long-term sustainability of native fish populations in the Lake Eyre Basin in the Far North region of South Australia.
Specifically, we will examine the effects of aquatic pollution on the Desert Goby (Chlamydogobius eremius), a remarkable freshwater fish endemic to Central Australia. To achieve this, we will examine:
1. the effects of such environmental change on the behaviour and reproduction of individuals currently living in disturbed habitats
2. long-term effects across generations.
Importantly, information from the protected Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park will form a valuable contrast to more disturbed sites elsewhere in the Lake Eyre Basin region.
Our investigations of chemical and visual communication of Goby in altered conditions will allow us important insights into how this species can adapt and survive the various human activities (such as pastoralism and water extraction) that impact waterbodies of the Lake Eyre Basin.
By doing so, this project will deliver valuable knowledge of how human disturbance of the aquatic environment can impact the mechanisms of sexual selection and, thus the sustainability of native fish populations.
Our research will also contribute crucial information on the state of the Desert Goby's vulnerable habitat, which supports a number of rare species.
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