Abstract: |
The southernmost section of the Eyre Peninsula houses a series of freshwater catchments as discrete outlying habitats in South
Australia and the westernmost catchments of south eastern Australia before the extensive Great Australian Bight. The fishes in
these catchments have not been documented or studied in detail representing a key data gap at the state level (Hammer et al.
2009), and making conservation and management of the group difficult. Extensive agricultural development in the region and
competing demands for limited water resources in a relatively low rainfall region are likely to be key threatening processes,
with specific community concern recently arising with regard to environmental water resources in the Little Swamp Catchment
(see Alcorn 2009). In 2011 Aquasave Consultants was engaged by the Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management Board
(EPNRMB) to undertake a dedicated survey of fishes in the Little Swamp Catchment to: Provide a baseline field assessment of
fishes and aquatic habitat. Identify locations of important ecological value and critical life stages as targets for future
monitoring. Identify and document indicators for assessing potential impacts of hydrological change and environmental
health. A further objective of the study involved training of local EPNRMB staff to be able to undertake independent field fish
monitoring. Following this initial study, annual surveys will be conducted at sites across the lower Eyre Peninsula.
This dataset is a summary of fish surveys conducted by SA Museum, Aquasave and the EPNRMB on the Eyre Peninsula.
REFERENCE: Hammer, M. & Whiterod, N. (2012) Freshwater fish survey of the southern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Report Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management Board, Government of South Australia. Aquasave Consultants, Adelaide. 23 p.
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