Flooding Requirements for Biodiversity Values along the Victorian Floodplain of the Murray Valley

2011·9.4 MB·English

Contributions
Flooding requirements forbiodiversityvalues along the Victorian
floodplain ofthe MurrayValley
James A. Fitzsimons'-^ ^ Paul Peake', Doug Frood^ Mel Mitchell*, NaomiWithers'’^
MattWhite^and RickWebster^
‘VictorianEnvironmentalAssessmentCouncil,Level6,8NicholsonStreet,EastMelbourneVictoria3002
^SchoolofLifeandEnvironmentalSciences,DeakinUniversity,221BurwoodHighway,BurwoodVictoria3125
Email:[email protected]
^Currentaddress;TheNatureConservancy,Suite3-04,60LeicesterStreet,CarltonVictoria3053
’PathwaysBushlandandEnvironment,POBox360,GreensboroughVictoria3088
^Currentaddress:InformationServicesGroup,DepartmentofSustainabilityandEnvironment,
Level1,8NicholsonStreet,EastMelbourneVictoria3002
"^ArthurRylahInstituteforEnvironmentalResearch,DepartmentofSustainabilityandEnvironment,
123BrownStreet,HeidelbergVictoria3084
^EcosurveysPtyLtd.,POBox13,DeniliquinNewSouthWales2710
Abstract
Overbankfloodingofriversisakeyprocessinthemaintenanceofvegetationtypesandthespeciesthat rely
on the floodplain forestsandwoodlands ofnorthern Victoria. Yet thefloodingrequirements ofspecies and
vegetation types are poorly known. Here we present initial estimates ofthe water requirements for flood-
dependentEcologicalVegetation Classes (EVCs) and rareand threatenedflora and faunaspecies associated
withthefloodplain oftheMurrayRiveranditstributaries. Some 110 EVCswerefoundtobeatleastpartly
flood-dependentontheMurrayRiverfloodplains.ThetotalcurrentextentoftheseEVCsinthestudyareais
224247 ha, ofwhich 162266 ha are on public land. One hundred and twenty-four rare orthreatened plant
taxaand62threatenedvertebratefaunataxa(excludingfish)wereclassifiedasatleastpartlyflood-dependent.
Theseinitialestimatesprovideimportantinformationforlandandwatermanagersandresearchersalike.{The
VictorianNaturalist128(2),2011,48-85)
Keywords: RiverRedGum forests, floodrequirements,ecologicalvegetation classes,threatened
species,environmentalwatering
Introduction
Thefloodplainforests,woodlandsandwetlands for both the vegetation types and the species
ofthe MurrayRiver and its tributaries contain that rely on them. This information is vital if
importantanduniquespeciesoffloraandfauna informed managementofenvironmental flows
and extend the geographic range ofa number istobeundertaken.
ofspecies,particularlybirds,intothesemi-arid In this paper we present for the first time
regions ofthe Riverinaand Mallee (e.g. Tzaros initial estimates ofthe flood requirements for
2001). Pulsedfloodingisthemajorfactorinflu- a comprehensive suite of Ecological Vegeta-
encing biota in these river-floodplain systems tion Classes and rare and threatened flora and
(Ballinger and Mac Nally 2006). These over- fauna species within the Murray Valley. The
bank floods also maintain ecological connec- naturalvalues and their flooding requirements
tivityalongthelengthofthefloodplains,across were identified as part of final recommenda-
the floodplains and between the rivers and the tions of the Victorian Environmental Assess-
floodplains,therebyplayingacrucialroleinthe mentCouncil’s (VEAC’s) investigationofRiver
landscape ecologyofthe region (Ballinger and Red Gum Forests in northern Victoria (VEAC
MacNally2006). 2008). Identification andmappingoftheseval-
Flowever, there has been no comprehensive ues allows environmental and water managers
inventoryofimportantnaturalvaluesorflood- to makemoreinformed decisions aboutwhich
ing requirements to maintain these values flood-dependent natural values receive and
alongtheMurrayRiverfloodplains.Thisistrue miss out on environmental water (Peake et al.
48 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
2011). This is particularly pertinent consider- Wodonga.Itincludedthefloodplainecosystems
ingtheplanningbythe Murray-Darling Basin along the Murray River and seven ofits major
Authority (MDBA) for the development of a tributaries (the Avoca, Loddon, Campaspe,
basin-wide plan which incorporates environ- Goulburn, Ovens, King and Kiewa Rivers) as
mental watering (e.g. MDBA 2010), and the well as grassy ecosystems and wetlands ofthe
need for adaptive conservation strategies for VictorianRiverina-forfurtherdetailsseeFitz-
freshwater ecosystems in the face of climate simons (2006) and VEAC (2006) (Fig. 1). The
change(Aldousetal. 2011). Ourstudycomple- present study covered only the floodplains of
mentsrecentanalysisthatoutlinestolerablefire the Murray, Goulburn, Ovens and King Rivers
intervals for Victorian vegetation types (Cheal within the VEAC investigation area - a study
2010).Thisarticleservesasacompanionpaper area of approximately 507000 ha, collectively
to another (Peake etal. 2011) which describes referredtohereastheMurrayRiverfloodplain
how this information can be used to display (Fig 1.). Time did not permit coverage ofthe
spatiallythe values and their flooding require- Kerang Lakes and floodplains of the Avoca,
ments.' Loddon, Campaspe and Kiewa Rivers nor any
partofNewSouthWalesorSouthAustralia.
Methods
—
Studyarea Identifyingflood requirements Ecological
The VEAC River Red Gum Forests investiga- VegetationClasses
tion area encompassed some 1220000 ha of EVCs are units in a vegetation classification
northern Victoria from the South Australian system that are differentiated through a com-
border east to thewall ofthe Hume Dam near bination of floristic, life form and ecological
Fig. 1. Location ofVEAC River Red Gum Forests Investigation area and floodplain values mapped in this
analysis.
Voll28 (2) 2011 49
Contributions
characteristics,andthroughaninferredfidelity an EVC is flooded under natural conditions
toparticularenvironmentalattributes.Theyare and is therefore, presumably, theoptimal fre-
theprincipalunitsfornativevegetationclassifi- quencyofinundationforthatEVC.Sustained
cation and mappingforland-use planningand deviation from the natural flood frequencyis
management in Victoria (e.g. Woodgate et al. assumed to compromise EVC condition. In
1996; Parkesetal. 2003). the absence oflong-term historical informa-
The EVC dataset used in this study is the tionfortheEVCs,thenaturalfloodfrequency
publicly accessible geospatial vector layer foreach flood-dependentEVCwasestimated
maintained by the Victorian Department of based on what is known or surmised by our
Sustainability and Environment (DSE) (cur- expertassessorsofthefloodingrequirements
rent at January 2008). It describes the EVCs and tolerances of character species and the
in terms of their structure, composition and physical (including hydrological) conditions
environmental context. For the Murray River at sites of occurrence, particularly in com-
floodplains this has been mapped at a scale of parison to these parameters for adjoining or
1:25000.Inourassessment,webuiltonthisda- similarEVCs.
taset by identifying the flooding requirements 3. Estimation ofthe ‘critical interval’forflood-
for each flood-dependent EVC, based on the dependent EVCs. The critical interval is the
life-history traits, tolerances and competitive maximum period that an EVC can endure
advantages ofthe dominant and characteristic without flooding and remain capable of re-
planttaxa.Thisnewinformationwasappended turning to its reference or benchmarkcondi-
to existing EVC polygons. As few ofthe plant tion (sensu DSE 2008). This applies only to
species have been the subject ofdetailed aut- anysingle inter-flood period. Aswith natural
oecological studies, estimates of flooding re- flood frequency, we estimated the critical in-
gimevariables arebasedon the expertopinion terval for each flood-dependent EVC based
of DF and MW, who were closely involved in onwhatisknownorsurmisedoftheflooding
the circumscription and mapping ofEVCs in requirementsandtolerancesofcharacterspe-
2006,andsearches oftheavailableliterature. ciesandthephysical (includinghydrological)
Theprocessentailed foursteps, asfollows: conditions at sites ofoccurrence, particularly
1. Identification offlood-dependentEVCs. EVCs incomparisontotheseparametersforadjoin-
were classed as flood-dependent if likely ingorsimilarEVCs.
to decline significantly in condition (sensu 4. Estimation of the minimum duration for
Parkesetal.2003)intheregionintheabsence eachflood-dependent EVC. This is the mini-
of overbank flows from adjoining rivers (as mum duration of inundation required to
opposed to flooding or watering solely from maintain each EVC in a condition referable
local rainfall). As such, overbank flooding is to its reference state; i.e. the length of time
integral to keyecological processes for many that an EVC is continuously under water for
EVCs, or structurally important constituents each inundation event, assuming that these
of the vegetation such as regeneration, dis- are occurring at the frequency necessary to
persal and growth. Ecological dependence maintain it in a reference state. It is worth
on flooding extends beyond merely meeting noting that this variable is not solely a func-
watering requirements ofthe plants and ani- tion ofthe duration ofhigh river flows. For
malsandincludesimportantgeomorphologi- example,ratesofdryingordrawdownfollow-
cal processes such as the deposition ofsilts, ing flood recession vary according to flood-
andtheregulationofgroundwaterdepthand plain geomorphology and greatly affect the
chemistry. For details on the ecological char- durationoffloodinginsomeplacescompared
acteristics of the main EVCs in the VEAC to others. Again, the minimum duration for
investigation area see Appendix 7 of VEAC eachflood-dependentEVCwasestimated(by
(2006). DFandMW) basedonwhatisknownorsur-
2. Estimation ofthe ‘naturalfloodfrequencyfor mised ofthe flooding requirements and tol-
flood-dependentEVCs. The natural flood fre- erances ofcharacter species and the physical
quency is the average frequency with which (including hydrological) conditions at sites
50 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
of occurrence, particularly in comparison For a relatively small number ofthese taxa it
to these parameters for adjoining or similar 3.wasnotpossibleto identifyareliableassocia-
EVCs. tionwithanyEVCandasaresult noestimate
— wasmadeoftheseparameters.
Identifying flood requirements Rare or
Mapping of the current extent ofallflood-
threatenedflora
dependent rare or threatenedplant taxa. The
The assessment of flooding requirements for
distribution ofeach flood-dependent rare or
each flood-dependent rare or threatened plant
taxon was undertaken by DF and MW who stihtreealtoecanteidonplraenctortdasxosnupewraismpmoaspepdeodnuEsiVnCg
were the botanists that assessed the flooding maps. Discrete EVC units (orpolygons ofre-
requirementsofEVCs.Theassessmentsforrare
lated host EVCs) located at or very near the
aosrtthhereEaVteCneadssteasxsamfeontlsl,owweidtthhmeisnaomrevfairvieatsitoepnss flora records were mapped as a surrogate for
taxa distribution. This method required suf-
as follows; ficiently detailed mapping and accurate spe-
1.thIrdeeanttiefniecdatpiloanntotfaxfal.ooAd-ldisetpeonfdreanrte orrartehreaantd- cciaessesloecxaitsitoinnginmfaoprpmaitnigonw.asHonwoetveard,eqiunatseomteo
ened plant taxa (DSE 2005) recorded in the
substantiate an association at such a detailed
study area was generated using DSE’s Flora
level,andaspotlocation representingthesite
ItonrfioarnmaftlioroanrSeycosrtdesm((cFuIrSr)entdattoabMasaeyo2f00V7i)c.-^ record was used in place ofan EVC polygon.
The spot location was attributed a radius re-
Each taxon on this list was then classed as flecting the level ofsite accuracy (e.g. +1- 50
flood-dependentor not byapplyingthe same mattributedaradiusofapproximately50me-
definition of‘flood-dependent’ that was used
tres). Where there were multiple host EVCs,
for the identification of flood-dependent
these typically had very similar or identical
EVCs to what was known ofthe taxon’s ecol- flood dependency attributes, while for some
ogy and occurrence, including review ofrel-
others there was variation across the land-
fevlaonotdilnigterreatquuriereamnedntFsISofdatsao.mAesswpietcihesEVmCasy, scape. Some flora species occupy a niche be-
tween EVCs, particularly along strips where
relate more to maintenance ofsuitable habi-
water recession occursfrequently.
tat conditions than to their tolerance of dry To reduce the possibility that sites mapped
conditions (e.g. prevention of salinisation of
as polygons did not actuallysupport the rel-
habitat or reduced competition from species
evant rare or threatened plants, old records
which are less tolerant offlooding). In some (those made prior to 1980) and imprecise
cases, species may draw on groundwater re-
sourceswhich maybecomedepletedorsaline records (those that could not be reliably lo-
cated towithin 150 metres) were not used to
withalong-termabsence offloodingin adja-
delineate species-occurrence polygons. As a
centareas. result, no locations were mapped for some
2. Estimation of the natural flood frequency, flood-dependentspecies,someofwhichmay
critical interval and minimum duration. For
no longeroccur in thestudyarea. Addition-
tmioosntapvalialnatbtlaexoanthfelroeodisrleiqttuliersepmeecinftisc.iTnhfuosrmfao-r aslalryi,lythreefnleucmtbpeorpuolfatrieocnordssizedooersnnuotmbneerceso-f
each ofthese three parameters the estimated
stands. Some records reflect repeated sam-
natural flood frequency, critical interval and
plingfrom smallorlocalisedpopulations.
minimum duration ofthe principal EVCs at
—
siteswherethethreatened taxon hadbeen re- Identifyingflood requirements Threatened
corded were adopted as the estimated values fauna
of these parameters for the taxon. We over- rhe assessment of flooding requirements for
laid threatened floodplain flora records with threatened fauna followed the same procedure
EVCs in a geographic information system. In asthatforrareorthreatened flora,with thefol-
most cases there was a high fidelity between lowingvariations:
species and one or a small number ofEVCs.
Vol 128 (2) 2011 51
Contributions
1. Threatened vertebrate fauna records (DSE longer. Also, older or imprecise records were
2007) from the study area were extracted often includedwhen identifyingsiteswith re-
from DSEs Victorian Fauna Database (VFD, peatedrecordsorhighcounts.
alsoknownastheAtlasofVictorianWildlife) 4. The habitats ofmost fauna taxa were speci-
currenttoMay2007and Birds Australia’s At- fied as one or more EVCs, which were then
l2a0s08o)fAustralian Birds data (Birdata, accessed mapped as the sites for that taxon within its
from www.birdata.com.au in January-May geographicdistribution.Thenaturalfloodfre-
.^Amphibians, reptiles,birdsandmam- quency, critical interval and minimum flood
mals were considered, but not fishes. Flood- duration estimates for the EVC(s) were then
ing requirements were determined through assigned to the sites. However for some taxa,
discussions with experts (see Acknowledge- notably colonially nesting waterbirds, more
ments, below), and through reviewing rel- specific informationwas available (e.g. previ-
evantliterature. ouslyknown andmappedbreedingsites) was
2. For most threatened fauna taxa there are available and used to map site locations and
many more records in the study area than is specifywateringrequirements.
typicalforrare orthreatened plants and their 5. Some threatened fauna have been recorded
habitat requirement—s are usually much better in the relatively small areas mapped as Wet-
tkynpoiwcanl.lyAsmoarreesumlotbilaend—betchaeusiedeanntiimfailcastairone lGarnodunFdor(m9a9t3i)oannd(EWVatCernoB.od74y),—BaNraeturRaolcko/r
and mapping ofhabitat for threatened fauna man made (998). Flooding requirements for
was often tailored according to characteris- threatened species in these areas were esti-
tics of particular taxa rather than tying the mated based on the flooding requirements
identification and mapping ofhabitat closely andtolerancesoftherelevantthreatenedspe-
to the site ofevery record. For example, for ciesandthephysical (includinghydrological)
several highly mobile duck species that had conditionsatthesites.
been recorded at nearly every wetland in
Results
the study area (often just once at temporary
wetlands), only sites with repeated records Some 110EVCswerefoundtobeatleastpartly
or high counts were identified and mapped. flood-dependent on the Murray River flood-
Similarly for many colonial breeding birds, a plains (Table 1). The total current extent of
distinction was made between breeding and these EVCs in the study area is 224247 ha, of
non-breeding habitat, with only the former which 162266 ha are on public land. Natural
beingidentifiedandmappedforthosespecies flooding frequencies ranged from as many as
whereavailabilityofnon-breedinghabitatwas 3-4 flood events every four years for Aquatic
not a significant factor in their conservation Herbland and a further 20 EVCs through to
status. On the other hand, for some highly one flood event in 20-40 years for Riverine
cryptic species with readily identifiable habi- Chenopod Woodland. Critical intervals to
maintain healthy ecosystems ranged from one
tat (such as bitterns), habitat patches without
recordswereidentifiedandmappedontheba- floodeventeverytwoyearsforaround30EVCs
to one flood every 30-50 years for some Black
sis that the species almost certainly occurs in
these patches on occasions but have not been Box-dominated EVCs. Minimum durations of
recordedduetoinsufficientsurveyeffort. inundation ranged from less than one month
3. Reflecting this emphasis on the specific to 6-36 months (Table 1). One hundred and
characteristics ofsome taxa, there were some twenty-four rare or threatened plant taxa were
exceptionstotheexclusionofoldrecords(those classified as at least partly flood-dependent of
made prior to 1980) and spatially imprecise which 68 weresufficientlywell knownfortheir
records (those that could not be located reli- Odifsttrhiebu6t2iotnhsretaotebneedmaveprpteebdrarteelifaabulnya(tTaaxbale(e2x)-.
ablytowithin 150 metres). Forexample, older
cluding fish) found to be flood-dependent (or
records ofcolonially nesting waterbirds were
includedonthebasisthatthesebirdsbreedin- use flood-dependent habitats), 51 were suf-
frequentlyand generation times aretherefore ficiently well known for their distributions to
52 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
be mapped reliably (Table 3). A visual repre- • sites that are likely to assist the recovery of
sentation ofthe critical intervals forEVCs and threatenedtaxa,especiallytaxathatarehighly
threatened species is presented in Map D"* and threatened
MapE"ofVEAC(2008). • sitesofhighspeciesrichness
Discussionandfurtherresearch • colonysitesforcolonialbreedingspeciesthat
arenotcurrentlyclassifiedasthreatened
dThoicsumpaepnetrtihsethfelofoirdstraetqtueimrpetmetnotsestfoirmaatewainded • sitesthatmaybeinpoorcondition atpresent
butwouldrecoverwithwateringandbelikely
range ofnatural values in the Victorian flood-
tosupportsignificantnaturalvalues
plainforestsoftheMurrayValley.Astheflood-
ing requirements are based largely on expert • corridors ofhabitat wh—ich are important for
themovementofbiota fromflightpathsfor
oirseplsiienkaierolcynhtahiannttdontiehnewdilkvinimodiuwtaleledsdppgueebcliaeinssdhaemndodrleietceoirsnayt-usdrteeep,mtisht ttehleisdsawialiynsmoonvieimbeenttwseeonfbSruepeedribngPaarnrdotfseePdoilnyg-
will refine these requirements. We strongly areastocorridorsforlonger-termmovements
such as in response to changing climate over
encourage further research into this field to
thecourseofdecades.
determine the flooding requirements or toler-
Species distributional databeingentered into
ances ofindigenous species and communities,
the Victorian Flora Information System and
and ultimately optimise the use ofscarce and
Atlas of Victorian Wildlife have declined sig-
expensiveenvironmentalwater.
nificantly in recent years (Commissioner for
The present studywas restricted to most ter-
restrialvertebratesandvascularplanttaxaclas- Environmental Sustainability 2008). There is
an urgent need to reinvest in basic ecological
sified as rare or threatened at either state or
inventory and monitoring to improve our un-
national levels. The Murray River floodplains
derstandingofboththedistributionandoccur-
haveadiverse rangeofarboreal,terrestrialand rence ofmany taxa and to monitor and refine
aquatic macro- and microinvertebrate species
ourunderstandingoftheeffectsandbenefitsof
(Ballinger and Yen 2002, Shiel 2002; Suter and
floodregimes.
Hawking2002;Yenetal. 2002),manyofwhich Theprojecttodateshouldbeseenasaninitial
are reliant (or likely to be reliant) on flooding
steptowards amore comprehensiveandongo-
events.Itisalsorecognisedthatfloodplainsand inganalysis thatis continuallyupdatedandre-
flood events are important for fish along the finedasnewdataandresultsbecomeavailable.
2M0u0r5r;aKyianngdetitasl.tr2i0b0u5t;arJioense(sKaonedhnSt2u0ar0t2;20K0i8n)g. oTfhetrheeafrleoosdtiilnlgmraenqyuigraepmsenitnsouarndunbdaseircsteacnodlionggy
tHhoeweevxeisrt,inKginBgar(m20a0h5-,Mpi.l1l2e1w)anoEtWesAth[aEtn‘vwihriolns-t of many of the ecological vegetation classes,
and threatened flora and fauna, on the flood-
mental Water Allocation] has been operating
foranumberofyears,littleisknownabouthow plainsoftheMurrayRiver.Itishopedthisproj-
ectprovidesacatalystforongoingresearch.
natural and managed flood events influence
fishpopulationsintheForest’andthatongoing Acknowledgements
researchisrequired. TheprojectwasinitiatedandoverseenbyVEACmem-
Ideally, floodplain watering strategies should bersDuncanMalcolm,BarryHart,JanMacpherson,
beformulatedontherequirementsofallflood- JtiilvleMOcfFfaircelranJeoaannPdhiDllaivpis.dAMdedricteiro,naalndinCfhorimeaftEixoencoun-
plain biota including fish, invertebrates (ter- EVCsofthestudyareawasprovidedbyJaneRoberts,
restrial and aquatic), non-vascular plants and TerryHillmanandKeithWard. Additionalinforma-
tion on the faunaofthe studyareawas providedby
regionally significant taxa. Similarly, the list PeterRobertson,MartinO’Brien,NickClemann,Pe-
of ecological characteristics used to identify ter Menkhorst, Chris Tzaros, LindyLumsden, Mark
the naturalvalues to be maintained, should be Antos, Andrew Silcocks and Shar Ramamurthy. We
comprehensiveandexpandedbeyondjustthose thankan anonymous refereeforvaluable comments
forthemainsitesofoccurrenceorbreedingfor onadraft.
threatenedtaxatoincludeimportantcharacter-
isticssuchasthefollowing:
Voll28 (2) 2011 53
.
Contributions
Notes DEC (2005) Southern Bell Frog (Litoria raniformis) Draft
' Emailthecorresponding authorforacopyofthe Recovery Plan. (NSW Department ofEnvironment and
Peakeetai (2011)article. Conservation:Hurstville)
^VoafscRualraeroprlaTnhtrteaaxtaenleisdtePdlaunntdserinthVeicAtdorviiaso-ry20Li0s5t DStmEoerni(ta2:0-0M5e2)0l0bA5od.uvir(snDoeer)pyaLritstmeonftRaorfeSourstTahirneaabitleinteydaPnladntEsnviinrVoinc--
(DSE2005),theVictorianFloraandFaunaGuar- DSE (2007) AdvisoryListofIhreatenedVertebrateFaunain
antee Act 1988 or the Commonwealth Environ- Victoria - 2007. (Department ofSustainabilityand Envi-
mentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct ronment:Melbourne)
1999. DSE(2008)EcologicalVegetation Class(EVC) Benchmarks
Vertebrate taxa other than fish listed under the foreach Bioregion. DepartmentofSustainabilityandEn-
Advisory List ofThreatened Vertebrate Fauna in aviur/odnsmee/nntr,enMecleb.onusrfn/eL.inAkvaViileawbl/e4:3FhtEt7pD:F//2w4wAnv1.4d4s7e.Dv9iCcA.g2o5v6.
Victoria - 2007 (DSE 2007), the Victorian Flora EE6007EA8788062D358172E420C4A256DEA0012F71C
andFauna GuaranteeAct 1988 orthe Common- [lastaccessed5September2008].
wealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity EmisonWB,BeardsellCM,NormanFI,LoynRH andBen-
ConservationAct 1999. nett SC (1987) Atlas ofVictorian Birds. (Department of
http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/maps/352-MapD_ Conservation,ForestsandLandsandRAOU:Melbourne)
Flood_Dependent_EVCs.pdf FitzsimonsJA(2006) Publiclanduseplanningusingbiore-
^http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/maps/352-MapE_ gtiheonVsEaAndCoRtihveerraRtetrdibGutuesm: dFeorteesrtmsininivnegsttihgeatsitonu.dyPraorceeaedo-f
Flood_Dependent_threatened_species.pdf
Gaitnegsso]fAthaenRdoyPaaltoSonciDetCyo(f2V0i0c5t)oriTahe11d8,is7t5r-i8b5u.tion of Bush
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Nf(aSateuurnrpaaelnoitfsetsV:i1c2tE4ol,raip3ai3:d-a3De8e).WViasi’teBaannddedLoSnngamkaenD.enTihseonViiactdoerviiasni Logfyiasnutn3aR1H,o,f16BL6a-ur1m7ms4ad.henForLeFst,anadlaWrgaerdforKesAto(f20R0i2v)erVReerdtebGruatme
CommissionerforEnvironmentalSustainability(2008)State EucalyptuscamaldidensisonthefloodplainoftheMurray
ofofrtEhnevEinrvoinrmoennmteanltSuRsetpaoirnatbiVliicttyo:riMael2b0o08u.rn(eC)ommissioner LuRmivsedre.nThLe,BVircotwonriaGn,NCahteuerralsisGta1n19d,P1a1l4m-e1r24C.(2007)Flood-
ConoleLandMacNallyR(2000)RecordsoftheGiantBanjo plain Fauna Surveys ~ Macredie IslandandBurra Forest.
FrogLirnnodynastes interiorisfrom Gunbower Islandand Report to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority.
the Ovens Floodplain, Victoria. The Victorian Naturalist (Arthur Rylah Institute forEnvironmental Research, De-
Co1n1o7l,e2L26E-a22n7d.MacNallyR(2001)Fieldidentification,ecol- LupmasrdtemenntLFo,fSBuesntnaientatbilAiFtyaannddERnovbierrotnsmoenntP:M(e1l9b8o8u)rnFeir)st
ogy and conservation status ofthe Red-chested Button- recordofthePaucidentPlanigale,Planigalegilesi(Marsu-
quailTurnixpyrrhothoraxinnorthernVictoria. TheVicto- pialia: Dasyuridae), forVictoria. The Victorian Naturalist
105,81-87.
Crlroiifuae.cnhCNoaCntsu(er2ar0lv0ia6stt)io1Nn1e8dB,’usl5l6Ce-to5ir8nn.e35r,-12A-1w4o.nderlandofrarewild- MaoCllfoatrnhkeee.BFa((u2Dn0e0ap4a)orftAmNesenudrtsveoCyfoorZfnoetorhleoSghtyae,tripoeLnt,aofpTapru.onab1.e6-I1Un9n.AivEeSrdusriMvteyF:y
Melbourne)
54 TheVictorianNaturalist
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MarchantSand Higgins PJ (eds) (1990) HandbookofAus- VEAC(2008)RiverRedGumForestsInvestigationFinalRe-
tralian,NewZealandandAntarcticBirds. Volume1:Ratites port.(VictorianEnvironmentalAssessmentCouncil:Mel-
toDucks.(OxfordUniversityPress:Melbourne) bourne)
MDBA(2010)AGuidetotheproposedBasinPlan.(Murray- Venn DR (1997) Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos. Flora and
DarlingBasinAuthority:Canberra)NM Fauna Guarantee Action Statement No. 83. (Department
MeathrelCE, SuterPJ and Radford (2002) Niche seg- ofNaturalResourcesandEnvironment:Melbourne)
regation between three species offreshwater turtle in a Webster R (2004) The Influence ofFlooding and Drought
largebillabongduringflood. TheVictorianNaturalist119, on BushBirdswithin Barmah-MillewaForest 1999-2002.
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MeathrelCE,SuterPandReidS(2004)Habitatanddietary Deniliquin)
preferencesoffreshwater turtles in ephemeralbillabongs WebsterR,BelcherCandLeslieD(2003)Asurveyofthreat-
on the Ovens River, north-east Victoria. Vte Victorian enedfaunainsouth-westernNewSouthWales.Australian
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Parker DG, Webster R, BelcherCA and Leslie D (2007) A WebsterRandRogersK(2006)Abaselinesurveyofterres-
surveyoflargeforestowlsinStateForestsofsouth-western trial birdpopulations in the state forestsofthesouthern
NewSouth Wales, Australia.Australian Zoologist34, 78- Riverina: 1999-2003. In Wetlands of the Murrumhidgee
84. RiverCatchment:PracticalManagementinanAlteredEn-
ParkesD,NewellGandChealD(2003)Assessingthequality vironment,pp. 172-188.EdIRTaylor,CAMurrayandSG
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PeMakeanP,dFWietzbssitmeornsRJ,(F2r01o1o)dAD,nMeitwchaeplplrMoa,cWhittohedrestNer,mWihniitneg WoLoedwgiastAeP(1W9,96P)eeOllBdD-,grCoowrtahmfoJrEe,stFasrtruedlileSsJ,inRiVitcmtaonriKa,TAauns-d
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RaDmOaIm:ur10t.h1y111S/j.(12404027-)890D3is.t2r0i1b1u.t0i0o5n81a.nxd ecology of the MSuFrvCelyaorfketh(eDFeapuanratmoefnNtedofsZCooorlnoegry,StLaatiTonr,obpep.U2n0i-v2e5r.siEtdy:.
GrowlingGrassFrogLitoriaraniformisintheMalleeCMA Melbourne)(ed)
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sionPaper.(VictorianEnvironmentalAssessmentCouncil:
Melbourne)
Voll28 (2) 2011 55
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