Vision
Healthy and productive aquatic ecosystems in the Murray-Darling Basin that are managed in a sustainable manner.
Mission
The generation, synthesis and communication of freshwater ecological science fundamental to protection and enhancement of the natural assets of the Murray-Darling Basin while supporting sustainable use of the Basin.
Values
In pursuit of this mission, the staff and management of the MDFRC are committed to a value set which espouses:
- Excellent freshwater ecological science through initiative and creativity.
- Accountability for the quality, integrity and objectivity of our research.
- Collaboration with agencies to inform decisions based on sound ecological knowledge.
- Developing expertise to inform decisions based on sound ecological knowledge.
- Respect for our colleagues and personal accountability for our behaviour and actions.
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Strategic Partnership
The MDFRC is, and has always been, a partnership between a group of research and policy agencies, aligning its activities with the objectives of the strategic initiatives undertaken by participants and adding value to these initiatives. The current participants in the MDFRC partnership are the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, CSIRO Land & Water, La Trobe University and the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
The MDFRC, as a partnership, has continuously evolved to both meet the changing needs of its partners and to respond to the issues related to management of the Basin; and this evolution will continue as the challenges of the Participants change. In particular, partnerships will be sought with research organisations in the Northern Basin, to allow the development and expansion of the work of the MDFRC across the entire Basin.
The MDFRC is currently an unincorporated joint venture governed by a Board with an incorporated entity (MDFRC Pty Limited) acting as Centre Agent. The Board receives advice on the research portfolio from the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) composed of representatives of the jurisdictions and the MDBA.
The MDFRC employs 54 staff - research, technical and administrative - in Wodonga and Mildura, and currently supervises eight PhD candidates and three BSc Honours students.
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Role
The core business of the MDFRC is the generation of scientific advice - fundamental freshwater ecological knowledge - to support effective sustainable management of the ecology of the Basin. This knowledge is generated through both long-term and short-term research projects and active involvement in the adaptive management of the freshwater, environmental assets of the Basin.
MDFRC research focuses on developing an understanding of freshwater ecosystem function in the highly variable and geographically dispersed systems of the Basin. Central to the role of the MDFRC is that it provides long-term research and has already developed monitoring systems and science over a considerable timeframe.
The challenge facing the MDFRC is to continue to meet the major challenges facing water managers within the Murray-Darling Basin. Given limited resources, and in many instances limited knowledge, the Centre needs to meet three broad management challenges:
- Cost Effective Environmental Improvement - specifically providing advice and solutions that optimise the outcomes from management interventions.
- Adaptive Management - supporting managers in the continuous review, assessment, re-evaluation and redesign of approaches to aquatic ecosystem management in the Basin.
- Delivery of credible science to Murray-Darling Basin communities.
Meeting these challenges requires the delivery of excellent science. The MDFRC is committed to ensuring that the knowledge it generates delivers the greatest return to the partners.
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Capability
The MDFRC is a multi-disciplinary research centre with capacity across three broad areas; nutrient cycles, biology and ecology. In the area of nutrient cycles, the MDFRC has an established NATA accredited chemical laboratory to underpin both water quality and nutrient cycling research projects and assessments of water quality that are routinely undertaken for a diverse clientele. The MDFRC also supports a microbiological laboratory that supports research on the major drivers of nutrient cycles in aquatic ecosystems.
The MDFRC also has significant biological expertise particularly in the areas of and macro- and micro-invertebrate taxonomy. The Centre's invertebrate taxonomy laboratory maintains an invertebrate reference collection (spanning approximately 30 years). The Centre has also developed the capacity to identify fish larvae.
The MDFRC also undertakes research on diverse aspects of freshwater ecology, including; environmental flows in rivers and wetlands; the effects of salinity; wetland acidification, rehabilitation, microbial, fish and invertebrate ecology.
The multi-disciplinary expertise within the MDFRC enables it to provide a service to governments and the corporate sector and has a proven track record in dealing with water management issues both locally and nationally. MDFRC research and technical staff are all professionally trained in the collecting, processing and analysis of valid and representative samples.
The MDFRC has developed a strong teaching role and capacity, ranging from support for PhD and Honours degrees through to an extensive program of school events. The partnership with La Trobe University provides exciting opportunities to develop this capability.
MDFRC Corporate CV 2009
MDFRC Research Shell 2009
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Strategic Plan
The scientific research undertaken by the MDFRC is designed to generate fundamental ecological knowledge and synthesis system understanding. There are two critical areas of knowledge required if we are to achieve sustainable management. The first is knowledge of ecosystem function, so that the critical habitats, connections and metabolic functions can be protected. The second is to develop our understanding of how ecosystems respond to change. Specifically, the MDFRC's purpose is to provide knowledge of habitat, connectivity, metabolic function and biota and how they respond to change, and synthesise this knowledge into conceptual models of the Murray-Darling Basin's riverine ecosystems.
The key scientific challenge is to quantify the links between flow, physical habitat and ecological function, and to develop methods for assessing the effectiveness of environmental flow and water allocation strategies.
The knowledge generated needs to be synthesised into system understanding. The MDFRC is in the process of developing strategies to ensure that synthesis and review of project outputs is undertaken on a regular basis. One of the most significant challenges will be knowledge management and the MDFRC is addressing the challenges through the development of a knowledge management strategy.
MDFRC Strategic Plan August 2008
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Communication
The outputs from all research and synthesis projects should both be published in the scientific literature and communicated effectively to water managers and communities within the MDB. The MDFRC uses a variety of models to communicate. These include;
Expert Panels: Staff at MDFRC are members of a number of reference panels and scientific advisory committees.
Design of Monitoring and Evaluation Programs: MDFRC staff are involved in monitoring programs to assist managers to determine either the condition of an aquatic system or the consequences of particular management actions.
Workshops: Staff at MDFRC are involved in the organization of national and international workshops and conference for the dissemination of knowledge to a diverse audience.
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History
In 1986, in response to a Parliamentary Enquiry into the freshwater research needs of the Murray Darling Basin, the Australian Water Research Advisory Council (AWRAC), part of the Commonwealth Department of Resources and Energy, brought together other interested parties - CSIRO, Murray Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation (AWDC) - to establish the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre at the existing AWDC laboratory facilities in Albury.
In 1993 MDFRC was involved in a successful bid to form the CRC for Freshwater Ecology (CRCFE). All MDFRC staff were committed 100% to the CRCFE and the Centre became the primary vehicle for CRCFE research in the Murray-Darling Basin.
After several years of community activity in the Sunraysia region, local funds were raised to support a regional laboratory of MDFRC at Mildura, the Lower Basin Laboratory (LBL), in 1995. The local funds were matched by a grant from the CRCFE and, with in-kind support from Lower Murray Water, the laboratory was established with a staff of two. With further project-based funding from CRCFE, grants, and collaborative research funding through the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC), the LBL now has six researchers, headed by Dr Shaun Meredith, and is responsible for significant research on lowland river ecology and management.
MDFRC Overview 2007
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MDFRC Corporate CV 2009 (108 KB)
MDFRC Strategic Plan August 2008 (968 KB)
MDFRC Overview February 2007 (3698 KB)
MDFRC Research Shell January 2009 (286 KB)
