Full Title
River Murray Biological Monitoring Program Sampling
Contact Person
John Hawking
Project Team
Rob Cook, Lyn Smith, Paul McInerney, Chris Davey
Funding Body
Murray-Darling Basin Commission
Duration
Upper 1980 - on going; Lower November 2005 - ongoing; Database: Spring 2007 - 2010
Outcomes
The project will produce an annual report for the client with an assessment of stream conditions and trend analysis.
Summary
The long-term Biological Monitoring Program funded by the MDBC was previously divided into 2 parts;Upper Murray (MDBC) and Lower Murray (GMW).MDFRC has been monitoring the Upper Murray River sites since 1980 and added the Lower Murray River sites in 2005.
The project is designed to systematically sample and record the aquatic macroinvertebrate populations of the rivers in such a way as to provide a substantial long-term biological record to complement the physical and chemical data already being collected, and so provide an additional aid in detecting and interpreting changes in water quality and environmental conditions in the River Murray and its tributaries. Two sites on the Upper Murray River at Jingellic and Yarrawonga are sampled in Summer and Winter using Artificial Substrate Samplers (rock baskets) and a sweep net followed by laboratory identification to species level or lowest possible taxonomic resolution. Two sites on the Lower Murray River at Euston and Lock 9 (Cullulleraine) and one site on the Darling River at Burtundy will be sampled in Summer and Winter using Artificial Substrate Samplers (rock baskets) and a sweep net followed by laboratory identification to species level, or lowest possible taxonomic resolution.
A third component was added to this project in 2007.
Database Maintenance - River Murray Biological Monitoring Program
Collate data from seven MDBC Biological Monitoring sites from 2000 to 2006 and enter into the MDBC Database, providing voucher sheets to all temporary coded taxa, verify all existing voucher coded taxa, review and where necessary update the tax list, and update the Access database with this information and provide the MDBC with a copy of this database. Undertake the above procedure on the Water EcoScience backlog of samples from the Lower Murray sites and incorporate AWQC results.
