Funding Body
Mallee Catchment Management Authority
Duration
April 2006 - February 2010
Outcomes
Whiterod, N.S. (accepted). Rapid and non-lethal determination of Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) energetic status. Marine and Freshwater Research.
Whiterod, Nick and Meredith, Shaun (2008) Insight into the swimming capacity of Murray cod. Oral Presentation. Australian Society of Fish Biology Conference, Bondi, NSW, 15–18 September 2008.
Whiterod, Nick (2008). The swimming capcity of Murray cod. Technical Report 2008. Report to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA). Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Wodonga.
Whiterod, Nick (2007) Insights into the swimming energetics of Murray cod: energy expenditure during upstream movement. Oral Presentation. Australian Society for Limnology 46th National Congress, Queenstown, New Zealand, 3–7 December 2007
Whiterod, Nick (2007). A preliminary bioenergetics model for Murray cod. Technical Report 9/2007. Report to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA). Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Wodonga.
Whiterod, Nick (2006). The bioenergetics of Murray cod: A review of literature. Technical Report 9/2006. Report to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA). Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Mildura.
Summary
The project investigates the energetic implications of river regulation for Murray cod within the Murray-Darling Basin. The five research chapters of this thesis focus on the development of a bioenergetics model for juvenile Murray cod and its application to explore the implications river regulation for Murray cod within the MDB. Initially, as bioenergetics models have a common currency of energy, and accurate application-specific energy density estimates are necessary inputs, the first research chapter (chapter 3) details the calibration of a non-lethal and rapid energy meter to determine the energy density of Murray cod. In chapters 4 and 5, the impact of hydrologic changes imposed by river regulation will be assessed by exploring the swimming capacity (performance and energetics) of Murray cod across a wide range of body sizes, temperatures and flow velocities. Specifically, in the chapter 5 a swimming costs model (including body size, temperature and flow velocity) will be developed that will be incorporated into the bioenergetics model, to allow for a more realistic determination of the activity component of the model.
In Chapter 6, a bioenergetics model will be developed and validated for juvenile and sub-adult Murray cod (only the second for Australian native freshwater fish). This bioenergetics model will then be used to explore the energetic implications (in terms of growth rate potential) of the hydraulic and temperature regime along a disturbance gradient imposed downstream of Hume dam on the River Murray. In the final research chapter (7), the various management scenarios to mitigate the hydraulic and temperature impacts imposed directly downstream of Hume Dam. In the general discussion (chapter 8), the final aim is addressed, and I discuss the implications of river regulation in the context of the bioenergetics of Murray cod throughout the MDB. I broaden this discussion to investigate the management of Murray cod, and evaluate the use of bioenergetics to assist the management of freshwater fish.
Other scientific publications
Ben Gawne, Daryl Nielsen, Gavin N Rees, David Williams, John Hawking, Rod Oliver, P.M. Bowen, Helen Gigney, and Nick Whiterod (submitted). Patterns of productivity and sources of organic matter in the food webs of three Australian lowland rivers. Submitted to Rivers research and applications.
Whiterod, N.S., and Sherman, B.S. (submitted). Physical, chemical and biological dynamics along a weir pool gradient on the River Murray, Australia. Submitted to Water Research.
Zukowski, S., and Whiterod, N. (2009). Ecological responses to watering of private wetlands in the Murray Valley, New South Wales. Ecological Management and Restoration, 10(2), 145–148.
Whiterod, N., and Walker, K.F. (2006). Will rising salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin affect common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)? Marine and Freshwater Research, 57, 817–823.
