Position
Senior Research Fellow/Senior Wetland Ecologist
Email
inf@mdfrc.org.au
Research Themes
- Floodplain Wetlands
- Ecology of larval fish (freshwater)
- Riverine ecology
- Bioenergetic modeling
- Environmental flows research
Shaun is a freshwater ecologist with 14 years experience in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin. During this time, Shaun's research focus has been on freshwater fish and the ecology of riverine floodplain wetlands. His previous work includes the examination of sediment resuspension and nutrient pollution by common carp (Cyprinus carpio), the bioenergetics modeling of zooplankton consumption by a small native fish (Hypseleotris spp.) in Queensland water storages, and the examination of spatial and temporal variability in the spawning of fish in floodplain wetlands of the Lower Murray River.
During his time as Officer-in-Charge of the Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre's Mildura laboratory, Shaun lead a team of researchers in establishing the response models and consequent monitoring programs for the large-scale wetland manipulations being undertaken as part of the Living Murray initiative on the Lindsay-Wallpolla and Hattah icon sites. This multi-year (and ongoing) program examines the responses of a broad range of floodplain wetland biota (from fish to trees) to regulated wetting and drying events with a view to providing long-term and broad-scale wetland management objectives.
As a result of this work, Shaun has delivered keynote addresses to State (2004) and National (2005) forums on the potential benefits and mechanisms of wetland management for native fish.
Currently, Shaun's major focus is a National Water Commission project aimed at optimizing the wetting and drying protocols of Upper Murray River wetlands for the benefit of native fish, with a focus on examining 'bottom-up' processes.
Tertiary Education
Ph.D. (Queensland University of Technology)
M. Sc (University of Adelaide);
B.Sc (hons) (University of Adelaide).
Steering/Advisory Committees and Expert Panels
2005 - 2006 : Murray Darling Basin Commission: Sustainable Rivers Audit: Floodplain Monitoring Technical Reference Group.
2004 - 2006: Mallee CMA: Technical Reference Committee for Waterways, Wetlands and Floodplains
2004 - 2006: Mallee CMA: Steering Committee for Wetland Prioritisation program.
2003 - 2006: Murray Darling Basin Commission: Living Murray/Mallee CMA: Steering Committee for Lindsay/Wallpolla and Hattah environmental flow delivery and monitoring projects.
2004: Murray Darling Basin Commission: Living Murray/Mallee CMA: Chair of expert panel on Living Murray monitoring program design for Lindsay/Wallpolla and Hattah Lakes (see Scholz et al. 2005).
2003/04: Murray Darling Basin Commission: Living Murray: Murray Flow Assessment Tool: Committee Member (¡®fish expert¡¯) for Regional Evaluation Groups E and F, and co-ordinator for fish expert responses.
2002/03: NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources: Darling Anabranch pipeline Steering Committee.
Reports and Publications
Refereed Publications:
Meredith, S. N., Matveev, V.F. and Mayes, P. (2003). Spatial and temporal variability in the distribution and diet of the gudgeon (Eleotridae : Hypseleotris spp.) in a sub-tropical Australian Reservoir. Marine and Freshwater Research. 54, 1009-1017.
Vilizzi, L., and Meredith, S.N. Flow-Habitat-Biota relationships in the littoral zone of a regulated river: direct and indirect effects at the hydraulic scale (Submitted to River Research and Applications)
Meredith, S.N., Johnson, T.B., Sharpe, C., Matveev, V.F. and Jones, G.J. (submitted). Spatial and temporal ontogeny of gudgeon (Eleotridae : Hypseleotris spp.) in a sub-tropical lake: a bioenergetic analysis. (submitted to Freshwater Ecology).
Meredith, S.N. and McCasker, N.G. (in prep.). The influence of flow on the distribution and abundance of larval fish on the floodplain of a highly regulated Australian river.
Meredith, S.N., Vilizzi, L., Muston, S.K. and Walsh, R.G. (in prep.). The effect of flow velocity and turbulence on fish-zooplankton-macrophyte relationships in a regulated lowland river.
Reports/Proceedings papers:
Scholz, O., Reid, J.R.W., Wallace, T. and Meredith, S. (2007). The Living Murray Initiative: Lindsay-Mulcra-Wallpolla Islands and Hattah Lakes Icon Sites condition monitoring program design. Report to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority, LBL report 1/2007, May, 63pp.
Scholz, O., Meredith, S., Suitor, L., Keating, R. and Ho, S. (2005). Living Murray icon site wetlands within the Mallee CMA region: monitoring program designs and 2004-05 monitoring results. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority and the Murray Darling Basin Commission. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. x/2005 (Mildura, Australia). 139pp.
Meredith, S., Conallin, A.J. and Zukowski, S. (2005). A case study approach to managing ephemeral wetlands for native fish: linking fish ecology to regulator structure design and operation. In Proceedings of the Native Fish in Wetlands Workshop, Murray Darling Basin Commission, report no. X.
Ellis, I. and Meredith, S. (2005). Aquatic fauna survey of wetlands 351 and 491 near Wentworth, south-west NSW, November 2004. Report for the Murray Wetlands Working Group. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 1/2005 (Mildura, Australia). 47pp.
McCarthy, B., Gawne, B., Meredith, S., Roberts, J. and Williams, D. (2004). Effects of weirs in the Mallee tract of the River Murray. Final Report to the Murray Darling Basin Commission, August 2004.
Whiterod, N., Meredith, S., and Sharpe, C. (2004). Predicting the outcomes of future flooding events on Lindsay and Wallpolla Island: current conditions and microcosm experiments. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 9/2004 (Mildura, Australia). 59pp.
Whiterod, N., Bice, C., Zukowski, S. and Meredith, S. (2004). Cyanobacterial mitigation in Mildura weir pool: weir pool dynamics and management recommendations. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 8/2004 (Mildura, Australia). 52pp.
Ho, S., Suitor, L., McCarthy, B. and Meredith, S. (2004). Distribution of Aquatic Vertebrates within the Mallee Region. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 5/2004 (Mildura, Australia). 74pp.
Sharpe, C, Scholz, O, and Meredith, S. (2004). Measuring the effects of Environmental Flows on Lindsay and Wallpolla Islands: Literature and Water Quality Review. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 1/2004 (Mildura, Australia). 29pp.
Sharpe, C., Conallin, A., Meredith, S. and Roennfeldt, B. (2003). Status of the Cardross Lakes Fish Community. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory Report no. 9/2003 (Mildura, Australia). 29pp.
Zukowski, S., Meredith, S., Whiterod, N. and Walsh, R. (2003). Ecological responses to wetland flooding, Deniliquin NSW. Report for the Murray Wetlands Working Group. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory, Report no. 6/2003 (Mildura, Australia). 39pp.
Whiterod, N. and Meredith, S. (2003) Cyanobacterial mitigation in the Mildura weir pool: Literature review. Report for the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory, Report no. 5/2003 (Mildura, Australia). 41pp.
Scholz, O., Conallin, A., Hoggard, B., Meredith, S., Sharpe, C. and McCasker, N. (2003). Monitoring the Darling Anabranch, NSW: A pilot study. Report for the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory, Report no. 1/2003 (Mildura, Australia). 43pp.
Meredith, S. N., Gawne, B., Sharpe, C. Whiterod, N., Conallin, A. and Zukowski, S. (2002). Dryland Floodplain Ecosystems: influence of flow pattern on fish production. Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre Lower Basin Laboratory, Report no. 1/2002 (Mildura, Australia).
Scholz, O., Gawne, B., Ebner, B. Ellis, I., Betts, F. and Meredith, S. (1999). The impact of drying on the ecology of the Menindee Lakes. Technical Report for the CRC for Freshwater Ecology: Canberra, Australia.
Jones, G. and Meredith, S. (1998). Phosphates in detergents. Technical report for ARMCANZ/ANZECC project. 89p.
Roberts, J., Thomas, M. and Meredith, S. (1998). The Role of Irrigation Drains in Nutrient Scavenging. Technical Report 26/98. CSIRO Land and Water. December 1998. 183p.
Meredith, S., Roberts, J., Walker, K. and Fairweather, P. (1995). The Role of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in Phosphorus Export from Irrigation Drains. In: Nutrient Management in Irrigated Agriculture: Research and Implementation, Echuca, Victoria (June 1995). p99-106.
Roberts, J., Meredith, S. and Sainty, G. (1994). Seeing through a muddy issue: carp in irrigation systems. In: Proceedings of the Forum on European Carp. Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Committee. p39-43.
Relevant Talks/Seminars:
A case study approach to managing ephemeral wetlands for native fish: linking fish ecology to regulator structure design and operation. Keynote address to Native Fish in Wetlands workshop, Murray Darling Basin Commission, Native Fish Strategy Program. Canberra, ACT, June 2005.
Spatial ontogeny of a zooplanktivorous fish in a sub-tropical Australian Reservoir: a bioenergetic analysis. ASLO Summer meeting, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, June 2005.
Fish Larvae Research on Lindsay Island: how can we turn water into fish? LaTrobe University seminar series, Mildura, VIC, May 2005.
Larval Fish Research on Lindsay Island. Presentation to Murray Darling Basin Commission staff, Canberra, ACT, April 2005.
Expectations of MDBC going forward: an MDFRC perspective. Presentation to the Murray Darling Basin Commission Executive Team, Jindabyne, NSW, February 2005.
Weir Pools and Fish Passage on the Lower Darling and Darling Anabranch. Presentation to the Lower Darling Catchment Management Authority and landholders, Buronga, NSW, February 2005.
Monitoring for the Living Murray Program: Lindsay and Wallpolla Islands and the Hattah Lakes National Park. Presentation to the Vic, NSW, SA Tri-state forum, Mildura, VIC, December 2004.
When do we Manage Wetlands for Fish? Keynote Presentation to South Australian Research and Development Institute ¡®Managing Wetlands for Fish¡¯ workshop, Adelaide, SA, April 2004.
Protecting the fish of Lindsay Island (and their larvae). Presentation to the Native Fish Protection Working Group, Mildura, VIC, Feb 2004.
Fish and Flows on Lindsay Island. Presentation to CSIRO Land and Water Divisional Executive Team, Albury, NSW, October 2003.
Spatial analysis of the low-flow recruitment hypothesis: implications for the use of environmental flows for the management of native fish. Ninth International Symposium on Large Rivers, Albury, NSW, July 2003.
