Abstract
The impacts of mine contaminants on ecological connectivity in rivers and streams are poorly documented globally. We used acoustic telemetry to evaluate and refine conceptual models of fish movement in Magela Creek, a stream in the wet-dry tropics of Australia. This creek receives wastewater discharge from a nearby uranium mine, and a secondary objective was to describe behavioural responses of fish to one such discharge event. Of 55 fish (black bream Hephaestus fuliginosus, saratoga Scleropages jardinii, sharp-nose grunter Syncomistes butleri) tagged in dry season refuge pools 18 km upstream of the mine lease area (RPA [Ranger Project Area]), 16 (29%) moved downstream after the first wet season flows, using the RPA as habitat for 3–5 months before moving upstream to their previous locations as flows receded. Of 39 fish (spangled perch Leiopotherapon unicolor, barred grunter Amniataba percoides, black catfish Neosilurus ater) tagged ~ 8–12 km downstream of the RPA in the late wet season, only two were subsequently detected in the RPA. Direct and camera-based observations of 12 species of upstream-migrating fish during mine-water discharge in the late wet season showed no evidence of mine-water avoidance. Our results demonstrate that Magela Creek provides wet season habitat for fish within the RPA and acts as a migration pathway that connects lowland reaches and floodplains to upstream dry season refuges. Use by fish of waterbodies within the RPA highlights the need to manage the site to ensure that future contaminant egress and water quality do not adversely affect fish migration and habitat suitability.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 469-490 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Environmental Biology of Fishes |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 20 Jan 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We pay our respects to all Traditional Owners of Kakadu National Park and the Darwin region where we conduct research and monitoring, and acknowledge their Elders past, present, and emerging. The authors are grateful to the Djurrubu Rangers and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation for their assistance with project logistics and fieldwork and acknowledge Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. for their co-operation and permissions for site access, and provision of water quality data. We thank Northern Australia Helicopters for transporting the team and equipment safely to Bowerbird Billabong. We gratefully acknowledge the extensive foundational science conducted by Dr. Keith Bishop and other staff of the Supervising Scientist Branch (SSB) over many years which formed the basis for the ideas underpinning our study. This study was funded through the National Environmental Science Program Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. Thanks also to the staff at the NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub, particularly Jane Thomas, Clare Taylor, and Patch Clapp, for their support over the life of the project. The Supervising Scientist Branch (Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) also provided in-kind support for this project. We thank Andrew Jansen (SSB) for preparing Fig. and the conceptual figures of seasonal fish migration and residency (Supplementary Material ). We gratefully acknowledge the constructive input from two anonymous reviewers.
Funding Information:
We pay our respects to all Traditional Owners of Kakadu National Park and the Darwin region where we conduct research and monitoring, and acknowledge their Elders past, present, and emerging. The authors are grateful to the Djurrubu Rangers and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation for their assistance with project logistics and fieldwork and acknowledge Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. for their co-operation and permissions for site access, and provision of water quality data. We thank Northern Australia Helicopters for transporting the team and equipment safely to Bowerbird Billabong. We gratefully acknowledge the extensive foundational science conducted by Dr. Keith Bishop and other staff of the Supervising Scientist Branch (SSB) over many years which formed the basis for the ideas underpinning our study. This study was funded through the National Environmental Science Program Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. Thanks also to the staff at the NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub, particularly Jane Thomas, Clare Taylor, and Patch Clapp, for their support over the life of the project. The Supervising Scientist Branch (Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) also provided in-kind support for this project. We thank Andrew Jansen (SSB) for preparing Fig. 1 and the conceptual figures of seasonal fish migration and residency (Supplementary Material 1). We gratefully acknowledge the constructive input from two anonymous reviewers.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).