New model predicts river health
The research revealed that poor water management poses a greater threat to some fish species in the Murray-Darling Basin than climate change. Image: jarrodboord/iStockphoto New research has identified better ways to predict how climate change and water management practices will affect fish populations and river red gum forests in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.Led by Professor Ralph Mac Nally, scientists from Monash University's Australian Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) developed models that linked ecology and hydrology to better inform management of Australia's river systems in the face of increasing water scarcity.Professor Mac Nally, Director of the ACB, said the results highlighted the importance of water-management practices to the future viability of Australia's river systems, showing that management may pose a greater risk than climate change for some fish species."We found that the effects of different water-management regimes were more important than the impacts of a drying climate for some of the fish populations, but...