Cave fauna monitoring and management at Ida Bay, Tasmania

Eberhard, Stefan

doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.64.2001.097-104

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The Ida Bay karst system harbours one of the more diverse cave faunas of temperate Australia, including some 100 different invertebrate species of which 15 are obligate cave inhabitants and apparently highly endemic (review in Eberhard, 2001). During and after World War II, limestone quarries were operated in the area, and extinction of the syncarid Anaspides tasmaniae and most other aquatic species in Bradley Chesterman Cave by 1990 was attributed to severe sedimentation, flow regime changes, nutrient enrichment, and toxins originating from quarrying (Eberhard, 1990).…”

Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Initial sampling in various parts of the Ida Bay system (Little Grunt Cave, Eastern Passage of Exit Cave) demonstrated that sediments from the quarrying appeared to limit the snails' distribution by smothering areas of hard-bottom stream habitats. After quarry closure and sediment restriction, monitoring of the hydrobiids has continued but there seems little difference in snail densities between impact and control sites (Eberhard, 2001) perhaps because large quanti-ties of sediment persist in many of the cave streams where flushing is limited. In Exit Cave, natural high flow events have removed some of the silt but snail density remains low compared to control sites.…”

Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like the calcrete aquifers described above, much of the Ida Bay fauna remains undescribed with only limited knowledge of ecology and distribution (Eberhard, 2001). While a number of these taxa are protected under Tasmanian species legislation (Eberhard, 1999), a more practical strategy is the protection of the entire habitat.…”

Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Imperilled subsurface waters in Australia: Biodiversity, threatening processes and conservation

Boulton

Humphreys

Eberhard³

2003

Aquatic Ecosystem Health &Amp; Management

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Subsurface waters in Australia span massive aquifers to small cave streams and fluctuating hyporheic zoneswhere stream water exchanges with groundwater. Groundwater resources have been exploited heavily, especially in the arid zone, and usage is predicted to increase. Ironically, preliminary surveys of some groundwater habitats in arid northwestern Australia indicate an extraordinarily diverse subsurface fauna with apparently highly localised distributions. Elsewhere in Australia, changes to river flows, gravel extraction, and poorly managed catchment land uses have altered the extent and ecological integrity of the hyporheic zone in most gravel and sand bed rivers. In many cave streams and karst aquifers, sedimentation, pollution and changes to the water table have caused extinction or reduction of the dependent biodiversity. Most of these subsurface habitats harbour ancient groups absent from surface waters (relictual stygofauna) and are 'hotspots' of unexpected aquatic biodiversity.Unfortunately, our knowledge of the regional extent of this biodiversity and its functional significance is fragmentary. Current threats vary according to the subsurface habitat. For example, lowering of the water table in calcrete aquifers by water abstraction may jeopardise isolated, endemic relictual faunas in Australia's arid zone whereas in many gravel bed rivers, siltation threatens the biodiversity and filtration capacity of the hyporheic zone. Groundwaters in karst, especially cave streams and their dependent fauna, are vulnerable to impacts in their surface catchments but these linkages are seldom obvious. Recognition of the intimate linkages between groundwater and many surface ecosystems has led recently to policies aimed at protecting 'Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems' in Australia. However, such protection is hampered by our scant taxonomic and ecological knowledge of these ecosystems. Successful conservation and management of groundwaters and their dependent ecosystems rely on better public understanding of their unique fauna and 'ecosystem services, ' further research on subsurface processes and taxonomy, and legislative protection of rare and threatened subterranean communities and species.

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Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Downloaded By [Rmit University] At 10:24 14 August 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Imperilled subsurface waters in Australia: Biodiversity, threatening processes and conservation

Boulton

Humphreys

Eberhard³

2003

Aquatic Ecosystem Health &Amp; Management

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“…The land use setting of the karsts encompasses forestry, agriculture, mining and urban settlement as well as essentially undisturbed wilderness in Crown reserves. There are few data on the effects of the various land uses on water quality within Tasmanian karst systems, although attention has been drawn to some unsustainable practices (Kiernan 1984, Houshold 1995, Eberhard 2001.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…data 1989, Meander Valley Council unpub!. data 1998-2001. Kiernan (1987) observed that "a potentially significant pollution problem may exist [at Mole Creek] and that there is a need for more detailed scrutiny and more careful management".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality in karstlands at Mole Creek, Tasmania

Eberhard¹,

Houshold²

2002

PPRST

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Global overview on groundwater fauna

Koch,

Blum,

Korbel

et al. 2023

Ecohydrology

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Groundwater is an important global resource, providing water for irrigation, industry, geothermal uses and potable water. Moreover, groundwater contains the world's largest terrestrial freshwater biome with ecosystems, inhabited mainly by invertebrates (stygofauna) and microbes, undertaking important services including water purification, as well as nutrient and carbon cycling. Despite investigations on the spatial and temporal variations of groundwater fauna and the influence of environmental parameters on these organisms, in parts of the world, even the most basic knowledge of these ecosystems is still lacking. The aims of this study are to provide an overview on groundwater fauna (stygofauna) research, including the historical evolution of research topics and the development of sampling methods and secondly to identify the global distribution of groundwater fauna research and resulting data gaps. To achieve this, an extensive review of accessible groundwater fauna data was conducted by analysing 859 studies. It was evident that over time, there has been an exponential increase in the number of groundwater fauna studies together with changing paradigms in the research focus, particularly as sampling methods have developed from using simple nets, substrate samples and hand‐pumps in the beginning to recent molecular analyses (e.g. eDNA). As application of molecular methods becomes more common, knowledge on groundwater diversity and functional ecology is expected to increase. Studies on groundwater fauna are spatially uneven and are dominated by research in Europe and Australia, with few studies in Africa, Asia and the Americas. This presently biased view on groundwater biota hinders the identification of biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functions on a wider geographic and climatic scale. In the future, a more evenly distributed stygofauna sampling effort in currently underrepresented areas of the globe is necessary to ensure a more comprehensive perspective on stygofauna biodiversity, roles and functional significances. This is increasingly important with the accumulating knowledge of the sensitivities of these ecosystems to anthropogenic activities, including climate change, and is fundamental to effective management of these ecosystems.

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Cave fauna monitoring and management at Ida Bay, Tasmania

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Imperilled subsurface waters in Australia: Biodiversity, threatening processes and conservation

Imperilled subsurface waters in Australia: Biodiversity, threatening processes and conservation

Water quality in karstlands at Mole Creek, Tasmania

Global overview on groundwater fauna

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