Ibis and spoonbill chick growth and energy requirements: implications for wetland and water management

O'Brien, Lauren; McGinness, Heather M.

doi:10.1007/s11273-019-09689-w

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…On the basis of estimates of inundation volume of different vegetation types, at peak inundation in late September 2018 (full stage), invertebrate energy production across our study wetland totalled 56 745 582.7 kJ, enough to support ~30 000 independent chicks for 1 day. Colonial-nesting species such as these may breed in the tens to hundreds of thousands and resource failure before completion of a breeding cycle can be catastrophic for populations in the short and long term (O'Brien and McGinness 2019).…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of hydroperiod on aquatic food-web structure and energy production in a floodplain wetland: implications for environmental flow management

Frost,

Mika,

Thompson

et al. 2023

Mar. Freshw. Res.

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Context Environmental water is often used to manage floodplain wetlands that support many taxa, both terrestrial and aquatic. It is important to optimise the managed hydroperiod to maximise the provision of aquatically derived resources from wetlands. Aims To test the hypothesis that increasing hydroperiod affects food-web structure and energy production in floodplain wetlands. Methods Fatty acids and stable isotopes of δ13C and δ15N were used to define food-web structure, and estimate total energy production throughout a managed inundation event in a wetland in the northern Murray–Darling Basin. Key results Food-web complexity increased with an increasing hydroperiod in line with predictable patterns of community assemblage development, before reducing sharply immediately prior to drying. Energy availability increased with an increasing hydroperiod and there was a strong correlation (ρ = 0.669, P = 0.0001) between energy availability and fatty acid concentration, which was in turn related to patterns of taxon occurrence. Conclusions and implications Hydroperiod exerts a strong influence on aquatic invertebrate community trophic dynamics and energy provision. Planned flows should support maturation and stabilisation of the invertebrate community to optimise energy provision to consumers.

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Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%