Hastings River aquatic ecology assessment
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
Our aquatic ecology team conducts twice-yearly surveys of river health and habitat condition for the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.
Our surveys occur at sites around Koree Island in the Hastings River. The project assesses whether the pumping of water impacts on freshwater ecological communities, particularly whether extraction lowers the water level to a point that limits fish movement between freshwater and estuarine reaches.
Our assessment includes:
- Sampling for macroinvertebrate communities using AUSRIVAS protocols
- Fish community surveys with fyke nets, seine nets, bait traps, snorkelling and underwater cameras
- Platypus capture and observation
- Freshwater turtle identification and measurements
- Macrophyte distribution and abundance assessments
- Aquatic and riparian habitat assessments
- Water quality sampling.
Contacts
