Paleolimological investigation of the use of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in bulk sediment and cladoceran zooplankton to reveal ecosystem changes in Kings Billaong Northwest Victoria, Australia

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dc.contributor.authorKattel, Gen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGell, PAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorZawadzki, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorBarry, LAen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-12T01:05:29Zen_AU
dc.date.available2020-06-12T01:05:29Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2013-07-10en_AU
dc.date.statistics2020-05-28en_AU
dc.description.abstractNorthwest Victoria hosts a large number of shallow floodplain wetlands along the Murray River system. One of these, Kings Billabong, is known for its high conservation values. However, the naturally occurring flood pulses, which maintain ecological connectivity between river and wetlands, have been altered impacting the ecology of Kings Billabong. The human-induced river regulation in the Murray River following the arrival of Europeans, and increased farming activities around Mildura for irrigation, has switched Kings Billabong to a permanent water regime resulting in accelerated sedimentation rates and changed sources of carbon and, subsequently, altered ecological character. This study focuses on a 90 cm long sediment core taken from Kings Billabong in 2011, where the 210Pb dating detected sediments at c. 60 cm depth to be c. 65 years old. Around this time (c. 1940-1945 AD), a systemic change occurred in the billabong. The enrichment of carbon substantially declined, while, in the meantime, nitrogen enrichment increased. Coincidently, the subfossil cladoceran zooplankton assemblages revealed changes in the limnological conditions of the wetland ecosystem. Among the littoral species, the Chydorus sphaericus group, which prefers eutrophic water, became dominant. Since the early 2000s, the abundance of Biapertura affinis, a pioneer plant dwelling species, has declined. Before the assemblage of B. affinis began to decline, a large number of cladoceran ephippia were recorded in sediment samples indicating the elevated stress in the wetland. This study suggests that paleolimnological investigations, together with the use of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in sediment samples, provides an opportunity to reveal the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on the floodplain wetlands of the Murray River system across northwest Victoria, and potentially more widely across Australia. © The Authors.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationKattel, G., Gell, P., Zawadski, A., & Barry, L. (2013). Paleolimological investigation of the use of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in bulk sediment and cladoceran zooplankton to reveal ecosystem changes in Kings Billaong Northwest Victoria, Australia. Paper presented at the 12th Australian Environmental Isotope Conference, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, 10th-12th July 2013.en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate12 July 2013en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencename12th Australian Environmental Isotope Conferenceen_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplacePerth, Australiaen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate10 July 2013en_AU
dc.identifier.govdoc9611en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.bukibuki.eu/aus-envisotope/AEIC2013_web_files/AEIC12abstracts_book2013.pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/9605en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherUniversity of Western Australiaen_AU
dc.subjectStable isotopesen_AU
dc.subjectLimnologyen_AU
dc.subjectAquatic ecosystemsen_AU
dc.subjectCarbonen_AU
dc.subjectNitrogenen_AU
dc.subjectSedimentsen_AU
dc.subjectZooplanktonen_AU
dc.subjectVictoriaen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectWetlandsen_AU
dc.subjectRiversen_AU
dc.subjectIrrigationen_AU
dc.titlePaleolimological investigation of the use of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in bulk sediment and cladoceran zooplankton to reveal ecosystem changes in Kings Billaong Northwest Victoria, Australiaen_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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