Previously widely distributed animals are now isolated to the
Murray Mouth region.
Photo by Michael Bell, Murray Darling Basin Commission.

Scientists studying one of Australia's most significant water systems - the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth - have discovered that many of the animals previously widely distributed across the region are now restricted to a small area around the Murray Mouth.

Researchers, currently assessing the future of the estuary based on different scenarios of water availability and climate change, have recorded the changes following elevated salinities and reduced water levels in the Coorong.

The researchers - in the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLAMMecology) Research Cluster - gave a science briefing to media on the long-term future of the water system, at the Steam Exchange Brewery, Goolwa Wharf, Goolwa on 4 April 2008.

Cluster Leader, Associate Professor Justin Brookes from the University of Adelaide's School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, says the research is examining the relationship between river flows, salinity, and the ecology of a range of aquatic organisms, including key fish and bird species.

"No single part of the system can be restored without a whole of system approach to water savings and a commitment to an environmental water allocation. The work we are doing will help with allocating limited water resources so they have the required environmental benefits."

For more information about the CLLAMMecology Research Cluster, click here.