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Climate change and its implications for Australia's freshwater fish
Citation
Morrongiello, JR and Beatty, SJ and Bennett, JC and Crook, DA and Ikedife, DNEN and Kennard, MJ and Kerezsy, A and Lintermans, M and McNeil, DG and Pusey, BJ and Rayner, T, Climate change and its implications for Australia's freshwater fish, Marine and Freshwater Research, 62, (9) pp. 1082-1098. ISSN 1323-1650 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2011 CSIRO
DOI: doi:10.1071/MF10308
Abstract
Freshwater environments and their fishes are particularly vulnerable to climate change because the
persistence and quality of aquatic habitat depend heavily on climatic and hydrologic regimes. In Australia, projections
indicate that the rate and magnitude of climate change will vary across the continent. We review the likely effects of these
changes on Australian freshwater fishes across geographic regions encompassing a diversity of habitats and climatic
variability. Commonalities in the predicted implications of climate change on fish included habitat loss and fragmentation,
surpassing of physiological tolerances and spread of alien species. Existing anthropogenic stressors in more developed
regions are likely to compound these impacts because of the already reduced resilience of fish assemblages. Many
Australian freshwater fish species are adapted to variable or unpredictable flow conditions and, in some cases, this
evolutionary history may confer resistance or resilience to the impacts of climate change. However, the rate and magnitude
of projected change will outpace the adaptive capacities of many species. Climate change therefore seriously threatens the
persistence of many of Australia’s freshwater fish species, especially of those with limited ranges or specific habitat
requirements, or of those that are already occurring close to physiological tolerance limits. Human responses to climate
change should be proactive and focus on maintaining population resilience through the protection of habitat, mitigation of
current anthropogenic stressors, adequate planning and provisioning of environmental flows and the consideration of more
interventionist options such as managed translocations.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | arid zone, drought, environmental flows, freshwater fish, life history, local adaptation, refugia, threatened species |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Freshwater Ecology |
Objective Division: | Environment |
Objective Group: | Climate and Climate Change |
Objective Field: | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change |
Author: | Bennett, JC (Mr James Bennett) |
ID Code: | 77991 |
Year Published: | 2011 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 75 |
Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
Deposited On: | 2012-06-12 |
Last Modified: | 2012-11-22 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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