Environmental projects

These environmental projects will:

Environmental impacts of water delivery and operations

Project manager: Murray–Darling Basin Authority, in collaboration with Basin community members and supported by MDBA Regional Engagement Officers and Basin government agencies.

Goal: Investigate the environmental impacts of water delivery and river operations including:

• erosion
• sedimentation
• unseasonal inundation
• loss of wetlands

Areas of concern identified by Basin communities will be assessed for any links between operations and impacts.

Anticipated outcomes: 

• Community members are listened to and involved in collecting current and historical information on environmental impacts and local hydrology.
• Causes of environmental degradation are assessed. 

Biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA technology

Project manager: Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Goal: Trial an innovative approach to biodiversity monitoring by analysing the DNA in water samples to identify environmental DNA (eDNA) from vertebrate species – and potentially plant species – present in the region. Basin community members will be recruited as citizen scientists to collect the water samples.

Anticipated outcomes:

• Improved understanding of species distribution to inform water for the environment requirements and strategies.
• New and robust biodiversity sampling designs developed.
• Understand the potential of eDNA as a biodiversity monitoring tool for the Basin governments.
• Community is actively involved through citizen science, contributing to MDBA’s commitment to transparency.

Sub-projects: 

1. Great Australian Wildlife Search: building on the work of the  Great Australian Wildlife Search run by the nature innovation organisation Odonata. Citizen scientists collect water samples which are then tested for eDNA.
2. Exploring eDNA alongside the Murray–Darling Basin Fish Survey (MDBFS): comparing traditional fish monitoring methods to eDNA to see what information eDNA could add.
3. Review of eDNA projects in the Basin: a review of all eDNA projects occurring in the Murray–Darling Basin, to help improve our understanding of what’s happening, what’s working and where the gaps are. 

Publication: The Murray–Darling Basin Spring 2023 Biodiversity Findings Report is now available.

Floodplain habitats and threatened wetland fish

Project manager: Murray–Darling Basin Authority, working closely with Basin government agencies and researchers.

Goal: Use eDNA biodiversity monitoring technology to address gaps in monitoring data about:

• floodplain habitats
• aquatic vegetation
• native fish species and populations, to inform future floodplain watering plans.

Anticipated outcomes: Improve understanding of where threatened fish species persist and the relationship between these fish species and existing floodplain habitat and wetland vegetation. 

Sub-projects:

1. Threatened fish in Victoria: partnership with National Environmental Science Program (NESP), La Trobe University and Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to model and map potential threatened fish habitats in floodplains, and then ground truth those maps through both traditional fish surveys and eDNA.
2. Threatened fish in NSW and Queensland: working with NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to test what eDNA methods work best to detect small bodied threatened fish.

Dynamic, accurate and standardised vegetation maps

Project manager: Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Goal: Improve our ability to accurately map woody vegetation by using satellite imagery to develop a new monitoring and assessment model. The species targeted in this project include:

• river red gums
• black box
• coolabah.

Outcome: Improved ability to report on the extent of the Basin’s woody vegetation species.

Publication: A final report for this project discussing method development and a trial run for 2022 vegetation extent is now available.