Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Duck:

In a PhD study conducted in the Ramsar listed Old Dromana wetland complex in the Gwydir Wetlands State Conservation Area, I investigated basal resource quality, community assemblage and energy production throughout a managed inundation event in late 2018. The overall body of work aimed to improve understanding of the influence of long and short term hydrology on wetland productivity by investigating the quality, quantity and spatio-temporal distribution of aquatic resources throughout an inundation cycle. I found evidence that basal resource quality differed between hydrology-mediated habitat types, and that differing habitat types provided resource subsidies to each other throughout the watering event. I also found that length of inundation was critical in supporting development of a mature aquatic invertebrate community to maximise energy availability to higher order consumers, for example waterbirds which are an important target of environmental watering in the study wetlands. In examining food web structure at three stages in the inundation cycle (filling, full and drying) I was able to describe changes in patterns of resource use and link energy provision and food quality to phases of invertebrate community succession. This study provided important insight into the processes governing trophic dynamics in a temporary floodplain wetland, and highlighted areas of future research, all of which may help inform future water management in these systems.

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