The Burdekin River: a review of its ecology, conservation and management

We outline current knowledge of the ecology of the streams, rivers and floodplain wetlands of the Burdekin River system, examine the impacts of actual and proposed development, and consider the conservation status of the system and its management. The Burdekin River occupies a large catchment in north-eastern Australia, which overlaps several bioregions and has diverse aquatic habitats and biota. The taxonomic make-up and ecology of the biota is limited, with some patchy detail of invertebrate and fish assemblages and food webs. Water resource development, land clearing, weed invasion, agricultural pollution and climate change are all actual or potential factors negatively affecting the habitats and biota. Effective management needs to integrate multiple uses via governance of activities and interactions of stakeholders, recognising basic hydrogeomorphic, water quality and ecological needs for adequate conservation. While complete ecological protection is impractical amidst current and future water-resource and land-use development, we aim to develop a simple approach to conservation classification of all streams, rivers and associated wetlands, using the Burdekin River as a model system