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Flow-MER Fridays – Webinar
Developing an environmental water energetics response model

Presenters: Paul McInerney, Senior Research Scientist (CSIRO) and James Hitchcock, Postdoctoral Researcher (University of Canberra)
When: Friday, 14th August 2020, 10:30am-11:30am AEST

Image: A variety of zooplankton species. Photo Credit: Rochelle Petrie

Webinar Topic: Developing an environmental water energetics response model

As part of the Flow-MER Food Webs and Water Quality theme, we are developing a bioenergetic food web model by incorporating a range of existing and new data relating to food web dynamics in wetlands, flood channels and rivers during Commonwealth environmental watering.

Join us on Friday, when we will talk about the model and how we plan to use it to demonstrate rates of carbon transfer and production in food webs under different environmental flow scenarios. We will explore two questions:

  1. How does environmental watering influence the flow of energy through to vertebrate consumers such as fish and birds?
  2. How can energetics response model support the prediction of  trophic carrying capacity of rivers and wetlands in response to environmental water delivery?

Register For The Webinar Here

Exploring river and wetland food webs is often best done in mesocosms where we can control environmental factors such as temperature, depth and food sources. Photo credit: Ivor Growns

About Paul

Paul’s research focus areas include food webs, how energy flow in ecosystems may be changed by both biotic and abiotic disturbance, or by man-made intervention, and how invasive species alter the structure and function within freshwater ecosystems. He is also interested in the responses of basal resources to altered ecosystem conditions, and how this influences food webs.

About James

James research focuses on food webs, water quality, and ecosystem productivity. He is interested in understanding how human activity is disrupting aquatic food webs and assessing potential management interventions. James has experience conducting environmental flow studies in inland and coastal catchments and has worked for the NSW government implementing water quality and ecological aspects of the MDB Plan.

The Flow-MER program team acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners as the First Peoples of the lands and waters of the Murray Darling Basin. We recognise their unique ability to care for Country and their deep spiritual connection to it. We honour Elders past and present whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of culture and traditional practices. We are committed to genuinely partner, and meaningfully engage, with Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities to support the protection of Country, the maintenance of spiritual and cultural practices and their broader aspirations in the 21st century and beyond. In particular we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the seven Selected Areas where Flow-MER research is focussed.

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