Hydrological Change in the Coorong Estuary, Australia, Past and Present: Evidence from Fossil Invertebrate and Algal Assemblages

Estuaries and Coasts

Volumn 38, Issue 6, 2015, Pages 2101-2116

  Reeves, Jessica M ^a   Haynes, Deborah ^b   García, Adriana ^c   Gell, Peter A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG   (Australia)

Author keywords

Charophyte; Diatom; Ecological reference conditions; Ostracod; Palaeoenvironment; Ramsar; River Murray

Indexed keywords

ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT; CHAROPHYTE; DIATOM; FOSSIL; HOLOCENE; HYDROLOGICAL CHANGE; INVERTEBRATE; OSTRACOD; PALEOECOLOGY; PALEOENVIRONMENT; RAMSAR CONVENTION; SALINITY; SEDIMENT CORE;

AUSTRALIA; COORONG; MURRAY RIVER; SOUTH AUSTRALIA;

ALGAE; BACILLARIOPHYTA; CHARALES; INVERTEBRATA; OSTRACODA;

EID: 84943351681     PISSN: 15592723     EISSN: 15592731     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s12237-014-9920-4     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Aitken, M.J. 1998. An introduction to optical dating: the dating of Quaternary sediments by the use of photon-stimulated luminescence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2. Alvarez Zarikian, C.A., P.L. Blackwelder, T. Hood, T.A. Nelson, and C. Featherstone. 2000. Ostracods as indicators of natural and anthropogenically-induced changes in coastal marine environments. Coasts at the Millenium, Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the Coastal Society, Portland, pp. 896–905
3. Anadón, P., E. Gliozzi, and I. Mazzini. 2002. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of marginal marine environments from combined paleoecological and geochemical analyses on ostracods. In: J. Holmes and A. Chivas (Eds.), The Ostracoda: Applications in Quaternary Research. Geophysical Monograph col. 131, pp. 227–247
4. Anderson, N.J. 1995. Using the past to predict the future: lake sediments and the modelling of limnological disturbance. Ecological Modelling 78: 149–172.
5. Barnett, E. 1994. A Holocene paleoenvironmental history of Lake Alexandrina, South Australia. Journal of Paleolimnology 12: 259–268.
6. Battarbee, R. 1986. ‘Diatom Analysis’ in, Berglund, B.E. (Ed.) Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and PalaeoHydrology. John Wiley and Sons Ltd
7. Bennion, H., and R. Battarbee. 2007. The European Union Framework Directive: opportunities for palaeolimnology. Journal of Paleolimnology 38: 285–295.
8. Birks, H.H., and H.J.B. Birks. 2006. Multi-proxy studies in palaeolimnology. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 15: 235–251.
9. Bird, E.C.F. 1994. Physical Setting and Geomorphology of Coastal lagoons. In Coastal Lagoon Processes, Elsevier Oceonography Series, vol. 60, ed. B. Kjerfve. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
10. BoM. 2012. Record-breaking La Niña events: An analysis of the La Niña life cycle and the impacts and significance of the 2010–11 and 2011–12 La Niña events in Australia. Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, pp 28. Accessed 28.9.12, At: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/ln-2010-12/
11. Boomer, I., and G. Eisenhauer. 2002. Ostracod faunas as palaeoenvironmental indicators in marginal marine environments. In The Ostracoda: applications in Quaternary research, Geophysical Monograph, vol. 131, ed. J. Holmes and A. Chivas, 135–149.
12. Bormans, M., and I.T. Webster. 1999. Modelling the spatial and temporal variability of diatoms in the River Murray. Journal of Plankton Research 21: 581–598.
13. Bourmann, R.P., C.V. Murray-Wallace, A.P. Belperio, and N. Harvey. 2000. Rapid coastal change in the River Murray estuary of Australia. Australian Geographical Studies 33: 101–115.
14. Brandle, R. 2002. A Biological Survey of the Murray Mouth Reserves, South Australia March 2002 (Biodiversity Survey and Monitoring, National Parks and Wildlife, South Australia, Department for Environment and Heritage), 118pp
15. Brock, M.A. 1981. The ecology of halophytes in the south-east of South Australia. Hydrobiologia 81: 23–31.
16. Bronk Ramsey C. 2010. OxCal Program v4.0.5. Accessed 17 Mar 2010. At: http://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/
17. Cann, J.H., and P. De Dekker. 1981. Fossil Quaternary and living foraminifera from athalassic (non-marine) saline lakes, Southern Australia. Journal of Paleontology 55: 660–670.
18. Cann, J.H., R.P. Bourmann, and E.J. Barnett. 2000. Holocene Foraminifera as indicators of relative estuarine-lagoonal and oceanic influences in estuarine sediments of the River Murray, South Australia. Quaternary Research 53: 378–391.
19. Cook, F.S., and P.S.J. Coleman. 2007. Benthic diatoms in the salinas of the Dry Creek saltfields, South Australia. Hydrobiologia 576: 61–68.
20. Cronin, T.M., and C.D. Vann. 2003. The sedimentary record of climatic and anthropogenic influence on the Petuxant Estuary and Chesapeake ecosystems. Estuaries 26: 196–209.
21. CSIRO, 2009. An ecosystem assessment framework to guide management of the Coorong. Final report of the CLLAMMecology research cluster. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship, Canberra.
22. De Deckker, P. 1981a. Ostracods of athalassic saline lakes: a review. Hydrobiologia 81: 131–144.
23. De Deckker, P. 1981b. Taxonomic notes on some Australian non-marine ostracods with description of new species. Zoologica Scripta 10: 37–55.
24. De Deckker, P., and M. Geddes. 1980. Seasonal fauna of ephemeral saline lakes near The Coorong Lagoon, South Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 31: 677–699.
25. Dick, J., D. Haynes, J. Tibby, A. Garcia, and P. Gell. 2011. A history of aquatic plants in the Coorong, a Ramsar listed coastal wetland, South Australia. Journal of Paleolimnology 46: 623–635.
26. Dixit, S.S., J.P. Smol, J.C. Kingston, and D.F. Charles. 1992. Diatoms: powerful indicators of environmental change. Environmental Science and Technology 26: 22–33.
27. Duck, R.W., and J. Figueiredo da Silva. 2012. Coastal lagoons and their evolution: a hydromorphological perspective. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 110: 2–14.
28. Edwards, S., D.M. McKirdy, Y. Bone, P.A. Gell, and V.A. Gostin. 2006. Diatoms and ostracods as mid-Holocene palaeoenvironmental indicators, North Stromatolite Lake, Coorong National Park, South Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 53–4: 651–663.
29. England, R. 1993. The cry of the Coorong: the history of water flows into the Coorong—from feast to famine? S.E. Kingston Leader: Rob England. 47 pp.
30. Everingham, P., G. Fisher, R. Jones, and B. Nicholson. 2005. Coorong Water Quality Assessment. Report for the Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation, 87 pp.
31. Fluin, J., P. Gell, D. Haynes, J. Tibby, and G. Hancock. 2007. Palaeolimnological evidence for the independent evolution of neighbouring terminal lakes, the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. Hydrobiologia 591: 117–134.
32. Frenzel, P., and I. Boomer. 2005. The use of ostracods from marginal marine, brackish waters as bioindicators of modern and Quaternary environmental change. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 225: 68–92.
33. Galbraith, R.F., R.G. Roberts, G.M. Laslett, H. Yoshida, and J.M. Olley. 1999. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia: Part I, experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41: 339–364.
34. García, A. 1994. Charophyta: their use in paleolimnology. Journal of Paleolimnology 10: 43–52.
35. García, A., and A.R. Chivas. 2006. Diversity and ecology of extant and Quaternary Australian charophytes (Charales). Cryptogamie Algologie 27: 323–340.
36. Geddes, M. And J.E. Tanner. 2007. Ecology of the Murray Mouth and Coorong 2004/2005; and comparisons with 2003/2004 Report to DWLBC. SARDI (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, Publication No. F2007/000230, 48 pp.
37. Gell, P.A. 1997. The development of a diatom database for inferring lake salinity, Western Victoria, Australia: towards a quantitative approach for reconstructing past climates. Australian Journal of Botany 45: 389–423.
38. Gell, P., J. Fluin, J. Tibby, G. Hancock, J. Harrison, A. Zawadzki, D. Haynes, S. Khanum, F. Little, and B. Walsh. 2009. Anthropogenic acceleration of sediment accretion in lowland floodplain wetlands, Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Geomorphology 108: 122–126.
39. Gell, P.A., K. Mills, and R. Grundell. 2013. A legacy of climate and catchment change: the real challenge for wetland management. Hydrobiologia 708: 133.
40. Haese, R.R, E.J. Murray, and L. Wallace. 2009. Nutrient sources, water quality, and biogeochemical processes in the Coorong, South Australia. Geoscience Australia Record 2009/19, Commonwealth Government, Canberra, 32 pp. Accessed 20 Oct 2010, At: http://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA14722.pdf
41. Harvey, N. 1996. The significance of coastal processes for management of the River Murray Estuary. Australian Geographical Studies 34(1): 45–57.
42. Haynes, D., R. Skinner, J. Tibby, J. Cann, and J. Fluin. 2011. Diatom and foraminifera relationships to water quality in The Coorong, South Australia, and the development of a diatom-based salinity transfer function. Journal of Paleolimnology 46(4): 543–560.
43. Jensen, A., M. Good, P. Harvey, P. Tucker, and M. Long (Eds.). 2000. River Murray Barrages Environmental Flows: An evaluation of environmental flow needs in the Lower Lakes and Coorong, A report for the Murray–Darling Basin Commission. Adelaide, Wetlands Management Program, Department of Water Resources, pp. 133
44. Juggins, S., 2003. C2 User guide. Software for ecological and palaeoecological data analysis and visualisation. University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: 69 pp.
45. Holmes, J.A., and A.R. Chivas. 2002. Ostracod shell chemistry – Overview. In The Ostracoda: applications in Quaternary research, AGU Geophysical Monograph, vol. 131, ed. A.R. Chivas and J.A. Holmes, 185–204.
46. Karol, K., McCourt, R.M., Cimino, M.T., and Delwiche C.F., 2001. The closest living relatives of land plants. Science 294: 2352–2353.
47. Kingsford, R.T., K.F. Walker, R.E. Lester, W.J. Young, P.G. Fairweather, J. Sammut, and M.C. Geddes. 2011. A Ramsar wetland in crisis—the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 62: 255–265.
48. Krull, E., D. Haynes, S. Lamontagne, P. Gell, D. McKirdy, G. Hancock, J. McGowan and R. Smernik. 2009. Changes in the chemistry of sedimentary organic matter within The Coorong over space and time. Biogeochemistry 92: 9–25.
49. Lewis, S.E., C.R. Sloss, C.V. Murray-Wallace, C.D. Woodroffe, and S.G. Smithers. 2013. Post-glacial sea-level changes around the Australian margin: a review. Quaternary Science Reviews 74: 115–138.
50. Lower, C.S., J.H. Cann, and D. Haynes. 2013. Microfossil evidence for salinity events in the Holodnene Coorong Lagoon, South Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 60: 573–587.
51. Martin, P., and G.J. Hancock. 2004. Supervising Scientist Report 180. Supervising Scientist, Darwin, NT: Australia. Routine analysis of naturally occurring radionuclides in environmental samples by alpha-particle spectrometry.
52. McCormac, F.G., A.G. Hogg, P.G. Blackwell, C.E. Buck, T.F.G. Higham, and P.J. Reimer. 2004. SHCal04 Southern Hemisphere calibration, 0–11.0 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon 46(3): 1087–1092.
53. McKirdy, D.M., C.S. Thorpe, D.E. Haynes, K. Grice, E.S. Krull, G.P. Halverson, and L.J. Webster. 2010. The biogeochemical evolution of the Coorong during the mid-to- late Holocene: an elemental, isotopic and biomarker perspective. Organic Geochemistry 41: 96–110.
54. McQuoid, M.R., and K. Nordberg. 2003. The diatom Paralia sulcata as an environmental indicator species in coastal sediments. Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science 56: 339–354.
55. MDBA, 2012. Basin Plan 2012. Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Canberra, 265 pp. Accessed 13th March, 2013.
56. Miettinen, A., H. Jansson, T. Alenius, and G. Haggrén. 2007. Late Holocene sea-level changes along the southern coast of Finland, Baltic Sea. Marine Geology 242: 27–38.
57. Mills, K., P. Gell, P. Hesse, R. Jones, P. Kershaw, R. Drysdale, and J. McDonald. 2013. Palaeoclimate studies and natural-resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin I: past, present and future climates. Australian Journal of Earth Science 60: 547–560.
58. Murray, A.S., R. Marten, A. Johnston, and P. Martin. 1987. Analysis for naturally occurring radionuclides at environmental levels by gamma spectrometry. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 115: 263–288.
59. Murra, J. 1991. Ecology and palaeoecology of benthic foraminifera. New York: Longman Scientific and Technical and John Wiley and Sons Inc.
60. Ogden, R.W. 2000. Modern and historical variation in aquatic macrophyte cover of billabongs associated with catchment development. Regulated Rivers 16(5): 487–512.
61. Olley, J.M., T. Pietsch, and R.G. Roberts. 2004. Optical dating of Holocene sediments from a variety of geomorphic setting using single grains of quartz. Geomorphology 60: 337–358.
62. Phillips, W., and K. Muller. 2006. Ecological Character of the Coorong. South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage: Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland of International Importance. 336 pp.
63. Rabalais, N. N., R.E. Turner, R.J. Díaz, and D. Justić. 2009. Global change and eutrophication of coastal waters. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1528–1537.
64. Radke, L.C., S. Juggins, S.A. Halse, P. De Deckker, and T. Finston. 2003. Chemical diversity in south-eastern Australian saline lakes II: biotic implications. Marine and Freshwater Research 54: 895–912.
65. Ramsar, 1988. Ramsar Information Sheet for The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/321.
66. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2010. Wise use of wetlands: Concepts and approaches for the wise use of wetlands. Ramsar handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, 4th edition, vol. 1. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland.
67. Reeves, J.M., A.R. Chivas, A. Garcia, and P. De Deckker. 2007. Palaeoenvironmental change in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia) since the last interglacial based on Ostracoda. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 246: 163–187.
68. Reid, M.A., J.C. Tibby, D. Penny, and P.A. Gell. 1995. The use of diatoms to assess past and present water quality. Australian Journal of Ecology 20: 57–64.
69. Roy, P.S. 1994. Holocene estuary evolution- stratigraphic studies from southeastern Australia. In Dalrymple, R.W., Boyd, R., and Zaitlin, B.A. Incised-Valley Systems: Origins and Sedimentary Sequences, pp. 241–264. SEPM Society of Sedimentary Geology. Special Publication 51: 241–264.
70. Ruiz Muñoz, F., L. Gonzalez-Regalado, J. Borrego Flores, and J.A. Morales. 1997. The response of ostracod assemblages to recent pollution and sedimentary processes in the Huelva Estuary, SW Spain. The Science of the Total Environment 207: 91–103.
71. Saunders, K.M., and K.H. Taffs. 2009. Palaeoecology: a tool to improve the management of Australian estuaries. Journal of Environmental Management 90: 2730–2736.
72. Soulié-Märsche, I. and A. García. 2014. Gyrogonites and oospores, complementary viewpoints to improve the study of charophytes (Charales). Aquatic Botany (in press). doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2014.06.0030304-3770.
73. Stabell, B. 1985. The development and succession of taxa within the diatom genus Fragilaria Lyngbye as a response to basin isolation from the sea. Boreas 14: 273–86.
74. Taffs, K.H. 2001. The role of surface water drainage in environmental change: a case example of the Upper South East of South Australia; an historical review. Australian Geographical Studies 39: 279–301.
75. Tibby, J., M.B. Lane, and P.A. Gell. 2007. Local knowledge as a basis for environmental management: a cautionary tale from Lake Ainsworth, northern New South Wales Australia. Environmental Conservation 34: 334–341.
76. Walker, D.J. 2002. The behaviour and future of the River Murray Mouth. Report prepared for the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. Centre for Applied Modelling in Water Engineering, Adelaide University, pp. 25. Accessed 3 February 2013, At: http://download.mdba.gov.au/archived/mdbc-tlm-reports/2109_RM_Behaviour_and_future_of_the_RM_mouth_2002.pdf
77. Webster, I.T. 2010. The hydrodynamics and salinity regime of a coastal lagoon—The Coorong, Australia: seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 90: 264–274.
78. Weckström K. 2006. Assessing recent eutrophication in coastal waters of the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea) using subfossil diatoms. Journal of Paleolimnology 35:571–592.Williams, W.D., and R.T. Buckney. 1976. Chemical composition of some inland surface water in South, Western and Northern Australia. Australian Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research 27: 379–397.
79. Witkowski, A., H. Lange-Bertalot, and D. Metzeltin. 1995/96. The Diatom Species Fragilaria martyi (Heribaud) Lange-Bertalot, Identity and Ecology. Archiv fur Protistenkunde 146: 281–292.
80. Wong, K.M. 1971. Radiochemical determinations of plutonium in sea water, sediments and marine organisms. Analalytica Chimica Acta 56: 355–364.
81. Yassini, I., and B.G. Jones. 1987. Ostracoda in Lake Illawarra: environmental factors, assemblages and systematics. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 795–843.
82. Zong, Y. 1997. Implications of Paralia sulcata abundance in Scottish isolation basins. Diatom Research 12: 125–150.