Electrical imaging of groundwater that interacts with surface watercourses provides detail on the extent of intervention needed to accurately manage both resources. It is particularly important where one resource is saline or otherwise polluted, where spatial quantification of the interacting resources is critical to water use planning and where losses from surface waterways need to be minimized in order to transport water long distances. Geo-electric arrays or transient electromagnetic devices can be towed along watercourses to image electrical conductivity (EC) at multiple depths within and beneath those watercourses. It has been found that in such environments, EC is typically related primarily to groundwater salinity and secondarily to clay content. Submerged geo-electric arrays can detect detailed canal-bottom variations if correctly designed. Floating arrays pass obstacles easily and are good for surveying constricted rivers and canals. Transient electromagnetic devices detect saline features clearly but have inferior ability to detect fine changes just below beds of watercourses. All require that water depth be measured by sonar or pressure sensors for successful elimination of effects of the water layer on the data. The meandering paths of rivers and canals, combined with the sheer volume of data typically acquired in waterborne surveys, results in a geo-referencing dilemma that cannot be accommodated using either 2D imaging or 3D voxel imaging. Because of this, software was developed by the author which allows users to view vertical section images wrapped along meandering paths in 3D space so that they resemble ribbons. Geo-electric arrays suitable for simultaneous imaging of both shallow and deep strata need exponentially spread receiver electrodes and elongated transmitter electrodes. In order to design and facilitate such arrays, signed monopole notation for arrays with iv segmented elongated electrodes was developed. The new notation greatly simplified generalized geo-electric array equations and led to processing efficiency. It was used in the development of new array design software and automated inversion software including a new technique for stable inversion of datasets including data with values below noise level. The Allen Exponential Bipole (AXB) array configuration was defined as a collinear arrangement of 2 elongated transmitter electrodes followed by receiver electrodes spaced exponentially from the end of the second transmitter electrode. A method for constructing such geo-electric arrays for use in rivers and canals was developed and the resulting equipment was refined during the creation of an extensive set of EC imaging case studies distributed across canals and rivers of the Australian Murray- Darling Basin. Man made and natural variations in aquifers connected to those canals and rivers have been clearly and precisely identified in more than 1000 kilometres of EC imagery.

Population fragmentation is a common symptom of the decline of species, including freshwater fishes. It occurs naturally, but has also proliferated in response to human interventions that increase the prevalence and intensity of isolating barriers and events. In regulated rivers, for example, fish are affected by the loss of connectivity between habitats that is associated with hydrological changes. The process has evolutionary consequences by limiting gene flow, reducing genetic diversity and rendering the isolates vulnerable to local environmental changes. Comparative studies of related species may help to elucidate the causes and consequences of fragmentation. For example, they may identify habitat features that influence the spatial separation of congeneric species. An opportunity for such a study arises with small fishes (Atherinidae) in the intensively-regulated River Murray, southeastern Australia. Whereas the unspecked hardyhead Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum fulvus is widespread and abundant, the Murray hardyhead C. fluviatilis has a patchy distribution and is listed as 'endangered‘ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and 'vulnerable‘ under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. These two species rarely cohabit, implying that they could be separated by particular habitat characteristics. In the past, several species of Craterocephalus, including C. fluviatilis and the Darling River hardyhead C. amniculus, have been regarded as C. eyresii sensu lato. The taxonomic separation of C. s. fulvus has been confirmed, but some doubt remains about the relationship of C. fluviatilis and C. amniculus. This issue needs resolution to ensure that appropriate targets are set for conservation. This study is a comparative investigation of the aforementioned species. It was designed (1) to identify the habitat characteristics that influence the distribution and abundance of C. fluviatilis and, given that salinity emerged as a key factor, (2) to explore the biological implications of salinity through a comparative study of osmoregulation in C. fluviatilis and C. s. fulvus, (3) to determine whether the osmoregulatory responses of population isolates of C. fluviatilis differ at varying salinities, and (4) to evaluate the genetic population structure of C. fluviatilis, confirm its taxonomic separation from C. amniculus and identify genetic 'management units‘ for conservation. Field sampling showed that C. fluviatilis is confined mainly to saline waters (0.4-20‰), whereas C. s. fulvus is absent from salinities >7‰. Comparisons were made of osmoregulation in these two taxa over a salinity range of 0.03-85‰, with additional reference to the small-mouth hardyhead Atherinosoma microstoma, a related estuarine species that tolerates salinities >94‰. The three species all are euryhaline, although the osmoregulatory ability of C. s. fulvus falters above about 35‰ salinity. C. fluviatilis is a better osmoregulator than A. microstoma at salinities <1‰, but both species tolerate hypersaline conditions (85‰). Osmoregulation was compared in C. fluviatilis from two isolated populations in different salinity regimes (Wyngate: 0.4-1.5‰, Disher Creek: c. 1.0-45‰) to determine whether they show related phenotypic differences. Fish from both populations remained healthy at salinities from 5-65‰. The Disher Creek population maintained a significantly lower blood osmotic concentration than the Wyngate population at salinities ≤1‰, suggesting that there is a physiological difference between them. The genetic population structure of C. fluviatilis and its taxonomic distinction from C. amniculus were investigated using complementary allozyme and mtDNA markers. This confirmed that C. fluviatilis is genetically distinct from its sister taxon, C. amniculus. It also identified several genetically-defined 'management units‘ as a framework for future conservation. Further, it revealed that C. fluviatilis in habitats downstream of Lock 1 on the Murray (274 km from the river mouth) displays a genetic signature indicating introgression with C. amniculus. Clearly, these findings have implications for the conservation of C. fluviatilis. For example, isolates can be prioritised for protection, and re-introduction programs can be modified accordingly. The findings may be applied to other freshwater fish, especially populations of closely-related species subject to salinisation or other stressors, and they may also contribute toward understanding of the factors and processes underlying rarity and fragmentation. It is clear that salinity can be a significant factor in population fragmentation, and that closelyrelated species with similar ranges may be segregated by differences in osmoregulatory ability. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1363300 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2009

Electrical imaging of groundwater that interacts with surface watercourses provides detail on the extent of intervention needed to accurately manage both resources. It is particularly important where one resource is saline or otherwise polluted, where spatial quantification of the interacting resources is critical to water use planning and where losses from surface waterways need to be minimized in order to transport water long distances. Geo-electric arrays or transient electromagnetic devices can be towed along watercourses to image electrical conductivity (EC) at multiple depths within and beneath those watercourses. It has been found that in such environments, EC is typically related primarily to groundwater salinity and secondarily to clay content. Submerged geo-electric arrays can detect detailed canal-bottom variations if correctly designed. Floating arrays pass obstacles easily and are good for surveying constricted rivers and canals. Transient electromagnetic devices detect saline features clearly but have inferior ability to detect fine changes just below beds of watercourses. All require that water depth be measured by sonar or pressure sensors for successful elimination of effects of the water layer on the data. The meandering paths of rivers and canals, combined with the sheer volume of data typically acquired in waterborne surveys, results in a geo-referencing dilemma that cannot be accommodated using either 2D imaging or 3D voxel imaging. Because of this, software was developed by the author which allows users to view vertical section images wrapped along meandering paths in 3D space so that they resemble ribbons. Geo-electric arrays suitable for simultaneous imaging of both shallow and deep strata need exponentially spread receiver electrodes and elongated transmitter electrodes. In order to design and facilitate such arrays, signed monopole notation for arrays with iv segmented elongated electrodes was developed. The new notation greatly simplified generalized geo-electric array equations and led to processing efficiency. It was used in the development of new array design software and automated inversion software including a new technique for stable inversion of datasets including data with values below noise level. The Allen Exponential Bipole (AXB) array configuration was defined as a collinear arrangement of 2 elongated transmitter electrodes followed by receiver electrodes spaced exponentially from the end of the second transmitter electrode. A method for constructing such geo-electric arrays for use in rivers and canals was developed and the resulting equipment was refined during the creation of an extensive set of EC imaging case studies distributed across canals and rivers of the Australian Murray- Darling Basin. Man made and natural variations in aquifers connected to those canals and rivers have been clearly and precisely identified in more than 1000 kilometres of EC imagery.

The PhD is concerned with the construction of site knowledge and how this is transformed into knowing where and how to intervene in a river system close to ecological collapse. It involves three overlapping topics: • Site knowledge and its impact upon the design process • Development of tools and techniques appropriate for working on a particular type of site condition: the threshold between land and water • Transitory: the impact of dynamic processes and events on inhabitation Site knowledge emerges from a process of investigating a location. It is generated by on-site and off-site operations. This involves the architect in a dynamic set of relationships - between encounters on the ground in the here and now, with more remote encounters with the site from the studio and archive. This mode of site study amplifies the impact of scale shift and it exposes the variable and provisional status of a location, while also providing a way of operating in environments that can be considered dynamic. The PhD is premised upon the need for a work to relate to its surrounding environment. The hinged meaning between the terms a site and to site have relevance to the design process. A site, as a noun, suggests a specific place, such as a plot of land, whereas the verb to site, suggests that a work will be placed in relation to other things. Site knowledge is thus generated through the act of describing a place, through the act of making drawings and other descriptions of that place. It generates ways of conceptualising a site and leads to action: knowing how and where to intervene in a location. The River Murray provided a context for the project work of the PhD. Research led to tools for recording (on site) and interpreting (off site) the impacts of flood events on the settlements on the riverbanks that were protected by levees that worked against the natural forces of the system. The research culminated in a range of designs that demonstrated how to integrate town and tourist developments into the re-established cyclical flows necessary for the health of the system.

Abstract not available

This thesis addresses the question “What is the essence of the Murray Darling river system conundrum that is usually posed as an issue of environmental remediation?”- following perceptions of problems in catchment strategy formulation regarding project selection and public consultation. The question is initially seen as having four facets – governance, public, participation and remediation. An initial literature review indicated that previous examination of these topics seemed insufficiently radical or comprehensive for the enquiry’s purposes, seeming not to attribute full humanness to members of the public. A fieldwork program of quasi-anthropological nature was conducted. Interpretation of the fieldwork reports focuses primarily on the lack of attribution of full humanness to members of the public. Interpretive techniques including a phenomenological-style process was applied and found that the district houses a number of unrecognised people “nexors’ occupying linking or nexus roles who exercise personal skills and initiatives to underpin effective remediation outcomes. Towards the end of the fieldwork program, further literature indicated that the initial four-facet nature of the enquiry should be reformulated, to include the overall nature of western society as it appears in the district (in place of participation), to reconstitute the concept of remediation more radically. Governance as a topic is broader than the ways in which it appears in the examined district, and suitable hybridizing of competing world view concepts remains unresolved in this thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

An ecological study of Emydura macquarii macquarii in the south-east region of Australia was conducted between October 1995 and March 1998. E. m. macquarii is an abundant and widespread species of short-necked turtle that is highly variable in morphology and related life history attributes. No study in Australia had previously looked at geographic variation in biological traits in freshwater turtles, hence the level of variation in E. m. macquarii had been poorly documented. The principal aims of this study were to investigate the plasticity of life history traits across populations of E. m. macquarii and to speculate on possible causes. A more intensive study was also conducted on a rare and suspected declining population of E. m. macquarii in the Nepean River to determine whether relevant management and conservation measures; were required. The study involved comparing various life history attributes between five populations of E. m. macquarii (Brisbane River, Macleay River, Hunter River, Nepean River and Murray River). The populations were specifically chosen to account for the range of variation in body size within this subspecies. Body size (maximum size, size at maturity, growth rates), population structures (sex ratios, age and size structures), reproductive traits (clutch mass, clutch size, egg size, egg content, etc.) and other attributes were collected for each population. Patterns of life history traits, both within and among populations, were explored so that causes of variation could be sought. Geographic variation in Body Size and other Related Life History Traits Body size in E. m. macquarii differed markedly between populations. Females ranged in maximum sizes (carapace length) of 180 mm in the Macleay River to over 300 mm in the Murray River. E. m. macquarii was sexually dimorphic across all populations with females larger than males in all cases. Maximum body size was positively related to the size at which a turtle matures. The size at maturity in turn was positively related to juvenile growth rates. Age was a more important factor for males in terms of timing of maturity whereas in females it was body size. Morphological variation was not only great between populations, but also within populations. Maximum body size was unrelated to latitude; hence it was inferred that habitat productivity had the most important influence on geographic variation in body size. Population structures also differed between populations. Sex ratios did not differ in the Brisbane, Macleay and Murray Rivers. However, a male bias was present in the Nepean River population and a female bias in the Hunter River. Juveniles were scarce in the Brisbane and Macleay Rivers but numerous in the Nepean and Hunter Rivers. Geographic Variation in Reproduction There was large variation in reproductive traits across populations of E. m. macquarii. Nesting season began as early as mid-September in the Brisbane River and as late as December in the Hunter River, and continued until early January. Populations in the Hunter and Murray Rivers are likely to produce only one clutch per season while populations from the Macleay and Nepean Rivers can produce two, and on some occasions, three clutches annually. The majority of females would appear to reproduce every year. Clutch mass, clutch size, and egg size varied greatly both within and among populations. A large proportion of variation in reproductive traits was due to the effects of body size. E. m. macquarii from large-bodied populations such as in the Brisbane and Murray Rivers produced bigger eggs than small-bodied populations. Within a population, clutch mass, clutch size, and egg size were all correlated with body size, except the Nepean River. The variability of egg size was smaller in large-bodied populations where egg size was more constant. Not all variation in reproductive traits was due to body size. Some of this variation was due to annual differences within a population. Reproductive traits within a population are relatively plastic, most likely a result of changing environmental conditions. Another source is the trade-off between egg size and clutch size. A negative relationship was found between egg size and clutch size (except the Brisbane River). Reproductive variation was also influenced by latitudinal effects. Turtles at lower latitudes produces more clutches, relatively smaller clutch sizes, clutch mass and larger eggs than populations at higher latitudes. Annual reproductive output is greater in tropical populations because they can produce more clutches per year in an extended breeding season. Eggs that were incubated at warmer temperatures hatched faster and produced smaller hatchlings. Incubation temperatures above 30�C increased egg mortality and hatchling deformities, suggesting this is above the optimum developmental temperature for E. m. macquarii. Hatchling size was positively related to egg size, hence hatchling sizes was on average larger in the Murray and Brisbane rivers. However, population differences remained in hatchling size after adjustments were made for egg size. For example, hatchlings from the Hunter River were smaller than those from the Macleay River despite the egg size being the same. These differences were most likely due to the shorter incubation periods of hatchlings from the Hunter River. Nepean River The Nepean River population of E. m. macquarii is at the southern coastal limit of its range. This is a locally rare population, which is believed to be declining. This study aimed at determining the distribution, abundance, and population dynamics to assess whether any conservation management actions were required. E. m. macquarii in the Nepean River was mainly concentrated between Penrith and Nortons Basin, although even here it was found at a very low density (10.6 - 12.1 per hectare). The largest male caught was 227 mm while the largest female was 260.4 mm. Males generally mature between 140 - 150 mm in carapace length and at four or five years of age. Females mature at 185 -195 mm and at six to seven years of age. Compared with other populations of E. macquarii, Nepean River turtles grow rapidly, mature quickly, are dominated by juveniles, have a male bias and have a high reproductive output. Far from being a population on the decline, the life history traits suggest a population that is young and expanding. There are considered to be two possible scenarios as to why the Nepean River population is at such a low density when it appears to be thriving. The first scenario is that the distribution of the population on the edge of its range may mean that a small and fluctuating population size may be a natural feature due to sub-optimal environmental conditions. A second scenario is that the population in the Nepean River has only recently become established from dumped pet turtles.

Includes bibliographies. This thesis describes an irrigation experiment established on Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz in a mature vineyard in the Australian Murray-Darling basin. It concentrates on the relationship between the timing of the water deficit and the depth of irrigation applied and the difference in berry weight between different irrigation treatments. The study includes a polynomial equation which describes the relation between growing degree days and °Brix. A two phase linear model is used to describe the change in red-free glycosyl-glucose (G-G).

Includes bibliographies. / vi, 176, 29 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis describes an irrigation experiment established on Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz in a mature vineyard in the Australian Murray-Darling basin. It concentrates on the relationship between the timing of the water deficit and the depth of irrigation applied and the difference in berry weight between different irrigation treatments. The study includes a polynomial equation which describes the relation between growing degree days and ?p0?sBrix. A two phase linear model is used to describe the change in red-free glycosyl-glucose (G-G). / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, 1997

Water trading and water markets have been listed by leading climate change organizations as a possible tool for climate change adaptation. Experience with water trading exists in many places in the world, and three of the most well-known and widely-studied markets for water rights are found in the Western United States, Chile, and Australia's Murray-Darling Basin. While the body of literature on the performance of these markets is extensive, few papers relate the experiences of these three countries to adaptation as of yet. This thesis seeks to report on the outcomes of water markets in three cases with special attention to the following adaptation questions: Can water markets be a tool to address increasing variability in water supply; and what are the necessary environmental, political, and historic conditions for a market to be successful in allocating water resources under situations of scarcity? The experiences of these three cases yield the following conclusions about the use of water markets in climate change adaptation: the degree of existing infrastructure for water storage and transportation must be considered in the implementation of markets; water markets must be continually revised to internalize local third party effects; transaction costs must be minimized if markets are to serve increased short-term variability in water supply; sustainable outcomes are most readily met when markets approximate “cap-and-trade” programs; and the involvement of local institutions in market design will support market activity and the achievement of localized adaptation goals.