Report
Condition assessment of Bindjareb Djilba (Peel-Harvey Estuary), Waangaamaap Bilya (Serpentine River) and Bilya Maadjit (Murray River) based on fish communities - 2023
Final Report. Prepared for PHCC
Murdoch University. Harry Butler Institute
2025
Abstract
This report describes the monitoring and evaluation of fish communities in the Bindjareb Djilba (Peel-Harvey Estuary), Waangaamaap Bilya (Serpentine River) and Bilya Maadjit (Murray River) during the summer and autumn of 2023 using the Fish Community Index (FCI), which was developed as a measure of the ecological condition. This index, which was specially designed to work in south-western Australian estuaries, has versions developed for both the shallow, nearshore waters of the estuary (≤ 1 m deep) and also for its deeper, offshore waters (> 1 m deep) using an extensive fish data set from the 1970s to 2018. The index integrates information on various biological variables (metrics). Each of these metrics quantifies an aspect of the structure and/or function of estuarine fish communities, and together, they respond to a range of stressors affecting the ecosystem.
Fish communities were sampled using different nets at six nearshore and four offshore sites in eight and seven regions of the Peel-Harvey Estuary, respectively (MC, Mandurah Channel (nearshore only); EP, Eastern Peel; WP, Western Peel; NH, Northern Harvey; SH, Southern Harvey; SP, Serpentine River; LM, Lower Murray River and UM, Upper Murray River) during summer and autumn of 2023. As many fish as possible were returned to the water alive after they had been identified and counted. The resulting data on the abundances of each fish species from each sample were used to calculate a Fish Community Index score (0 – 100). These index scores were then compared to established scoring thresholds to determine ecological condition grades A (very good) to E (very poor) for each region and the estuary as a whole, based on the composition of the fish community. This method has been adopted annually for over a decade in Derbal Yirragan Djarlgarro (Swan-Canning Estuary) and has been shown to be a sensitive and robust tool for quantifying ecological health responses to local-scale environmental perturbations and tracking the subsequent recovery.
Details
- Title
- Condition assessment of Bindjareb Djilba (Peel-Harvey Estuary), Waangaamaap Bilya (Serpentine River) and Bilya Maadjit (Murray River) based on fish communities - 2023
- Authors/Creators
- James Tweedley (Principal Investigator) - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Aquatic EcosystemsKurt KrispynBilly Bowe - Murdoch UniversityAnnika WeibelBen Roots - Murdoch UniversityAlan Cottingham
- Publication Details
- Final Report. Prepared for PHCC
- Publisher
- Murdoch University. Harry Butler Institute
- Grants
- Using fish communities to determine the condition of the Peel-Harvey Estuary, 21599, Peel Harvey Catchment Council
- Identifiers
- 991005792873407891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences; Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Report
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