There has been an upsurge in interest in aquatic ecology, with an increased awareness of human impacts on waterways and of the need for water sharing and environmental flows.
Increasingly, ecological assessments involve a holistic approach, and no longer stop at the waters edge or include only the values visible or audible at the water surface (e.g. emergent macrophytes, waterbirds and frogs).
Moreover, undertaking assessments in accordance with State and Commonwealth legislation requires consideration not only of direct impacts to the subject land and waterways, but also of indirect and offsite (e.g. downstream) impacts. Through the inclusion of expert knowledge and advice from our aquatic ecologists, our ecology team offers our clients a fully integrated set of skills that cover terrestrial, instream, riparian and wetland environments.
Biosis Research’s services in aquatic ecology include:
- aquatic flora and fauna surveys which include:
- instream flora;
- instream aquatic habitat assessment;
- instream aquatic fauna (i.e. fish, tadpoles, crayfish and other macroinvertebrates) and amphibious fauna (i.e. platypus, rakali, turtles, frogs and water birds);
- in-stream habitat assessment and mapping
- ecological condition/health assessment:
- Rapid Bioassessment of Rivers and Stream (e.g. AUSRIVAS, SIGNAL, etc.),
- Index of Stream Condition,
- Index of Wetland Condition;
- biodiversity and ecological significance assessment;
- environmental flow assessment;
- compliance assessments (EPBC, REF, SEE, 8-Part Test, SIS, Net Gain, SEPP-WoV, EPA discharge licenses);
- aquatic habitat rehabilitation/enhancement;
- waterway planning and management;
- aquatic weed management;
- impact and risk mitigation strategies;
- biological monitoring programs;
- community consultation.
