Links between Gulf rivers and food for migratory shorebirds Go Back

Rivers flowing into the Gulf deliver freshwater, sediments and nutrients to estuaries and nearby coastal areas, nourishing the mudflats where shorebirds rest and forage for shellfish, crustaceans and worms. Developments that use significant water or changes in climate that alter river flows may therefore impact the survival of the shorebirds.

This project aims to quantify and compare the shorebird food resources produced by three Gulf river systems that flow alteration may affect – the Flinders, Gilbert and Mitchell Rivers. It is identifying the ​relative importance of the estuaries and adjacent mudflats ​in terms of food resources for shorebirds. This information is informing future water planning, environmental impact assessments, and migratory shorebird habitat protection and management.

This project is:

• improving our understanding of the role of freshwater, associated nutrient loads and benthic animals in providing sufficient food of the right quality and quantity to support shorebird species
• informing water resource planning especially in the Flinders, Gilbert and Mitchell Rivers, and the environmental assessment of development proposals in the region
• improving shorebird habitat protection and management, for example through contributions to priority actions in the Australian Government’s Wildlife Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds, to actions for the Far Eastern Curlew in the Threatened Species Strategy, and to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network
• helping inform management of other relevant Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act-listed species and Ramsar wetlands.

Project activities

• Examine previous reports on shorebird distribution, abundance and diversity in the region
• Sample the benthic organisms that provide food for shorebirds in the Flinders, Gilbert and Mitchell Rivers, in both the wet and dry seasons, to examine densities and diversity
• Assess key shorebird species’ food preferences, the kinds of food available relative to their needs, and what kind of developments are most likely to impact on shorebirds
• Analyse field and experimental data to determine how different flows affect densities of benthic organisms, and the implications for different shorebird species, eg. those with longer bills or shorter bills feeding at different depths in the substrate
• Compare the results to those from other studies in comparable locations.

Anticipated outputs

• Conceptual models of flow regime, food webs and shorebird use of intertidal habitats
• Decision tree or guide outlining the implications of the findings for decision making
• Referral guidelines and conservation advice to improve species management in the Gulf of Carpentaria
• Report, scientific papers and factsheets summarising key research findings.

September 2019 project update.