CORANGAMITE CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

OTWAYS BASIN BIOLOGICAL MONITORING

December 2008

CCMA Otways Basin Bio-monitoring

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL FOR ISSUE OF DOCUMENTS

Report Title: Otways Basin Biological Monitoring Document Status: Final Date of Issue: 22 December 2008 Document No: 1054-2008-030

Project Title: Otways Basin Bio-monitoring Client: CCMA Comments:

Position Name Signature Date Prepared by: Principal Ecologist Alistair Cameron 26/8/08 Internal Review by: Peer Review by: CCMA Approved by: Principal Ecologist Alistair Cameron 23/12/08

For further information on this report, contact: Name: Alistair Cameron Title: Principal Ecologist Address: 22 Dalmore Drive, Scoresby Phone: (03) 8756 8000 E-mail: [email protected]

Document Revision Control Version Description of Revision Person Making Issue Date Approval

1 Final Editing Alistair Cameron 26/11/08 AC

© Ecowise Environmental Pty Ltd This proposal and the information, ideas, concepts, methodologies, technologies and other material remain the intellectual property of Ecowise Environmental Pty Ltd. It is provided to prospective clients on a strict commercial- in-confidence basis, and at no time should any information about our proposal be divulged to other parties.

Disclaimer This document has been prepared for the Client named above and is to be used only for the purposes for which it was commissioned. No warranty is given as to its suitability for any other purpose.

Ecowise Environmental Pty Ltd ABN 68 074 205 780 Ecowise Environmental () Pty Ltd ABN 94 105 060 320 Enviro-Managers Pty Ltd ABN 18 072 428 810

1054-2008-030 i Final CCMA Otways Basin Bio-monitoring

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction 1

2 Methods 1 2.1 Site Selection 1 2.2 Water quality Monitoring 2 2.3 Macroinvertebrate Monitoring 2

3 Results 4 3.1 Water Quality 4 3.2 Macroinvertebrates 5

4 Conclusions 6

5 References 7

Appendices Appendix A – Site Photos Appendix B – Macroinvertebrate Riffle Data Appendix C – Macroinvertebrate Edge Data

Table of Figures Figure 1 Site Locations ...... 2

List of Tables Table 1 Sampling Sites in the Otways – Latitudes and Longitudes ...... 1 Table 2 Water quality measurements on each sampling event ...... 4 Table 3 Macroinvertebrate Indices – combined season data ...... 5

1054-2008-030 Final CCMA Otways Basin Bio-monitoring

1 Introduction

Macroinvertebrates are common to all freshwater systems and play a major role in the functioning of the ecosystem. They comprise a variety of trophic groups, including filter feeders, algal grazers, leaf shredders, wood miners, predators and deposit feeders. In addition, they are an important food source for other animals and their well being is reflected in the health of other animals higher in the food chain. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are sensitive to changes in water quality and quantity and certain taxa are absent or depleted from rivers that are affected by human activities. Macroinvertebrates are recommended for the general assessment of the ecological health of a system and are particularly useful for detecting toxic effects and oxygen stress (EPA 2003a). Ecowise Environmental (Victoria) was engaged by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA) to examine the macroinvertebrate communities in six streams in the Otways Basin. The assessment of the streams was based on requirements of the Victorian River Health Strategy (DNRE 2002) for CMA to ensure the natural values of these highly valued streams are maintained. Sites were selected as the streams were deemed to have high biological integrity, show little anthropogenic impact and that the areas are of high statewide and natural value. The health of the waterways was determined by comparing the community structure against inst Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) State Environmental Protection Policy (SEPP) objectives. This report also includes interpretation of the data against measured habitat and water quality parameters.

2 Methods

2.1 Site Selection

Six sites were examined in streams across the Basin in November 2007 and May 2008. Streams examined include the , Carisbrook Creek, Elliot River, , and Smythes Creek. The exact locations of sites were provided by the CCMA and are presented in Table 1 and Figure 1. Site photos are presented in Appendix A. Table 1 Sampling Sites in the Otways – Latitudes and Longitudes

Reach Location Latitude Longitude

Aire Crossing, Wait-a While Road- Aire River 38.70317 o 143.47878 o 100m upstream

Carisbrook Creek 100m upstream from coast 38.69185 o 143.80948 o

Elliot River Elliot Road crossing- 20 m upstream 38.78231 o 143.61653 o

Grey River Road crossing, 20m Grey River 38.65969 o 143.81607 o downstream of Grey River Picnic Area – Blanket Bay Road, 20m Parker River 38.84216 o 143.54222 o upstream

Smythes Creek 100m upstream from coast 38.70339 o 143.76167 o

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Figure 1 Site Locations

2.2 Water quality Monitoring

In-situ measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, and electrical conductivity were made at each site on each sampling period using a calibrated multiprobe (HydroLab ‘Quanta’ or Horiba multiprobes). One water sample per site was collected for laboratory analysis of turbidity. Alkalinity was also measured during the macroinvertebrate sampling events, primarily to use as an input into AusRivAS macroinvertebrate predictive models.

2.3 Macroinvertebrate Monitoring

A rapid bioassessment (RBA) methodology for the sampling of the macroinvertebrates was is conducted in the present study, where the main aim is to collect the greatest diversity of animals within a set time period (EPA, 1998a). For the purposes of consistency samples were taken over a 10 metre stretch although the distance was not necessarily continuous.

A 10 metre stretch of edge habitat was sampled using sweep nets with a 250 μm mesh size. Edge habitat is defined as the bank area of pool areas where little or no current is evident. Sampling involved vigorously sweeping the net through the water column and above the substrate resulting in macroinvertebrates being suspended in the water column before being collected with the net. Any aquatic vegetation in edge habitats were sampled in a similar manner. The benthic habitat was sampled using a kick net and involves holding a net on the bottom of the river and disturbing the substrate immediately upstream of the net with ones feet so that dislodged animals are carried by the current into the net. Approximately 10 metres of substrate in riffle habitat (area of fast flowing, shallow water) was sampled per kick sample. Benthic samples could not be collected from Elliot Creek or Parker River as there was not sufficient flow to wash the macroinvertebrates into the collecting net.

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The contents of each net were spread out onto large trays and live sorted in the field for a standard time of 30 minutes. An extra 10 minutes of live sorting was conducted if there were less than 200 animals. Additionally another extra 10 minutes of live sorting was conducted if new taxa were collected in the last 5 minutes. Live sorting was undertaken for a maximum of one hour. Animals captured with the aid of forceps and pipettes were preserved in 80% ethanol and retained for identification in the laboratory. With the aid of a stereomicroscope, macroinvertebrates were identified to family taxonomic resolution with the exception of Chironomids (Diptera) which were identified to sub-family in accordance with EPA protocols.

2.3.1 SEPP Guidelines SEPP’s have been developed by EPA Victoria (EPA 2003b) to provide objectives for monitoring of creeks and rivers in the state. Water quality guidelines also exist except they are based upon percentile data that requires a minimum of 11 sampling events. Water quality is therefore not compared against the SEPP however results are interpreted against the guidelines.

All waterways in this project fall within the ‘Forests B’ bioregion (B3) which also encompasses the Otways Basin. All following results will be discussed in comparison to these objectives. Objectives can be found at the top of the data tables. Calculation of preliminary macroinvertebrate indices was performed using Ecowise’s database program. The SEPP objectives developed for macroinvertebrate data are based on two season’s data and therefore macroinvertebrates were combined at the site level from each sampling event. Apart from the index Key Number of Families, where habitats are combined, all other indices are based on the habitat sampled. SIGNAL (Stream Invertebrate Grade Number - Average Level) is an index of water quality based on the known tolerances of macroinvertebrate families to pollution. Families have been assigned pollution sensitivity grades from 1 (very tolerant) to 10 (very sensitive) based on their known tolerances to a variety of pollution types (Chessman 1995). Macroinvertebrate families were assigned SIGNAL scores from the RBA manual (EPA 2003a). If all families found at a site are tolerant of pollution (have low tolerance grades) it is reasonable to conclude that this site is polluted, and, conversely, if many families sensitive to pollution are present at a site then it may be assumed that this site is not polluted. The average tolerance grade of all families found at a site (SIGNAL) is calculated as an index of biological response to water quality. SIGNAL values greater than 6 indicate “clean water”, values between 5 and 6 indicate “possible mild pollution”, 4-5 indicates “probable moderate pollution” and values less than 4 indicate “severe pollution” (Chessman 1995). AUSRIVAS (Simpson et al. 1997 - AUStralian RIVers Assessment System) is a mathematical model which predicts which macroinvertebrate families should be present under a given set of reference conditions (EPA 2003a). It does this by comparing a test site with a group of reference sites which are as free as possible of environmental impacts but which have similar physical and chemical characteristics to those found at the test site (EPA 2003a). The O/E (observed/expected) scores derived from the model can then be compared to bands representing different levels of biological condition, as follows: X “Richer than reference condition” A “Reference condition” B “Below reference condition” C “Well below reference condition” D “Impoverished condition” (EPA 2003d).

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3 Results

3.1 Water Quality

In situ water quality measured at each site is presented in Table 2. Water temperature was measured to assist in determining the percentage concentration of dissolved Oxygen. The general pattern in water temperature, as expected, was warmer water in the spring sampling events. As previously highlighted the EPP Guideline is based on a minimum of 11 sampling events and the calculation of 25th or 75th percentile data. A comparison against the guideline can not strictly be made. Electrical conductivity measurements were below the guideline at each site on both sampling events except for Parker River sampled in spring. The Parker River spring measurement is 16.4 % above the guideline, however the autumn measurement is just below the guideline at 490 μS/cm. The dissolved oxygen concentrations were regularly below the 25th percentile and Smythes Creek was the maximum value of 110% on both sampling events. pH measurements were above the 75th percentile of 7.7 at Elliot River in autumn and in Smythes Creek on both sampling events. Alkalinity data is presented but is merely used in the AusRivAS modeling.

Table 2 Water quality measurements on each sampling event Water Dissolved Dissolved Sampling Turbidity Alkalinity Reach Temp EC (μS/cm) Oxygen Oxygen (%) pH Date (NTU) (mg/L) . (oC) (mg/L) 25th 25th percentile percentile 75th 75th SEPP ≥90 ≥6.4 percentile percentile Guideline 75th ≤ 500 ≤ 5 Maximum percentile ≤ 110 7.7 27/11/07 16.3 113.2 8.64 88.6 6.5 3.7 10 Aire River 22/5/08 10.0 130 10.7 94.8 6.9 4.5 15

28/11/07 18.0 170.5 10.17 108.0 7.4 1.6 25 Carisbrook Creek 21/5/08 11.3 190 11.5 105.1 7.8 1.5 40

27/11/08 15.9 6.18 62.8 7.0 1.6 35 Elliot River 22/5/08 10.8 340 9.75 88.1 7.3 7.8 35

28/11/07 17.5 210 9.32 98.0 7.5 0.7 30 Grey River 21/5/08 10.2 220 12.15 108.1 7.5 1.2 35

27/11/08 18.0 582 7.95 84.4 7.4 2.2 50 Parker River 22/5/08 10.4 490 11.1 99.3 7.4 7.4 45

28/11/08 16.9 204 10.97 113.9 7.8 0.4 35 Smythes Creek 21/5/08 11.0 230 12.46 113.1 8.3 0.6 45

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3.2 Macroinvertebrates

Forty five macroinvertebrate families were collected during the study. Details of the riffle macroinvertebrate communities collected at each site are presented in Appendix B and those from the edge samples in Appendix C.

Aire River met all SEPP guidelines. A very healthy macroinvertebrate community was collected at the site as indicated by the SIGNAL scores above 6 and the AusRivAS band of A. A high number of Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Plecoptera (EPT) contributed to the health of the site. Mayfly taxa from the families Coloburiscidae, Leptophlebiidae and Oniscigastridae, and caddisfly families Philopotamidae and Helicophidae were collected from the site. These taxa are given a SIGNAL score of 10 indicating they are very sensitive to water quality. Carisbrook Creek did not meet the riffle SEPP guideline for SIGNAL score and the AusRivAS analyses could not be performed as the community structure was outside the experience of the model. The riffle habitat also just met the Number of Families and EPT objectives. The Edge habitat of this waterway met all SEPP guidelines. Elliot River met all SEPP objectives except for the Key number of families. The high SIGNAL score of 6.4 indicates a healthy macroinvertebrate community and the presence of stoneflies from the family Eustheniidae suggests excellent water quality. Grey River exhibited the highest edge habitat SIGNAL score and the highest AusRivAS O/E suggesting the health of river at this site is excellent. All SEPP’s were met and the highest edge EPT score was observed. Very sensitive taxa collected from Grey River include mayflies from the families Leptophlebiidae and Oniscigastridae, the stonefly Eustheniidae, and caddisfly families Atriplectididae, Philopotamidae and Helicopsychidae, indicating good water quality. Both Parker River and Smythes Creek also met all SEPP guidelines. Table 3 Macroinvertebrate Indices – combined season data Number Number of AusRivAS AusRivAS Reach Habitat SIGNAL EPT of Key Families O/E Band Families SEPP Riffle 6.0 Riffle 23 Riffle 10 Riffle 0.87 Riffle A 26 Guideline Edge 5.8 Edge 24 Edge 6 Edge 0.87 Edge A Riffle 6.3 34 15 1.08 A Aire River 38 Edge 6.3 29 10 1.11 A Outside of Outside of Riffle 5.7 23 10 Carisbrook the model the model 34 Creek Edge 6.0 30 9 0.98 A

Elliot River Edge 6.4 26 11 0.98 A 22

Riffle 6.4 35 15 1.12 A Grey River 38 Edge 6.9 34 18 1.11 A

Parker River Edge 6.5 33 11 1.11 A 28

Riffle 6.4 26 13 0.93 A Smythes 34 Creek Edge 6.0 25 10 0.98 A

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4 Conclusions and Recommendations

All six waterways examined in the current survey indicated healthy macroinvertebrate communities that reflect good water quality. While the Key number of families was not met at Elliot River the lower score is expected to be the result of the absence of riffle habitats and the fauna that are commonly associated with that particular type of habitat. Given that the Edge habitat met all SEPP guidelines and that the SIGNAL was a very healthy 6.4 there is no concern needed with regards the health of the river at this site. The lowest SIGNAL score was observed at Carisbrook Creek in the riffle habitat with 5.7 and this did not meet the objective of 6.0. Additionally the riffle community structure was outside the experience of the AusRivAS model. It is suggested that the reduced riparian zone on the right bank that contains patches of bare ground is contributing to the lower score. In situ water quality measured at the time of sampling did not imply water quality was contributing to the decrease in health observed. All remaining sites can be considered healthy as reflected by their macroinvertebrate community structure. Apart from the reduced riparian zone at Carisbrook the only habitat concern was noted at Smythes Creek where the pool substrate was covered between 35 and 65 % with filamentous algae. The high percentage cover of algae is expected to be contributing to the high oxygen concentrations observed on both sampling events. The absence of trees shading the waterway is also expected to contribute to an increase in the growth through an increase in light penetration. The very alkaline pH reading of 8.3 in May can not be explained and may need further investigation. An investigation into the nutrient levels in Smythes Creek and the source of any elevation would assist in determining the health of the site. However, it should be noted that elevated nutrient concentrations, which can lead to increased algal growth, can naturally occur.

All six waterways show little anthropogenic impact and therefore the site selection to assess the natural values was successful. The movement of both Carisbrook Creek and Smythes Creek upstream of the current location would assist in meeting the programmes objectives. Both sites should be placed where the riparian vegetation is dominated by shrubs and trees instead of the current grass habitat that exists through historic clearing. Given that the current data set provides baseline data for future monitoring the repeated sampling of the current locations in addition to the proposed new locations for one years monitoring would assist in determining any natural change in the environment versus that may potentially be seen through the movement of the sites.

Additionally the programme could be enhanced by identifying high valued taxonomic groups to species level. This would assist in determining the natural values of the sites by determining the presence of significant taxa. At a minimum Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera should be identified to species as these orders are considered the most pollution sensitive and their taxonomy is well known. Other orders such as Coleoptera, Odonata and Hemiptera could also be easily identified to species as could the Mollusca and Crustacea. Their species identification would contribute to recognising taxa rich sites. Diptera, Tricladia, Acarina and Annelida taxonomy is poorly known at the species level and or their ecology is poorly understood. These taxa could be identified to the lowest possible taxonomic resolution but the cost benefit return is low.

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5 References

Chessman (1995) Rapid assessment of rivers using macroinvertebrates: A procedure based on habitat-specific sampling, family level identification and a biotic index. Australian Journal of Ecology, 20: 122-129. DNRE (2002). Healthy Rivers, Healthy Communities and Regional Growth. Victorian River Health Strategy. Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria. EPA Victoria (1998a) Rapid bioassessment of Victorian streams. The approach and methods of the environment protection authority. Publication Number 604, February 1998 EPA Victoria (2003a). Nutrient objectives for rivers and streams – ecosystem protection. Publication Number ISBN 792.1; June 2003. EPA Victoria (2003b). Water quality objectives for rivers and streams – ecosystem protection. Publication Number ISBN 791.1; June 2003. Simpson, J, Norris, R., Barmuta, L. and Blackman, P. (1997) Australian River Assessment System. National River Health Program Predictive Model Manual (1st Draft). From the internet site: http://ausrivas.canberra.edu.au/ausrivas/

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CCMA Otways Basin Bio-monitoring

A P P E N D I C E S

CCMA Otways Basin Bio-monitoring

Appendix A – Site Photos

Plate 1 Aire River

Plate 2 Carisbrook Creek

Plate 3 Elliot Creek

Plate 4 Grey River

Plate 5 Parker River

Plate 6 Smythes Creek

Appendix B – Macroinvertebrate Riffle Data

Aire Carisbrook Grey Smythes

River Creek River Creek Turbellaria Tricladia Dugesiidae 2 1 2 Mollusca Gastropoda Hydrobiidae 1 21 3 6 Ancylidae 9 3 Annelida Oligochaeta Oligochaeta 1 1 4 2 Arachnida Acarina Acarina 7 4 6 Crustacea Amphipoda Paracalliopiidae 1 Paramelitidae 1 Insecta Coleoptera Gyrinidae (Larva) 1 Hydrophilidae (Adult) 2 1 Scirtidae 1 1 1 Elmidae (Adult) 33 13 31 1 Elmidae (Larvae) 8 13 11 2 Psephenidae 3 3 8 10 Diptera Tipulidae 1 17 4 Blephariceridae (Larva) 28 4 Blephariceridae (Pupa) 2 Ceratopogonidae 4 2 Simuliidae 22 18 8 Thaumaleidae 6 Athericidae 6 Empididae 1 Ephydridae 1 Diamesinae 1 1 5 Orthocladiinae 42 84 11 132 Chironominae 10 1 79 2 Chironomidae 1 (immature) Ephemeroptera Baetidae 40 75 27 14 Coloburiscidae 1 Leptophlebiidae 42 49 46 50 Ephemeroptera 1 (immature) Hemiptera Veliidae 4 1 1 Corixidae 1 Odonata Telephlebiidae 4 25 1 Plecoptera Eustheniidae 4 10 Gripopterygidae 57 15 36 3 Notonemouridae 1 Plecoptera (immature) 3 Trichoptera Hydrobiosidae 17 3 11 23 Glossosomatidae 4 Hydroptilidae 1 2 6 3 Philopotamidae 6 13 1 Hydropsychidae 5 25 41 21 Tasimiidae 3 22 17 Conoesucidae 86 16 13 21 Helicopsychidae 21 1 Calocidae 2 11 1 Helicophidae 2 Philorheithridae 1 1 2 Calamoceratidae 3 Leptoceridae 38 1 11 4 Trichoptera (immature) 2 2 3

Appendix C – Macroinvertebrate Edge Data

Aire Carisbrook Elliot Grey Parker Smythes

River Creek Creek River River Creek Turbellaria Tricladia Dugesiidae 1 Nematomorpha Gordiidae 1 1 2 1 Mollusca Gastropoda Hydrobiidae 1 1 Ancylidae 1 Annelida Oligochaeta Oligochaeta 5 3 5 1 1 6 Arachnida Acarina Acarina 36 12 18 28 2 11 Crustacea Amphipoda Talitridae 2 Eusiridae 3 Paracalliopiidae 45 27 Paramelitidae 2 2 Isopoda Isopoda 1 Insecta Coleoptera Dytiscidae (Adult) 6 4 3 1 Dytiscidae (Larva) 1 Gyrinidae (Adult) 6 5 3 Gyrinidae (Larva) 1 Hydrophilidae 14 2 (Adult) Scirtidae 6 5 16 1 13 Elmidae (Adult) 2 2 2 2 Elmidae (Larvae) 3 4 2 1 2 Psephenidae 1 4 2 Diptera Tipulidae 2 1 4 Dixidae 1 1 1 2 1 1 Ceratopogonidae 8 2 1 1 Simuliidae 1 1 5 1 Psychodidae 1 Athericidae 1 Stratiomyidae 1 1 Dolichopodidae 1 Tanypodinae 25 6 15 20 6 4 Orthocladiinae 11 48 1 1 2 65 Chironominae 13 16 8 3 9 24 Chironomidae 1 1 2 immature Chironomidae 4 (Pupa) Ephemeroptera Baetidae 14 13 1 5 12 7 Oniscigastridae 12 6 9 2 7 3 Leptophlebiidae 23 8 49 50 57 10 Caenidae 12 1 1 2 3 Ephemeroptera 1 immature Hemiptera Veliidae 32 2 44 5 38 7 Gerridae 5 Corixidae 36 1 1 22 Neuroptera Osmylidae 1

Aire Carisbrook Elliot Grey Parker Smythes

River Creek Creek River River Creek Odonata Coenagrionidae 1 Megapodagrionidae 1 Synlestidae 1 2 Telephlebiidae 1 2 1 Epiproctophora 1 immature Odonata immature 1 Plecoptera Eustheniidae 2 Gripopterygidae 6 8 27 67 11 7 Notonemouridae 17 16 1 6 Plecoptera 1 2 immature Trichoptera Hydrobiosidae 1 7 Hydroptilidae 28 11 8 1 Hydropsychidae 3 1 Ecnomidae 5 2 18 Limnephilidae 1 Tasimiidae 14 Conoesucidae 2 1 Helicopsychidae 36 Calocidae 3 35 Helicophidae 1 Philorheithridae 2 11 1 Atriplectididae 2 3 4 1 Calamoceratidae 2 8 8 Leptoceridae 63 37 62 132 91 13 Trichoptera 1 1 1 1 1 immature