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Fish Fauna of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia - Including the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarri Aboriginal Names

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Fish Fauna of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia - Including the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarri Aboriginal Names DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.22(2).2004.147-161 Records of the Westelll Allstralllll1 A//uselllll 22 ]47-]6] (2004). Fish fauna of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia - including the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarri Aboriginal names J J 2 3 David L. Morgan , Mark G. Allen , Patsy Bedford and Mark Horstman 1 Centre for Fish & Fisheries Research, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6]50 KImberley Language Resource Centre, PO Box 86, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia 6765 'Kimberley Land Council, PO Box 2145, Broome Western Australia 6725 Abstract - This project surveyed the fish fauna of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest river systems that remains unregulated, 'located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. A total of 37 fish species were recorded in the 70 sites sampled. Twenty-three of these species are freshwater fishes (i.e. they complete their life-cycle in freshwater), the remainder being of estuarine or marine origin that may spend part of their life-cycle in freshwater. The number of freshwater species in the Fitzroy River is high by Australian standards. Three of the freshwater fish species recorded ar'e currently undescribed, and two have no formal common or scientific names, but do have Aboriginal names. Where possible, the English (common), scientific and Aboriginal names for the different speCIes of the river are given. This includes the Aboriginal names of the fish for the following five languages (Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarri) of the Fitzroy River Valley. The fish fauna of the river was shown to be significantly different between each of the lower, middle and upper reaches of the main channeL Furthermore, the smaller tributaries and the upper gorge country sites were significantly different to those in the main channel, while the major billabongs of the river had fish assemblages significantly different to all sites with the exception of the middle reaches of the river. The previously known ranges of many species were extended. The implications of damming the Fitzroy River are discussed. INTRODUCTION unpublished data) and Allen and Leggett (1990) The Kimberley region of Western Australia is sampled numerous sites on the Isdell, Mitchell, home to a unique assemblage of freshwater fishes King Edward, Drysdale and Ord rivers. that is exposed to high summer rainfall and a dry Surprisingly, the largest river of the Kimberley, the winter period. Much of the landscape is rugged, Fitzroy, which drains over one-third of the region, with vehicular access seasonally limited. This, has only been surveyed in a few easily accessed together with the isolation of the region, has locations (see Allen and Leggett, 1990). resulted in only limited distributional fish faunaI TI1e Fitzroy River is large by Western Australian 2 surveys being conducted. Fish surveys have often standards, draining almost 90 000 km , and is largely revealed species that are new to science, or have uncleared, with its water non-saline throughout most greatly extended the ranges of the species captured. of its length (Anon, 1993; Storey, 1998). The Fitzroy The most notable surveys of the Kimberley include River is one of the largest unregulated rivers in those on the Gibb River Road to the Drvsdale River Australia, but has recently been identified as having (by Rosen, Nelson and Butler in 1969 for the the potential to supply quality water to not only the American Museum of Natural History), the Ord Kimberley, but also other parts of Australia (Anon, River area (McKay, 1971), the Prince Regent River 1993, Storey, 1998). A number of dam sites have been (Allen, 1975), Drysdale River (Hutchins, 1977), recognised including Din10nd Gorge and Margaret Mitchell, King Edward and Lawley rivers Gorge (Anon, 1993). While providing water for (Iiutchins, 1981), Hutchins and Chapman agriculture and domestic uses, the proposed dams (Hutchins, unpublished data) surveyed the Gibb have been seen by some as a means of controlling River Road in 1975 (see Hutchins, 1981), Allen and natural flooding in the Fitzroy River flood plain Alien sampled stream crossings on the Gibb River (Anon, 1993). and Kulumburu roads (Alien and Alien, The Fitzroy River catchment experiences a semi- .... ~ ..... ,~ i i I !! 7,1i?1Ij ; I ~ WESTERN I .. AUSTRALLA. 'I '\\ I \ G_~J 64 61 ~. 6&·6S·SQ 66- 51. 52. SO· Ul.NlVI", Creek 49 46~~'444.& ·45 ~1W9.54 35- 120 H-.1··.t.2 13. o 6- 3" 33 114- 18 34"~'4 ea· 2~ r- 1'0.1 24'19 15]'r:"~-ia s:o OQ 8· 21,~"...':1.> 25 40. 41 .42 67.. ?();-,.~ 26 ... 57.,~6·. 38:~ .? '... 'I.,· 27 3r·~ s: sa- (:j .3Q 59· :=:: 36 ~ 31. .? :-0 O::l ~ ....,Cl. ...o o km F- ?': :t o Figure 1 The sites sampled for fish in the Fitzroy River, Western Australia, (j! 3 ...::s Fishes of the Fitzroy River, including Aboriginal names 149 arid to arid monsoon,ll climate receiving most (- within areas covered by native title applications, 90{X) of its rainfall between November and March and the survey team was guided by traditional (i.e. the wet season) (Coh, 1998; Ruprecht and owners and their knowledge. With the exception of Rodgers, 1998). Upstream of Fitzroy Crossing the one site (Telegraph Pool), all sites sampled in the river catchment covers approximately 45 000 km' river were above the limit of tidal influence. and divides into two main tributaries, the Fitzrov Additionally, species recorded in the estuary and and Margaret rivers, which also encompass the high Doctor's Creek, near the mouth of the Fitzroy River relief reaches of the river (I\uprecht and Rodgers, (see Figure I), during opportunistic sampling, are 1998). The main tributaries of the upper Fitzroy included in the results. include the Hann, Adcock, L.ouisa and Little Fitzroy Sampling equipment included a variety of seine rivers, while those of the Margaret include the nets [1 m (1 mm mesh), 5, 10 and 15 m (all 3 mm Mary, Leopold, O'Donnell, Cidden, Little Cold and mesh), 26 m (6 and 3 mm mesh) and a 60 m (10 and Laura rivers (see Figure I) (Ruprecht and Rodgers, 5 mm mesh)], gill nets (25 to 125 mm stretched 1998). Downstream of Fitzroy Crossing lies the river mesh sizes), cast nets, masks and snorkels and floodplain, which extends some 300 km to the coast, hooks and lines. and includes the tributaries of Christmas, Mt Active participants included the Centre for Fish Hardman, Mt Wynne and Ceegully creeks. The and Fisheries Research at Murdoch University, the mean annual streamflow of 6 150 CL/year (since Land + Sea Management Unit at the Kimberley the 1950s) at Fitzroy Crossing is the highest of any L,and Council (KLC), the Fitzroy Crossing river system recorded in Western Australia Kimberley L,anguage Resource Centre (KLRC), (Ruprecht and Rodgers, 1998). While flows peak station owners and tenants, and community during the wet season, in the dry season f1cnv may members from Broome, Derby and Fitzroy Crossing cease with the river becoming a series of and their surrounds, including the Bunuba, disconnected pools and billabongs. Turbidity is also Cooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarri seasonally affected, with highest turbidities traditional owners. coinciding with peak flows during the wet season (Ruprecht and Rodgers, 1998). Environmental variables 'rIle present study represents part of an ongoing The conductivity, temperature and plI of water collaboration between Murdoch University, the taken just below the surface were recorded at each Kimberley Land Council, the Kimberley Language sample site. Resource Centre and the local community, including the traditional owners and station Species identification and maps owners, of the Fitzroy River catchment. The Each species captured was photographed with importance of the Fitzroy River to the Aboriginal some specimens preserved for identification and for people of the region is highlighted in this report, the collections of the Western Australian Museum. and where possible, the Bunuba, Cooniyandi, The majority of fish were released alive after Ngarinyin, Nyikina, Walmajarri, English (common) capture. The phylogenetic order of the families (and and scientific names are given for each fish species the subsequent species list) follows Nelson (1994). recorded from the Fitzroy River system. A further Longitude and latitude were recorded at each site aim of this project was to address the notable lack using a Clobal Positioning System (Cl'S). The of distributional data for the fish fauna of the sample sites map was created using the above Cl'S Fitzroy River, while also examining the fish faunal data and Maplnfo (MapInfo Corporation, 1998). associations within the various habitat types of the river. Furthermore, the importance of the river to Classification of sample sites and Analysis of tIll' people of the Kimberley region and the Similarity (ANOSIM) conservation issues affecting fish distributions are In order to test the hypothesis that fish faunal discussed. composition would vary between the lower (sites 1-6,9,32-34,54,68, 70), middle (15-16, 18-20, 28, (7) and upper (36-41, reaches of the main MATERIALS AND METHODS channel/major tributaries of the river and also the smaller tributaries (sites 8, 1114, 17,22-25, 30- Sampling for fish 31, 35, 43, 46-52, the large lentic IJuring four two-week survevs, between April billabongs (sites 7, 10, 2l, 26, 29) and the upper 200 I and November 2002, and two short field trips gorge country e.g. upper Hann River (sites 42, in tvlarch and [kcember 2002, a total of 70 sites 60-(6) (see Figure 1), the sample sites were 11 priori were sampled for fish throughout the main channel allocated to one of these broad habitat categories of the Fitzroy River, its tributaries and associated and their fish comn1unity structures compared wctlands/billabongs (see Appendix I).
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