BIOL3701 Final: FULL STUDY NOTES W/ LECTURE MATERIAL
25 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Conservation Biology of Plants of the Artesian Springs of the
Great Artesian Basin
*impervious material = water does not flow through
History and General
Artesian basin:
oConfined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure
Causes the water level in the well to rise to a point where
hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached
Balance between pressure on the aquifer and pressure
from the aquifer
General
oSprings occur in clusters
oAnimals and plants:
Some are unique to the springs
Crustaceans:
Unique to springs, genetically different to related
Great artesian basin (GAB):
oOne of the largest artesian groundwater basins in the world
oArea = 1.7 million square kilometres
oUnderlies 1/5 of Australia
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oStores around 65 billion megalitres of water
Use:
oFirst drilling of artesian bore in QLD in 1897
Initiated expansion of pastoral industry
Conservation Genetics of the Salt Pipewort, Eriocaulon carsonii
Plant found ONLY at the springs
Aims:
oInvestigate and quantify partitioning of genetic variation within and
among spring
oIdentify populations of high conservation priority
oTo help determine whether to allocate conservation resources towards
a few key populations or across broad spectrum of populations
oTo help determine need for translocation of propagules and how this
should be done
Sampling:
oDNA extracted from samples of E.carsonii from all nine spring super
groups
Containing the species from lake Eyre to cape York
oGenetic markers:
AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) markers
Resulting in:
Several hundred unambiguous AFLP loci
oMorphological analysis:
Measure 30 vegetative, floral and seed characters from 126
specimens
Results:
oFive taxa recognized:
E carsonii – subsp. Carsonii
E carsonii – subsp. Orientale
E carsoni – subsp. Euloense
E aloefolium
E giganticum
oThese taxa all have strong geological patterns
Conservation implications:
oE carsonii is under greatest threat from reduced groundwater flows:
Resulting from extraction of artesian water
oThe species has already become extinct from its type locality in NSW
oIn QLD:
Threats include:
Excavation
Introduction of exotic plants
Feral pigs
oIn SA:
Competition from reeds
Changed fire regimes
oEdgbaston station is a conservation priority
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Also has a third of endemic snail and crustacean spcies known
from ound springs
Nine species of molluscs and two species of fish
Conclusions:
oTaxonomy of Eriocaulon COMPLEX
Complex consists of five genetically and morphologically distinct
groups
Which have been given taxonomic recognition
oPopulations of highest conservation priority
Edgbaston station:
Contains two taxa including two endemic taxa
Highest level of genetic diversity
oAllocation of conservation resource
Populations in Supergroup appear to be genetically distinct and
need to be all conserves
Need to conserve an array of spring groups in each Supergroup
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Monitoring Protocols
Basis for Monitoring
Integral to assess impacts or recovery
Make goals clear
Goals
oGOAL SETTING
Ecological, human
oPLANNING
Implementation, monitoring, maintenance, contingency plans,
funding
oIMPLEMENTATION
Pilot study
Multiple stages
oMONITORING
oMAINTENANCE
History of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Studies of human effects on environment go back a long time
oE.g. industrial melanism of moths:
Moths covered by soot evolved to darker colours to survive
A concern to routinely assess impacts of development BEFORE they occur is
more recent
oDescribed as boondoggle
oData rich but information poor
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Conservation biology of plants of the artesian springs of the. *impervious material = water does not flow through. Artesian basin: confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. Causes the water level in the well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached. Balance between pressure on the aquifer and pressure from the aquifer. General: springs occur in clusters, animals and plants: Unique to springs, genetically different to related. Great artesian basin (gab): one of the largest artesian groundwater basins in the world, area = 1. 7 million square kilometres, underlies 1/5 of australia, stores around 65 billion megalitres of water. Use: first drilling of artesian bore in qld in 1897. Conservation genetics of the salt pipewort, eriocaulon carsonii. Sampling: dna extracted from samples of e. carsonii from all nine spring super groups. Containing the species from lake eyre to cape york: genetic markers: Several hundred unambiguous aflp loci: morphological analysis:
