Bottom-breathing turtles and fish with one lung: Unique species thriving in one of Australia's most intriguing rivers
In 2009, the then federal environment minister Peter Garrett effectively blocked the dam on the grounds that it posed an unacceptable risk to threatened species such as the Australian Lungfish, the Mary River Turtle and the Mary River Cod."It's quite unique in this part of Australia, this central eastern part of Australia, not to have a big dam," says Professor Mark Kennard, from Griffith University's Australian Rivers Institute.
The scars from last year's record-breaking flood are clear to see, with widespread scouring and loss of topsoil.The sediment from erosion along the banks of the Mary River ends up in the catchment of the Great Barrier Reef."There's been a lot of clearing – clearing right up to the banks." "Over the past 20 years many landholders have been rehabilitating their riverbanks, with tree-planting and weed control, which were clearly evident during the canoe-based assessment," a committee report says.Scientists are tracking rare and endangered species as well as feral species."We're seeing more and more invasive fish species," says Professor Kennard, whose research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program, Resilient landscapes Hub.
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