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Plenary speaker Erin O'Donnell talked about the rights of rivers 🌊⚖️ We see water as a resource to manage/control, but is this the relationship we want? Instead of the usual extraction narrative, what do we want FOR the river & how do we get there WITH the river? Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

Congratulations Will Higgisson Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS) ECR Award for 2024 @UC_CAWS UC Faculty of Science and Technology

AFSS 2024- Will Higgisson talked about an amazing discovery of a 2nd olive perchlet population in the lower Murray-Darling Basin 🏞️🐟 Will found the new population was genetically distinct & had survived the millennium drought in deep human-developed ponds 🌊🐟 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Kris Kleeman discussed water quality issues in Lake Hume after the 2019-2020 bushfires were followed by 4 years of heavy summer rain 🔥🌧️🏞️ Kris reported lake water gave a sulphurous smell, acidity levels damaged plants, & crayfish "rusted" 🦀 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Mike Grace looked at how flooding impacted the "breathing" of Goulburn River 🏞️💨 Mike found no boom or bust in productivity, as all the organic materials were used up out on the floodplain before the waters receded to the river bed 🚫🏞️ Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Jean Dind investigated how River Red Gum leaf litter in soils can suppress plant growth 🚫🌿 Jean found soils under & around the trees significantly reduced the ability for rooted plants to grow as leaf litter leachate is stored in the soil 🍂 🧪 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Ryan Burrows looked at how billabong metabolism changes after high flow creates connections with the main river channel 🌊🏞️ Ryan found primary production & respiration was higher in billabongs where it had been a long time since last connection ⏫📈 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Samantha Tonisoo gave an update on the governmental changes to the guiding document for waterway barrier works 🚧🐟 The aim is to improve fish passage by altering existing or future barriers such as culverts to help fish migrate and disperse 🌊🐟🏞️ Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Heather McGinness discussed satellite tracking to understand waterbird lifecycles & habitats 🦆🛰️📡 With a key waterbird "flyway" found between nesting, foraging, & stopover sites, scientists now know where targeted water releases are vital 🛣️🦆 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Catherine Leigh looked at differences in wetland plant invasions b/ween protection levels ⛲🌿 Catherine found conserved wetlands w good riparian zone buffers had <15% of their plant community as pest plants, but up to 100% in unprotected wetlands 🚫🌿 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- David Deane looked ahead to climate change shifts in wetland plant functional groups 🔮🌿 Looking at hydrological risk, David was able to identify wetland plant community shifts & what functional groups would be replaced as rainfall decreases 🌧️🚫🌿 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Andre Siebers talked about cyanobacterial blooms 🌊🦠 Andre told us there has been an increase in bloom intensity, frequency, & duration which has caused widespread "brownification" of waterways as they carry higher organic matter loads 🏞️🦠 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Brendan Cox investigated how bushfires impact freshwater invertebrates 🔥🦟 Lab experiments show 55'C significantly ⏬ diversity, with only 3/21 species found. Sediment acted as refugia, only reaching 37'C & invertebrates actively buried themselves 🔥 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Isobel Walcott studied urban greening to reduce heat islands 🌡️🏝️ Wicking garden beds in carparks drained & stored water, increasing soil moisture retention & improving tree condition compared to traditional garden beds 💧🌳 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Rodney Ubrihien explored better methods at assessing urban leaf litter productivity by simulating urban gutters 🍂🌁 Rodney found introduced species released high organic matter after multiple rain events, & continued release in natives 🍂 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Richard Marchant gave an insight into how Macquarie Island has faired after rabbits were eradicated 🐇 🏝️ 10 years on shows minimal plant recovery, with spp richness still 30% reduced from pre-rabbit. But, improvements in flatworms & crustaceans 🦀 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

AFSS 2024- Elaine Yuen looked at the semi-natural Tung Chung river in Hong Kong's concrete jungle 🌁🏞️ With a new city being built on its banks, developers must convert the curent concrete channel to a sustainable urban drainage system to help migratory fish 🌿🏞️ Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS)

Huge congratulations to Alana Cormican for the Bill Williams travel Award and Gideon Hallam-Walsh for the best poster Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS) 2024 University of Canberra @UC_CAWS UC Faculty of Science and Technology Darren Giling

Everything from drone technology to citizen science to “shrimply the best” food web discussions, you would have been spoiled for choice at the Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (AFSS) Conference in Albury last week. Learning and living our work at this outstanding forum!