Research Library

Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum and the 2015 Gippsland Lakes Knowledge Forum.

The report describes salinity inputs into Lake Wellington and develops management adaptations and options to modify the salinity in Lake Wellington.

This report describes an investigation on the distribution of metal and metalloid contaminants in the upper sediments of the Gippsland Lakes. The results of these analyses can be viewed spatially at: http://www.vvb.org.au/vvb_map.php?map=30.

This paper reports on a project that used an expert panel approach to estimate the likely reduction in Phosphorous loads to the Gippsland Lakes that could be achieved by implementing “best management practices” (BMPs) for activities in the catchment.

An assessment of the hydrodynamic, environmental, social and economic impacts of a second entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Three potential second entrance configurations were investigated

The Health of the Gippsland Lakes Perceptions & Marketing Survey was conducted to gauge the communities reaction to the 2011 Summer Advertising campaign, and to collect ongoing data regarding the health, issues and management of the Gippsland Lakes.

This audit aimed to gain an understanding of the issues involved regarding water quality, hydrology and catchment land use. A review of the scientific research and data collection was also done. This “state of the environment” report identifies gaps and data needs as well as potential management actions.

The project intended to help managers understand the function of the Gippsland Lakes ecosystem and the factors underlying environmental issues such as water quality and algal blooms. It aimed to provide managers with the capacity to assess options to address these problems. These options included: reduction of nutrients and sediment loads in the rivers flowing into the Lakes; alterations to the river discharges to the Lakes due to further impoundment; increased irrigation extraction, or implementation of environmental flows; alteration to the flushing of the Lakes due to engineering works such as the construction of a second entrance or the deepening of the present Entrance.

The Draft Strategic Management Plan (2003) for the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar site is an integral component of a program to develop a comprehensive management framework for Victoria’s Wetlands of International Importance. The primary goal of the management framework is to maintain the ecological character of Victoria’s Ramsar sites through conservation and wise use. This report was prepared by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The need for this project resulted from a massive Blue Green Algae bloom that built up in the Gippsland Lakes in late December 2007. The outbreak was of the Synococcocus species. A survey questionnaire was prepared and distributed to tourism industry participants in the East Gippsland and Wellington Shires.

This report presents the water quality data and algal monitoring data collected throughout the period including a rise in the abundance of Noctiluca in late Spring.

EPA assesses the monitoring data from five sites for water quality trends over time and the attainment of water quality objectives to ensure the protection of beneficial uses.

This report summarises the estimation of total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) loads for all inputs into the Gippsland Lakes. The loads were required as input to drive the CSIRO ecological model and were produced at a daily level for the period from 1975-1999, and used in ecological modelling for the period July 1995-June 1999.

An examination of the implications for water levels within the Lakes for locks constructed across McLennans Strait and across Lakes Entrance.

A short version, including frequently asked questions, of the mercury levels in fish in the Gippsland Lakes report. This is the results of a 2015 field study investigating changes over time and location within the lake system to inform public health advice for fish and seafood consumption.

This study provides a snapshot of fish assemblage structure and seagrass ‘condition’ within the Gippsland Lakes during September 2008, April 2009 and April 2010.

This study provides a snapshot of fish assemblage structure and seagrass ‘condition’ within the Gippsland Lakes during September 2008, April 2009, April 2010 and April 2011.

The report provides a snapshot of the range of fish species and the seagrass condition monitored at permanent sampling points within the Gippsland Lakes between September 2008 and April 2012. Water quality parameters were also recorded at multiple sites.

Summary flyer for the "Managing for Metal Mobility in the Gippsland Lakes" report.

Black Bream and Estuary Perch are iconic fish species in southern Australian estuaries including Gippsland Lakes and the Snowy River. This presentation looks at the impact of freshwater flow on their spawning and recruitment

A report to investigate the conditions that initiated and then sustained the 2007/08 bloom of Synechococcus bloom.

In November 2007 a cyanobacterial bloom occurred over the entire Gippsland Lakes and persisted through much of 2008. This report aimed to identify what initiated this bloom, and what led to Synechococcus dominating for such a sustained period.

This report assesses the current status of black bream stocks in the Gippsland Lakes using a range of monitoring data. It provides a picture of the condition of the fishery against short and long-term trends, providing a detailed assessment of the current state of the fishery.

This presentation explains the science behind the recent new dolphin species classification; information about, and the importance of, the Gippsland Lakes resident Burrunan dolphin population; information on dolphin behaviour; and raise awareness of the regulations in place when boating around dolphins through to correct disposal of rubbish and fishing waste. It also encourages community involvement through ‘citizen science’ allowing the community to log sightings, locations, behaviour, pod size etc. Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum by Dr. Kate Chalrton-Robb.

The health of the Gippsland Lakes was assessed against six key environmental indicators in 2011. Indicators including: water quality, algal blooms, wetlands, birds, seagrass and fish were rated from A to E. The ratings are summarised in a report card and the information upon which the ratings were made is presented in a more comprehensive report.

Enter a description!

The health of the Gippsland Lakes was assessed against six key environmental indicators in 2011. Indicators including: water quality, algal blooms, wetlands, birds, seagrass and fish were rated from A to E. The ratings are summarised in a report card and the information upon which the ratings were made is presented in a more comprehensive report.

The report provides a snapshot of the range of fish species and the seagrass condition monitored at permanent sampling points within the Gippsland Lakes between September 2008 and April 2012. Water quality parameters were also recorded at multiple sites.

The seagrass mapping component of this project commenced in early 2015. The mapping follows the previous aerial photography mapping by Roob and Ball in 1997 though with a reduced extent. Similar to Roob and Ball (1997), a combination of aerial photography and on-ground sampling were used to create maps of seagrass extent in the Gippsland Lakes.

The Gippsland Lakes Sustainable Boating Plan (GLSBP) provides a plan for action to preserve and enhance the environmental, social and economic values of the Gippsland Lakes, while supporting growth in boating and waterway activity. The plan identifies and evaluates risks and benefits associated with boating activity on the Lakes and recommends measures to manage sustainable growth through policy, regulation, infrastructure, coordinated management and education.

The report presents results of intensive water quality monitoring of the Gippsland Lakes including pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a monitoring results.

This report describes the development, calibration and application of a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of Gippsland Lakes, as part of the Gippsland Lakes Environmental Study.

This report explores the impact of bushfires on water quality in the Gippsland Lakes and options for reducing those impacts. By Sinclair Knight Mertz.

The report describes the importance of nitrogen in influencing the health of the Gippsland Lakes and then provides an assessment of the main sources, sinks and pathways of nitrogen.

Measurements of the nutrient inventory and nutrient flux rates of sediments of the Gippsland Lakes are drawn principally from two studies: Longmore (2000) and Roberts et al. (2003).

A framework of an integrated monitoring program to monitor the ecological health of the Lakes.

An integrated model of nutrient and sediment cycling, phytoplankton dynamics, sediment biogeochemistry and benthic plants has been developed and implemented for the Gippsland Lakes. The model has been designed to improve understanding of the function of the Lakes, and their response to catchment loads, and to allow managers to assess management scenarios. This report describes the formulation, implementation and calibration of the model, and the implications for system state and function.

This report provides results and conclusions from a set of model scenarios carried out as part of the Gippsland Lakes Environmental Study, using an integrated model of nutrient and sediment cycling and impacts within the Lakes.

This report reviews the behaviour of nutrients (N and P) in the Lakes and the control these nutrient have over phytoplankton blooms. Based on the evidence available, a conceptual model outlining the processes involved in the formation of blue-green algal blooms in the Gippsland Lakes has been developed.

Presented at the 2015 Gippsland Lakes Knowledge Forum.

The report describes salinity inputs into Lake Wellington and develops management adaptations and options to modify the salinity in Lake Wellington.

A discussion of the factors that determine the salinity of Lake Wellington and the available management options.

Presented at the 2015 Gippsland Lakes Knowledge Forum.

This report presents: A risk assessment highlighting key marine pest threats, transmission vectors and pathways to the Gippsland Lakes. A baseline assessment of the status of marine pests in the Gippsland Lakes (March 2015). Ecological information for key marine pest species found in the Gippsland Lakes. Advice to managers/users on how to best mitigate and manage ongoing risk. Recommendations for on-going monitoring of marine pests in the Gippsland Lakes.

The Lakes are a refuge for almost 100 species of wetland birds, including endangered, vulnerable and migratory species. BirdLife East Gippsland regularly monitors species diversity and abundance. Some key findings on fluctuations over time are reviewed. Bird diversity and abundance are affected by a mix of local, regional and international ecological variables. Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum by Chris Healey.

A report prepared for the Gippsland Lakes Taskforce predicting the impact of the Spring floods in 2008 upon algal species and abundance in the Lakes later that season.

This study assessed the nutrient loads entering the lakes as a result of these floods, and compared these with loads calculated over the past 30 years to assess whether there is an increased risk of algal blooms because of this event.

This study was initiated to monitor the factors controlling phytoplankton growth and nutrient recycling following an unprecedented input of nitrogen and subsequent cyanobacterial bloom (Synechococcus spp.) in 2007-2008.

Victorian Marine Habitat Database: Gippsland Lakes Seagrass Mapping (1997). The assessment of aerial photography highlights factors which need to be considered if seagrass sampling points are selected to be representative of seagrass changes throughout the Lakes.

This report presents the results of a survey to detail the spatial extent of seagrass meadows in the Gippsland Lakes.

Part 1 Loads and Sources (2006) by Prof. Rodger Grayson – Catchment to Sea Pty. Ltd. The purpose of this report is to provide the technical background to sediment and nutrient sources to the Gippsland Lakes from the contributing catchments.

Prepared for the Gippsland Lakes Task Force in 2006, this report used recent updates of sediment and nutrient load estimates, and of best management practices (BMPs), to assess the maximum likely reduction in phosphorus loads from implementation of BMPs throughout the catchment.

A Report to West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority by the Australian Centre for Environmetrics (July 2005)

This scoping study identifies issues and actions to be considered by the Gippsland Lakes Task Force as it refines its business case for the Gippsland Lakes Future Action Plan 2009.

Elevated heavy metal concentrations have been reported in previous studies of sediment, plant and animal life in the Gippsland Lakes. However, little is understood about the potential risks of those contaminants, either in the sediment, or if they were to become mobile in the water column of the Lakes. Experiments by Federation University revealed that largely the metal concentrations are stable, with predicted climate and hydrological change.

Mercury levels in black bream and dusky flathead from the Gippsland Lakes. This is the results of a 2015 field study investigating changes over time and location within the lake system to inform public health advice for fish and seafood consumption.

An INFFER analysis was conducted in partnership with the Gippsland Lakes Task Force (GLTF) to assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of achieving phosphorus (P) reduction targets.

An overview of hydrodynamic and salinity processes within the Gippsland Lakes and an assessment of the likely effects of the change in dredging practices on hydrologic and ecosystem processes in the lakes. The main objective of this report is to address concerns raised regarding the effects of on-going dredging at Lakes Entrance that may be having an impact on the ecological character of the Gippsland lakes, and whether the change in dredging regime since 2008 (from side cast to trailing suction hopper) has contributed to any such effect on the lakes system.

An assessment of the hydrodynamic, environmental, social and economic impacts of a second entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Three potential second entrance configurations were investigated. By Sinclair Knight Merz.

This presentation provides a background on the nature and value of seagrass in the Gippsland Lakes; outline physical and chemical monitoring tools employed in the Lakes to assess the health of seagrass, plants and links with fish assemblages. Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum by Fiona Warry.

Four sediment cores collected from the Gippsland Lakes have been examined to determine the rate and history of sediment accumulation.

The 2001 Gippsland Lakes Environmental Study was a modelling study intended to investigate a series of hypothetical management strategies in the Lakes. Modelled scenarios included nutrient and river flow reductions and exchange modifications. This project addresses aspects of model uncertainty.

This review covers the existing literature, both from published sources and from unpublished consultants' reports, on the form and evolution of the Gippsland Lakes, the variety of vegetation that fringes the Lakes' shorelines, and the way both have changed since European colonization of the Gippsland region.

The purpose of this report is to provide an assessment of the sources of sediment and nutrients in the Gippsland Lakes catchments both spatially by construction sediment for various sub-catchments, and by quantifying the contribution of various erosion processes delivering the sediment to the stream network.

The study’s aim is to determine the source of sediment and nutrients delivered to the Gippsland Lakes.

A critical sequence of events leading to summer Nodularia blooms is proposed following a detailed review of water quality data in the Gippsland Lakes.

Presented at the 2015 Gippsland Lakes Knowledge Forum.

An informed and engaged community is best placed to support good decision-making, lead positive behaviours and practice change. As part of the Gippsland Lakes – Science, evidence and environmental citizenship project, this report investigated what the local community values about the Gippsland Lakes and catchments, and in turn, what their vision for the health of the Gippsland Lakes and catchment is, and how it relates to beneficial uses.

The purpose of this study was to assess and quantify the economic impact of recreational boating in the Gippsland Lakes region and to compare the demand and supply for recreational boating infrastructure.

he Gippsland Lakes, listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1982, have undergone chronic salinisation since the cutting in 1889 of an artificial entrance to the ocean to improve navigational access, exacerbated in the mid–late 20th century by increasing regulation and extraction of water from inflowing rivers. Both developments have had substantial ecological impacts: a marked decline in the area of reed (Phragmites australis) beds; the loss of salt-intolerant submerged taxa such as Vallisneria australis, causing a shift to a phytoplankton-dominated system in Lake Wellington; and, nearer the entrance, an expansion in the area of seagrasses. Mangroves (Avicennia marina) first appeared in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Since 1986 recurring blooms of Nodularia spumigena have led to loss of recreational amenity and to the periodic closure of recreational and commercial fisheries. Changes to hydrological and salinity regimes have almost certainly shifted the contemporary fish community away from the pre-entrance state. Rises in eustatic sea levels and increases in storm surges will exacerbate the issue of chronic salinisation. Whether or not managers choose to intervene to prevent, or at least minimise, ongoing environmental change will inevitably prove controversial, and in some cases no socially or technologically feasible solutions may exist.

Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum and the 2015 Gippsland Lakes Knowledge Forum.

The opening of the artificial entrance in June 1889 made a permanent connection with the sea and subjected the Lakes to greater tidal influence. Documentary evidence of the ecology before 1889 is not detailed and only major biological changes have been noted since. The bathymetry of the Lakes however, was surveyed in detail between 1892 and 1895. The purpose of this study has been to determine the nature of any changes in the bathymetry since 1889 and to assess the implications of these changes.

Habitat and environmental conditions have a significant influence on the abundance of bream in the Gippsland Lakes. Recreational and commercial fishery-dependent data reflects not only the variable nature of bream abundance, but also the availability of bream to different areas within the Gippsland Lakes system. This presentation outlines the data collection methods currently being used by DEPI to assess the abundance of bream in the Gippsland Lakes, and will make recommendations on future research directions. Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum.

This research aimed to supplement physical seagrass monitoring that has occurred in the Gippsland Lakes since 2008 by: (i) investigating spatial patterns in seagrass leaf chemistry to provide better understanding of seagrass condition and the mechanisms influencing condition with the view to facilitate early detection of seagrass stress prior to potential decline, and; (ii) investigate the role of seagrass in the nutritional support of fish to strengthen understanding of the links between fish and seagrass habitats.

Variations in water levels and salinity have a dramatic impact on the health and amenity of the Gippsland Lakes. Water levels and lake salinity are both influenced by a range of drivers such as tide, wind, river inflows and ocean levels. In this presentation Andrew will outline, in simplified examples, the ways in which different forcing’s drive the level and salinity variations in the Lakes; from typical conditions to the more extreme cases of floods and droughts. Presented at the 2013 Love Our Lakes Forum by Dr. Andrew McCowan.