Dr. Mariah Millington

Check out this stick insect hiding in our garden! Safely relocated away from the pruning 🌿

A sketch of a mouth-brooding cichlid with her three baby fish

For some species of cichlids, home is where the mom is - literally! Female mouth-brooding cichlids incubate their eggs in their mouths. Some species continue to provide protection for juveniles after they hatch, sending out cues when danger is around for them to return to her mouth #SundayFishSketch

WEEK 2 of the #SundayFishSketch team-up with #25DaysofFishmas (@drkatfish.bsky.social) for a difficult #Fishytheme. Sketch the #GreatLakes fish described by the clues below - if you know the answer, don't spoil it, draw and post on Sunday! #sciart 🐡🦑

Check out these great #freshwater #PhD opportunities based at the University of Melbourne down here in Australia on #Platypus, #AquaticPlants, & #Carbon 🌿🏞️🦆🧪

an aerial view of a city at night with a sign that says converse on it ALT: an aerial view of a city at night with a sign that says converse on it

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 encompassing 60% of the valley, developers must convert the current concrete channel to a sustainable urban drainage system to help migratory fish 🌿🏞️

a rabbit sitting on the ground with a national geographic logo behind it ALT: a rabbit sitting on the ground with a national geographic logo behind it

AFSS 2024- Richard Marchant gave an insight into how Macquarie Isl. has faired after rabbit populations were eradicated 🐇 🏝️

Despite 10 years since eradication, minimal plant recovery was recorded, with spp richness still 30% reduced from pre-rabbit. But, improvements in flatworms & crustaceans 🦀

a young boy squatting down on a sidewalk looking at a puddle of water ALT: a young boy squatting down on a sidewalk looking at a puddle of water

AFSS 2024- Rodney Ubrihien explored better methods at assessing urban leaf litter productivity 🍂🌁

Using tank water, concrete channels, & barriers to better simulate urban gutters, Rodney found introduced species released ⏫ organic matter after multiple rain events, & continued release in natives 🍂

a bunch of white flowers growing next to a tree ALT: a bunch of white flowers growing next to a tree

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 💧🌳

a close up of a cockroach crawling through the dirt . ALT: a close up of a cockroach crawling through the dirt .

AFSS 2024- Brendan Cox investigated how our intense bushfires impact freshwater invertebrates 🔥🦟

Lab experiments show 55'C significantly reduced diversity, with only 3/21 species found compared to controls.
Sediment acted as refugia, only reaching 37'C & invertebrates actively buried themselves 🔥

a person is holding a blue spoon in a bowl of water with the word mundo on the bottom right ALT: a person is holding a blue spoon in a bowl of water with the word mundo on the bottom right

AFSS 2024- Andre Siebers talked about cyanobacterial blooms 🌊🦠

Andre told us there has been an increase in the intensity, frequency, & duration of these blooms which has caused widespread "brownification" of waterways as they carry higher organic matter loads 🏞️🦠

a map of the world showing temperatures from 1880 -1884 ALT: a map of the world showing temperatures from 1880 -1884

AFSS 2024- David Deane looked ahead to how climate change might shift wetland plant functional groups 🔮🌿

Looking at hydrological risk, David was able to keenly identify wetland plant community shifts & what functional groups would be replaced as rainfall decreases 🌧️🚫🌿

the trees are reflected in the water and the sun is shining through them ALT: the trees are reflected in the water and the sun is shining through them

AFSS 2024- Catherine Leigh looked at differences in pest plant invasions between wetland protection levels ⛲🌿

Catherine found conserved wetlands with good riparian zone buffers had <15% of their plant community as pest plants, but this was up to 100% in unprotected wetlands 🚫🌿

a flock of birds are flying over a body of water with a netflix logo in the background ALT: a flock of birds are flying over a body of water with a netflix logo in the background

AFSS 2024- Another great waterbird talk by Heather McGinness, this time on satellite tracking to understand lifecycles & important habitats 🦆🛰️📡

With a key waterbird "flyway" found between nesting, foraging, & stopover sites, scientists now know where targeted water releases are vital 🛣️🦆

a pipe with water coming out of it in a field ALT: a pipe with water coming out of it in a field

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 🌊🐟🏞️

a large body of water surrounded by trees with a watermark that says ' brooklyn ' on the bottom ALT: a large body of water surrounded by trees with a watermark that says ' brooklyn ' on the bottom

AFSS 2024- Ryan Burrows looked at how billabong metabolism changes after high flow creates connectivity with the main river channel 🌊🏞️

Ryan found primary production and respiration was higher in billabongs where it had been a long time since last connection ⏫📈

a person is digging in a pile of mulch which says high quality mulch ALT: a person is digging in a pile of mulch which says high quality mulch

AFSS 2024- Jean Dind investigated how River Red Gum leaf litter in soils can suppress plant growth through leachate chemicals 🚫🌿

Jean found soils under & around these trees significantly reduced the ability for rooted plants to grow as these leachate chemicals are stored in the soil 🍂 🧪

a video of a swirl of water in a desert with the words viralhog on the bottom right ALT: a video of a swirl of water in a desert with the words viralhog on the bottom right

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 🚫🏞️

an aerial view of a forest fire with the netflix logo in the corner ALT: an aerial view of a forest fire with the netflix logo in the corner

AFSS 2024- Kris Kleeman discussed water quality issues in Lake Hume after the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires were followed by 4 years of heavy summer rainfall 🔥🌧️🏞️

Kris reported:
1. lake water gave a sulphurous smell 💨
2. acidity levels damaged vegetation 🌿
3. crayfish "rusted", changing colour 🦀

🎤 Concurrent session 1 🎤

AFSS 2024- Will Higgisson talked about an amazing discovery of a 2nd olive perchlet population in the lower Murray-Darling Basin 🏞️🐟

Surprisingly, Will found the new population was genetically distinct & had survived the millennium drought in deep human-developed ponds 🌊🐟

Plenary speaker Erin O'Donnell made us think about the rights of rivers 🌊⚖️

We see water as a resource that we manage/control, but is this the relationship we want?
Instead of the usual extraction narrative in Australia, what do we want FOR the river and how do we get there WITH the river?

Day 2 of the 2024 Australian Freshwater Sciences Society conference is looking to be another great lineup of talks and discussions on all things freshwater 🌊🐟🌿🐸🦆🦠

a sea otter is swimming in the water with its arms outstretched . ALT: a sea otter is swimming in the water with its arms outstretched .

AFSS 2024- Emmalie Sanders reviewed the global decline of freshwater mammals 🌊🐹

Emmalie found 38% of freshwater mammals are imperilled primarily due to resource use and agriculture, with bigger animals that need to disperse/migrate most at-risk 🏞️

an aerial view of a lake mead in 1984 ALT: an aerial view of a lake mead in 1984

AFSS 2024- Belinda Robson looked at farm dams as drought refugia in Western Australia 🏜️⛲

Unfortunately, Belinda found community differences between dams and rivers, meaning dams won't be a refuge for flow dependant species 🏞️🚫

a man is squatting down in a garden with a shovel . ALT: a man is squatting down in a garden with a shovel .

AFSS 2024- Sally Maxwell used the power of ChatGPT for her literature review in sorting & analysing huge piles of results 📚👩🏻‍💻

Sally found floodplain management globally predominantly focuses on vegetation restoration, but in Australia we mainly do flow restoration 🏞️🌿

a cartoon of a chicken wrapped in a blanket holding a cup of tea . ALT: a cartoon of a chicken wrapped in a blanket holding a cup of tea .

AFSS 2024- Heather McGiness looked ahead at the potential spread of human zoonoses from waterbirds in Australia 🦠🦆🐔

Heather told us that avian flu is likely to come in soon from overseas via migrating waterbirds, and spread rapidly as waterbirds link wetlands, urban areas, and agricultural land 🏞️🐖🏙️

kermit the frog and grim reaper from the muppets are standing next to each other and talking . ALT: kermit the frog and grim reaper from the muppets are standing next to each other and talking .

AFSS 2024- Elizabeth Hamshaw investigated methods of monitoring Southern toadlet populations 🐸

Elizabeth found that eDNA is not an effective tool. Instead, researchers should focus on the traditional audio "croak" monitoring 🔊

a close up of a fish in a tank ALT: a close up of a fish in a tank

🎤 Concurrent session 2 🎤

AFSS 2024- Sally Hladyz looked at future threats to platypus recovery & resilience by developing threat maps for a wide range of biotic, abiotic, and human impacts thought to threaten platypus populations 🦆🌏

three men shaking hands in a field with a 4gifs.com watermark in the corner ALT: three men shaking hands in a field with a 4gifs.com watermark in the corner

AFSS 2024 Plenary speaker Sonia Cooper spoke on indigenous experiences & knowledge on the borderline 🌏

Sonia asked us to consider what we mean when we say "water" & how different cultures might value water differently 🌊

a silver chevy equinox is parked in the background as a person pours water into a cup ALT: a silver chevy equinox is parked in the background as a person pours water into a cup

Bronwyn Ayre presented on the use of community science for a snapshot of the Murray-Darling Basin 👨👩🏾🧑🏼👩🏻

eDNA collected by community scientists identified a huge diversity of frogs, birds, mammals, reptiles, & fish including invasive weatherloach & roach in new waterways 🌊🐟🦎🐦

Shrek Donkey GIF ALT: Shrek Donkey GIF

AFSS 2024- Yiwen Xu studied the importance of habitat networks for aquatic species dispersal 🏞️

Yiwen found that higher network complexity facilitated higher carrying capacities due to shorter distances between habitats, but this was related to dispersal capabilities & rate 🕸️