Darling River Hardyhead Predicted Distribution in Hunter River Catchment NSW 2015

Abstract

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.

The predicted current distribution of Darling River Hardyhead (Craterocephalus amniculus) in the Hunter River catchment, NSW. All available records of the species were collated and assessed for accuracy. For current distribution, only records after 1 January 1994 were used. Within the framework of the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric V2 surface hydrology network, the records were associated with attributes from the National Environmental Stream Attributes Database. Modelling the current geographic distribution of each listed threatened freshwater aquatic species or population was undertaken using MaxEnt 3.3.3; a widely used species distribution modelling program that utilises presence records to generate probabilities of occurrence based on a suite of environmental variables quantified across the area of interest.

Dataset History

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.

The Darling River Hardyhead (Craterocephalus amniculus)is a small-bodied native fish that occurs in the upper tributaries of the Darling River near the Queensland-New South Wales border. A small population also occurs in the Hunter River catchment.TheHunterRiver catchment population is endangered- http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/species-protection/conservation/what-current/endangered-populations/darling-river-hardyhead.The methods used to create the predicted current distribution of Darling River Hardyhead (Craterocephalus amniculus) are described fully in: NSW Department of Primary Industries (2015), NSW Fish Community Status 2015 - Final Report.

The predicted current distribution ofDarling River Hardyhead (Craterocephalus amniculus) in the HunterRiver catchment,NSW. All available records of the species were collated and assessed for accuracy. For current distribution, only records after 1 January 1994 were used. Within the framework of the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric V2 surface hydrology network, the records were associated with attributes from the National Environmental Stream Attributes Database.Modelling the current geographic distribution of each listed threatened freshwater aquatic species or population was undertaken using MaxEnt 3.3.3; a widely used species distribution modelling program that utilises presence records to generate probabilities of occurrence based on a suite of environmental variables quantified across the area of interest.

The Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric V2 surface hydrology network (Geofabric) is a fully connected and directed stream network based a 9 second DEM. It allocates a unique stream segment number to each river reach in Australia. The Environmental Attributes Database is a set of lookup tables supplying attributes describing the natural and anthropogenic characteristics of the stream and catchment environment that was developed by the Australian National University (ANU) in 2011 and updated in 2012. The data is supplied as part of the supplementary Geofabric products which is associated with the 9 second DEM derived streams and the National Catchment Boundaries based on 250k scale stream network. 30 Stream variables were assessed for the modelling.

MaxEnt 3.3.3 is a widely used species distribution modelling program that utilises presence records to generate probabilities of occurrence based on a suite of environmental variables quantified across the area of interest. It was used to model the current geographic distribution of each listed threatened freshwater aquatic species or population. We utilised logistic output to plot the predicted distribution of each species. This output equates to a probability that the species will be observed in each river reach, given the environmental conditions that exist there relative to the environmental conditions where the species is known to occur. For this mapping, above 33% probability was considered predicted presence. In addition, predicted separate populations were connected by manual interpretation. The predicted values for each river reach were converted from the Geofabric framework to the higher resolution 2013 NSW Strahler Stream Order Hydroline.

Dataset Citation

NSW Department of Primary Industries (2015) Darling River Hardyhead Predicted Distribution in Hunter River Catchment NSW 2015. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 13 March 2019, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/643c6228-6435-4f5a-9f09-5f53efe234d2.