Darren Ryder
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences
Contact
| Email: | dryder2@une.edu.au |
| Room: | W55 311 |
| Phone: | 02 6773 5226 (or +61 2 6773 5226 overseas) |
| Fax: | 02 6773 2769 |
Qualifications:
- Graduate Certificate of Higher Education - University of New England
- PhD. Environmental Management - Edith Cowan University
- B.App.Sc. (Hons. 1) Environmental Management - Edith Cowan University
Introduction:
I am a freshwater ecologist having researched organic matter and nutrient cycling in south-west Australian swamps and wetlands, as well as inland and coastal rivers of south-east Australia such as the Murrumbidgee and Hunter Rivers, and the Macquarie Marshes . My research is focussed on algal and microbial biofilm ecology, and their use as bioindicators for assessing environmental flows and river restoration, their role in aquatic processes such as stream metabolism and food webs, and as an example in the debate of ecosystem structure versus function.
In January 2003 I joined Ecosystem Management as a lecturer. I am co-ordinator for Ecosystem Rehabilitation and Aquatic Ecology, and co-teach Principles of Ecology, Limnology, and the Water Module for first year Rural Science and Natural Resources. I supervise a number of post graduate and fourth year projects in aspects of aquatic ecology and restoration ecology.
Areas of Teaching
EM 351/551 - Ecosystem Rehabilitation
ECOL 210/510 - Principles of Ecology
ECOL 202/502 - Aquatic Ecology
EM 454/554 - Limnology
RSNR 110 - Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment (Water Module)
RSNR 120 - Sustainable Resource Use and Environmental management (Water Module)
Research interests
My research is focussed on the ecology of algal and microbial biofilms in wetland and river systems. Biofilms or 'slime' are simply bacteria, fungi, algae, unicellular animals and detritus growing on submerged wood, leaves, stones and sediments . Where there is lots of light, biofilms will be dominated by algae, but in turbid rivers light availability is reduced biofilms may be dominated by bacteria and fungi.
Biofilms can be sampled easily and rapidly, occur on all sumberged surfaces,and have short life cycles allowing a rapid response to changing conditions. Best of all we can measure both the algal and microbial biodiversity of a biofilm and the functions the biofilm is performing (nutrient recycling, oxygen production or food production for bugs). This information can be collected, processed and analysed at time scales relevant to both scientific and management interests. For these reasons biofilms provide useful information to scientists and managers, and form the basis of my research projects examining river health, environmental flows and river restoration.
Some projects I am involved in are:
Detecting ecological impacts of water extraction on river ecosystem structure and function: Validating a novel decision-making protocol.
In partnership with ARC and North Coast Water.
In 1997, after approximately 70 years of unrestricted water extraction from the Nymboida River weir pool, environmental flow rules were implemented to limit water extraction during naturally low-flow or drought periods. This project aims to develop a monitoring program for the Nymboida River that will assess whether these new environmental flow rules are effective at improving the health of the river downstream of the weir or whether more stringent flow protection rules are required. The findings of this research will be incorporated into a long-term monitoring program to track changes in river health and guide management decisions.
This project will investigate biofilm (the assemblage of algae, bacteria, fungi and detritus attached to rocks) and macroinvertebrates as indicators of ecological change in response to different flow regimes. A key motivation for researching biofilm is the potential links that can be made between structural measures (e.g., biomass, species richness) and measures of ecosystem processes (e.g., community respiration, primary production). Macroinvertebrates are a well-recognised and frequently-used river assessment tool and therefore allow our findings to be interpreted in the context of other studies and long-term monitoring surveys (e.g., AusRivAS)
Setting rehabilitation targets for regulated floodplain wetlands: Linking system structure and function.
In partnership with ARC, NSW DIPNR, NSW DEC (EPA and NPWS) and NSW DPI (Fisheries).
Limited understanding of ecosystem processes in Australian floodplain river systems impedes adaptive management strategies for combating the decline in aquatic productivity and biodiversity. This project addresses three knowledge gaps critical for effective river system management: 1) hierarchical spatial and temporal patterns of structural diversity; 2) correspondence between patterns of structural diversity, rates of system production and food web structure and 3) conceptual model of the relationship between hydrologic regime and wetland structure and function. The project will improve our understanding of the impacts of regulation on floodplain wetlands, in particular the Macquarie Marshes, and contribute to effective adaptive management and the delivery of environmental flows for ecosystem sustainability.
Complex systems dynamics: restoring riverine and riparian ecosystems.
In partnership with ARC, Macquarie University, Griffith University, Hunter - Central Rivers CMA, NSW DIPNR, NSW DPI (Fisheries), Mt. Arthur Coal, Bengalla Coal, Macquarie Generation, Green Corps, Department of Lands, and Newcastle Port Corporation.
Attempts to restore damaged ecosystems reveal inadequacies in theories describing ecosystem structure and function. For rivers, it is unclear whether theories relating to fluvial geomorphology and ecosystem dynamics are adequate to predict system trajectories following restoration. We are using empirical data on a degraded section of the Hunter River NSW, to develop cross scale models of system function, and predictions of ecosystem structure and function following restoration. Following revegetation of riparian habitats and replacement of large woody debris in in-stream habitats of the river, we will test theoretical predictions about changes to physical processes, biotic community assemblage rules and ecosystem processes driving food webs to develop improved ecosystem-based restoration guidelines.
Integrated impacts of flow and contaminants on riverine ecosystem production.
In Partnership with Land and Water Australia/Murray Darling Basin Commission, CSIRO Land and Water, NSW DIPNR.
Catchment degradation and altered flow regimes have resulted in many Australian rivers containing highly modified sources and concentrations of contaminants such as nutrients, salts and sediments. Just how these contaminants influence fundamental processes such as biological energy sources and transformations critical to the functioning of floodplain rivers are poorly understood. This project seeks to address this profound knowledge gap, and package the information generated in a form that can be readily applied in the context of river management. This project will identify (1) key sources and sinks of nutrients, sediment and salts 2) dominant sites and pathways of ecosystem primary production and 3) individual and synergistic effects of flow and contaminants on ecosystem production in floodplain rivers. Research outcomes will contribute to improved policy formulation and the better on-ground management of rivers by developing protocols and models for the management of regulated floodplain rivers to sustain processes vital to improving river health. www.rivers.gov.au
Developing indicators of river health: the response of biofilms and their consumers to river flow management.
In Partnership with ARC, CSU, NSW DEC (EPA), NSW DIPNR and Centre for Natural Resources, and Murrumbidgee and Central West CMA's.
The development of biological indicators to assess the ecological condition of lowland river systems across NSW is the focus of this research project.. We are testing whether functional aspects of littoral biofilms can be used as reliable ecological indicators of flow management in floodplain rivers. Specifically we are examining whether there are predictable, directional responses of 1) biofilm metabolism (the balance of autotrophy and heterotrophy), 2) biofilm enzyme activity and 3) grazing on biofilms by higher consumer organisms to different river flows. Research focuses on the structure (algal and total biomass, algal taxonomy) and function (algal and bacterial metabolism) of biofilms and the response of invertebrate consumers (diversity, biomass, trophic structure) to changes in biofilm attributes. Research is being conducted on five rivers, the regulated Murrumbidgee and Macquarie Rivers, and the Ovens and Talbragar Rivers and Tarcutta Creek as minimally impacted rivers.
Assessment of environmental flows in the Murrumbidgee River: Developing biological indicators of river flow management.
In Partnership with CSU, NSW Water Management Fund, NSW DIPNR and Centre for Natural Resources, and Murrumbidgee and Central West CMA's.
Environmental flows have been implemented in many parts of Australia to reduce the impacts of water regulation and extraction on river health. Determining the ecological responses to environmental flows is paramount in assessing the effectiveness of managed flows for restoring riverine ecosystems. The response of ecosystem processes (transport and transformations of organic carbon, bacterial and algal metabolism and aquatic food web structure) to river flow management were the focus this project. Research focussed on developing these ecosystem processes as biological indicators of river health and formed part of a broader project examining a range of biological indicators. Algae (attached algae) and bacteria are suited as biological indicators as they form the basis of many riverine food webs and can respond to environmental change quickly, but may also integrate the effects of disturbance over much larger scales of space and time. Biofilms were examined in upland and lowland reaches of the Murrumbidgee River and models produced to predict biofilm structure and function relative to hydrological conditions. This research project was funded by the NSW Water Management Fund and the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC). The results from this research project have been incorporated into statewide DLWC monitoring programs. The research report is available on cd-rom or at http://life.csu.edu.au/riverina/jcreports.html.
Ecological Assessment of Variable Flow Releases in the Mitta Mitta River, Victoria
In Partnership with the Murray Darling Basin Commission and River Murray Water.
River Murray Water (RMW) are trialing variable water releases from Dartmouth Dam into the Mitta Mitta River to attempt to mimic natural flow variability and drive the ecological processes necessary for river rehabilitation. Biological indicators developed in other river systems are being used to assess the effectiveness of environmental flow releases in the Mitta Mitta River. A suite of biological indicators incorporating biofilm structure (algal and total biomass, algal taxonomy) and function (algal and bacterial metabolism), algal and bacterial productivity in the water column and macroinvertebrates is being examined to determine the ecological response of water releases and refine indicator selection for future monitoring. This research is funded by the Murray Darling Basin Commission. www.mdbc.gov.au
Qualifications
Publications
Peer Reviewed
18. Ryder D S, Watts R J, Nye E & Burns A (In Press) Can flow velocity regulate biofilm structure in a regulated lowland river? Marine and Freshwater Research.
17. Watts, R J & Ryder D S (submitted) Relationships between mayfly larvae community attributes and hydrological variables at four temporal scales in an Australian river system. Freshwater Biology.
16. Ryder, D S & Boulton A J (in press) Resetting the limnological balance: Trends in aquatic ecology, conservation and management in Australia, Hydrobiologia.
15. Ryder D S & Miller W (in press) Setting goals and measuring success:linking patterns and processes in stream restoration. Hydrobiologia
14. Jenkins K, Boulton A J & Ryder D S (in press) A common parched future: Research and management of Australia’s arid wetlands, Hydrobiologia.
13. Wilson A, Ryder D S, Watts R J & Stevens M (in press) Aquatic food web dynamics in irrigated agroecosystems. Aquatic Ecology.
12. Boulton A J & Ryder D S. (in press) Experimental approaches in aquatic litter decomposition studies: modification of hydrological regimes. In M O Gessner (Ed) Methods in Ecology – Litter Decomposition. Blackwell Scientific.
11. Wolfenden B, Mika S, Boulton A, & Ryder D (2004) Rehabilitating riverine organic matter dynamics in the Hunter River, NSW. 4th Australian Stream management Conference.
10. Brierley G, Miller C, Brooks A, Fryirs K, Boulton A, Ryder D, Leishman M, Keating D & Lander J (2004). Making integrative, cross-disciplinary research happen: Initial lessons from the Upper Hunter River Rehabilitation Initiative. 4th Australian Stream management Conference
9. Ryder D S (2004) Response of biofilm metabolism to water level variability in a regulated floodplain river. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 23 (2) 214-223.
8. Boulton, A J., Mika, S., Ryder, D.S. & Wolfenden, B (2004) Raising the dead: can we restore the health of subsurface aquatic ecosystems by recovering geomorphic complexity using conventional rehabilitation techniques? In (ed G Albrecht) The Airs Waters Places Conference Proceedings, 41-61.
7. Watts R J & Ryder D S (2001) Developing biological indicators for the assessment of environmental flows. Australian Journal of Water Resources 5 (1) 119 – 122.
6. Burns A & Ryder D S (2001). Response of extracellular enzymes to artificial inundation of floodplain sediments from a regulated lowland river. Freshwater Biology 46 (10), 1299-1307.
5. Burns A & Ryder D S (2001). The emergence of biofilms as a monitoring tool in Australian riverine systems. Ecological Restoration and Management, 2 (1), 53-63.
4. Horwitz P, Pemberton M & Ryder D S (1998) Catastrophic loss of organic carbon from a management fire in a peatland in south-western. In (Eds. A.J. McComb and J. Davis) Wetlands for the Future, 428-439, UWA Press: Perth.
3. Lund M A & Ryder D S (1997) Can artificially generated gilvin (Gelbstoffe, g4401) be used as a tool for lake restoration? Verh. Internat. Verein Limnol., 26: 731-735.
2. Ryder D S & Horwitz P (1995) Seasonal water regimes and leaf litter processing in a wetland on the swan coastal plain. Marine and Freshwater Research, 46: 1077-84.
1. Ryder D S & Horwitz P (1995) Diurnal stratification of Lake Jandabup, a coloured wetland on the swan coastal plain, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 78: 99-101.
Technical Reports & Other
Ryder, Watts , Nye and Robertson (2005) Developing indicators of river health: responses of biofilms and their consumers to river flow management – Final report to ARC and Industry Partners, 37pp.
Ryder, Nye and Watts (2005) Developing indicators of river health: responses of biofilms and their consumers to river flow management – Methods Protocol nfor NSW IMEF, 17pp.
Burns, Ryder and Warner (2005) Algal management strategy for Walcha Sewerage Treatment Facility. Final Report to Walcha Council, 19pp.
Jenkins, Asmus, Ryder & Wolfenden (2004). Fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Macquarie Marshes, NSW. Final Report to the Macquarie Marshes Management Committee and NSW Fisheries, 33pp.
Sutherland, Ryder & Watts (2002) Ecological assessment of variable flow releases in the Mitta Mitta River, Victoria. Report to the MDBC.
Watts, Ryder, Chisholm & Lowe (2001) Assessment of Environmental Flows for the Murrumbidgee River : Developing Indicators of river flow management. Report to NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.