Abstract
Groundwater, the water stored beneath the Earth’s surface, is an important resource worldwide, and especially so in Australia, where over 70% of the continent is arid or semi-arid, annual rainfall is low (< 500mm) and surface waters are scarce. In addition to supporting terrestrial, aquatic and subterranean ecosystems, known as groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs), groundwater supports human settlements and many industries, including agriculture, horticulture, mining and gas and oil extraction. Despite the importance of groundwater across inland Australia, the fact that it is stored underground means that it is often ‘out of sight and out of mind’.
Although groundwater biota and groundwater ecology are the subject of an increasing number studies (eg Boulton et al. 2008, Humphreys 2009, Tomlinson and Boulton 2010, Nwankwoala 2012) changes in groundwater quality and quantity and their effects on the ecosystem that exists within aquifers remain poorly understood. In addition to micro-organisms (largely Bacteria, Protozoa and algae) and biofilms (an aggregation of micro-organisms), groundwater houses a range of aquatic invertebrates collectively known as stygofauna. These are mainly crustaceans (notably amphipods, copepods and ostracods but also isopods, syncarids and decapods), as well as a range of worms (nematodes, annelids and platyhelminthes), molluscs, mites, beetles and occasionally fish. Stygofaunal communities are considered important as a biodiversity resource, as indicators of groundwater health and as providers of ecosystem goods and services (Glanville et al. 2016, Smith et al. 2016).
Although groundwater biota and groundwater ecology are the subject of an increasing number studies (eg Boulton et al. 2008, Humphreys 2009, Tomlinson and Boulton 2010, Nwankwoala 2012) changes in groundwater quality and quantity and their effects on the ecosystem that exists within aquifers remain poorly understood. In addition to micro-organisms (largely Bacteria, Protozoa and algae) and biofilms (an aggregation of micro-organisms), groundwater houses a range of aquatic invertebrates collectively known as stygofauna. These are mainly crustaceans (notably amphipods, copepods and ostracods but also isopods, syncarids and decapods), as well as a range of worms (nematodes, annelids and platyhelminthes), molluscs, mites, beetles and occasionally fish. Stygofaunal communities are considered important as a biodiversity resource, as indicators of groundwater health and as providers of ecosystem goods and services (Glanville et al. 2016, Smith et al. 2016).
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 2020 |