Golden perch recruitment in the Tala Creek system

Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) are a widespread medium to large fish found throughout the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), but like many riverine species, it has declined predominantly due to river regulation and associated threats. Central to management of golden perch populations across the Basin is an understanding of the drivers of spawning and recruitment.
Presently, the most plausible model driving large recruitment events, particularly in the Darling, lower Murray and Goulburn-Broken rivers, is the large scale spawning and riverine during flow pulses and freshes followed by settlement in floodplain lakes and wetlands (King, Tonkin et al. 2009, Zampatti and Leigh 2013, Koster, Dawson et al. 2014, Zampatti, Wilson et al. 2015, Koster, Dawson et al. 2017). In the Murrumbidgee River golden perch spawning coincides with rising water temperatures, but the relationship with flow pulses is inconclusive. This may be due to the sustained high flows that occur during the spawning period (Wassens et al 2022). However, there is evidence of opportunistic spawning and recruitment in floodplain and river environments during periods of lower flow. For example, spawning has been recorded in the Menindee Lakes in the absence of floods (Ebner, Scholz et al. 2009) and in lower flow years in the mid-Murray (Mallen-Cooper and Stuart 2003). The importance of this type of spawning to the broader population is unknown.