Wetlands in the Goulburn Broken Catchment (Victoria) provide habitat for a diverse fauna assemblage including many of conservation significance. Environmental water is delivered to a number of these wetlands to provide more natural wetting regimes, which have been impacted by infrastructure development, diversions and drainage works. Acoustic monitoring has been routinely used since 2008 in wetlands of the Goulburn Broken Catchment as part of the management agency’s broader monitoring program to gauge fauna response to environmental water management deliveries.
Here I report on some of the ecological responses recorded using event-based acoustic monitoring at five wetlands that have received environmental water between 2008 and 2016. This information has provided insight to population dynamics and has given insight into species presence, activity periods and succession during periods of flooding, drawdown and drying at these ephemeral sites. In addition, the finding of distant anthrophony affecting some faunal vocalisations.
Acoustic monitoring has broadened our knowledge of these sites, assisted with natural resource management decision making, and improved the basis for future planning of environmental water deliveries.