Dear Colleague,

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNPUBLISHED DIET DATA FOR
AUSTRALIAN FRESHWATER FISH SPECIES??
If so, read on.

We are currently undertaking a review of the diets of freshwater
fishes in Australia (native and introduced species).  The major aims
of the project are to:

1)  Summarise available information on the diets of native and
introduced freshwater fish in Australia (for those species for which
quantitative dietary data is available).  Particular emphasis will be
given to assessing the relative importance of allochthonous versus
autochthonous food sources. 2)  Examine the extent of regional
variation in fish diets.  Comparisons will be made between regions
defined at a range of hierarchical spatial scales but encompassing the
major drainage divisions of Australia. 3)  Examine the extent of
taxonomic or phylogenetic influence on fish diets. 4)  Examine the
degree of variation in trophic composition at various spatial scales
(i.e. between river and within-river) and assess relationships with
habitat (defined at macro and meso-scales). 5)  Provide a quantitative
classification of the trophic structure of freshwater fish species
with the aim of assessing the degree of trophic specialisation and the
ecological relevance of defining trophic guilds (e.g. detritvores,
planktivores, insectivores, piscivores, omnivores, etc) that may be of
use in assessments of river health (e.g. IBI).

We intend to publish in journal form, the results of this review and
expect that the review would be most useful to ecologists and
fisheries biologists.  Australian freshwater fish ecology currently
suffers from a lack of regional perspective and hence, it is often
difficult to place Australian studies in a wider context.  Reviews of
this nature may help to overcome this.

We have been trawling the published literature and are confident we
have obtained most (if not all) published dietary data.  We have also
obtained a large amount of information from unpublished reports and
other "grey" literature, however this type of information is often
difficult to obtain.  We have also noted a dearth of information for
species from certain regions in Australia (particularly, species from
the Murray-Darling basin and north-western Australia).

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNPUBLISHED DATA ON FISH DIETS
(Australian native & or introduced species) THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO
MAKE AVAILABLE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS REVIEW?

Please note that we are interested only in quantitative data, no
anecdotal information will be used in our analyses.  All unpublished
material will be duly acknowledged and very much appreciated.

If you can help, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
Please respond directly to Mark Kennard (not this email list!!!).

Thanks in advance,
Mark kennard
Brad Pusey
Angela Arthington

Centre for Catchment and In-Stream Research
Faculty of Environmental Sciences
Griffith University
Kessels Rd, Nathan, 4111
Queensland, Australia.
Ph. 61 7 3875 7401
Fax. 61 7 3875 7615
email: [log in to unmask]


P.S. apologies for cross-postings

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