Phytoplankton of the Dawson River and implications for future water quality monitoring and management within the Fitzroy River Catchment.

This project targeted the analysis of phytoplankton populations, flow regimes and river conditions at selected impounded and riverine sites along the Dawson River during 1997 and 1998 to examine differences between impounded and riverine waters and the factors which predispose to cyanoprokaryote blooms. Initially it was hoped to sample 2 impounded and 2 riverine sites, however, safety concerns associated with flow releases meant that only 1 impoundment (Moura Weir) and 1 riverine site (Woodleigh) could be studied in detail. The aim ofthis work was to identify general patterns in the data that are applicable to water management and control of factors triggering algal blooms throughout the Fitzroy River Catchment and build on the information already obtained in the previous Downstream Effects of Land Use in the Fitzroy Catchment project (Noble et al. 1997) -- Introduction.