Prawn parade: notes on Macrobrachium australiense Holthius, 1950 climbing vertical concrete overflow steps at Gold Creek Reservoir, Queensland

Abstract

The freshwater palaemonid shrimp, Macrobrachium australiense, is widespread throughout eastern Australian freshwater catchments. Population genetic structure suggests limited dispersal ability, despite its broad distribution, with one case of observed springtime climbing migration at Queensland’s Dawson Weir. Here, we describe a second record of observed climbing migration, from Queensland’s Gold Creek Reservoir in August 2018. We discuss the likely causes of these migrations, agreeing with Lee and Fielder’s (1979) assessment of intermittent current stimulus and collective rheotactic response leading to mass climbing towards current source.