Stormwater drainage pipes as a threat to a stream-dwelling amphipod of conservation significance, Austrogammarus australis, in southeastern Australia

Abstract

The general hypothesis that catchment urbanization explained the distribution of the threatened, stream-dwelling amphipod Austrogammarus australis (listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988) was tested using several surveys of 58 sites in streams draining the Dandenong Ranges on the eastern fringe of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. More specifically, four catchment-scale elements of urban land, hypothesized as sources of stress to receiving streams, were separated: catchment imperviousness, drainage connection (proportion of impervious areas connected to streams by stormwater pipes), density of unsealed roads and density of septic tanks. The degree to which each attribute independently and jointly explained the occurrence of A. australis was assessed using hierarchical partitioning of logistic regression analyses. Drainage connection independently best explained the occurrence of A. australis, pointing to stormwater drainage design as the priority area of catchment management for the conservation of the species. The separation of urban land use into attributes that characterize likely stressor sources provides a useful framework for assessing and prioritizing the most appropriate management actions to minimize urban-related stresses to aquatic biota.