Mogurnda clivicola (Flinders Ranges Mogurnda): growth rate in the wild and further results of a monitoring program

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mogurnda clivicola (Flinders Ranges Mogurnda) inhabits three spring-fed water hole systems of two otherwise dry creek beds in the northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia. Between 2017 and 2022, the fish were monitored for breeding and growth and indicators of water quality. Heavy rainfall events in February 2020, November 2021 and January 2022 led to at least two creek floods which stimulated large scale spawning on two occasions during the monitoring period. One and a half months after spawning, young fish had grown to between 1.5 and 2.5 cm in length and then between 7.5 and 9.0 cm in length by 27 months of age. Water flow between pools in the creek during the floods, allowed the fish to move into downstream pools of water that have not previously held fish during the study period. A thorough sampling of fish length frequency to comprehensively sample age ranges in the population is easily achieved by combining two capture methods dip-nets and baited fish traps. A small proportion of fish have skin lesions, but their prevalence does not seem to be increasing.