River Health in the New South Wales Lower North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast Catchments
A report of AusRivAS assessments 1994 - 1999
Grant Hose and Eren Turak
Environment Protection Agency, 2004
ISBN 0 642 55099 9 ISSN 1447-1280
Hunt579 - Wybong Creek at Hollydeen
Site Condition Summary
Wybong Creek is a tributary of the Goulburn River. This site on Wybong Creek was surrounded by grazing land. The riparian vegetation at the site was dominated by exotic species, with a few Casuarina sp. trees remaining as remnants of the former native vegetation community.
Water quality and instream habitat appeared degraded by siltation, encroaching exotic vegetation, willow roots and rubbish. Conductivity was high in both Autumn and Spring. Phosphorus concentration was also high when measured in Spring.
Macroinvertebrate communities were impaired in both Autumn and Spring (O/E-Taxa values 0.61 and 0.76 respectively). The result of the combined season model indicated a lesser degree of impairment. Riffle habitat was mostly bedrock and therefore not suitable for sampling.
Location Map
| Map Name | Sandy Hollow 9033-3-N |
| Map Zone | 56 |
| Map Scale | 1:25000 |
| Easting | 276300 |
| Northing | 6420300 |
| Distance from source (m) | 63117 |
| Elevation (m asl) | 120 |
| Average Annual Rainfall (mm) | 650 |
Sampling Data and Assessments
Single Season Assessments
| Autumn '99 | Spring '99 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5-May-99 | 15-Dec-99 | |
| O/E Taxa | 0.61 | 0.76 |
| Band | B | B |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.91 | 0.96 |
Riffle
Combined Season Assessments
| Seasons | AUT99SPR99 |
|---|---|
| Model | Eastern |
| O/E Taxa | 0.88 |
| Band | A |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.98 |
Riffle
Taxa Collected
X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted
| Autumn '99 | Spring '99 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phylum | Class/Order | Family | 5-May-99 | 15-Dec-99 |
| Arachnida | Hydracarina | X | O | |
| Crustacea | Decapoda | Atyidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Dytiscidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Elmidae | O | |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Gyrinidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydraenidae | + | |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydrophilidae | O | X |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Scirtidae | O | |
| Insecta | Collembola | Collembola | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Ceratopogonidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Chironominae | X | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Orthocladiinae | X | + |
| Insecta | Diptera | Simuliidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Stratiomyidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Tanypodinae | O | O |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Baetidae | X | O |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Caenidae | O | + |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Leptophlebiidae | O | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Corixidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Gerridae | O | O |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Hebridae | + | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Notonectidae | O | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Veliidae | X | O |
| Insecta | Odonata | Coenagrionidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Odonata | Gomphidae | O | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Calamoceratidae | O | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Hydropsychidae | + | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | X | X |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Physidae | + | |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Thiaridae | + |
Riffle
Water Quality Data
| Autumn '99 | Spring '99 | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | 5-May-99 | 15-Dec-99 |
| Water Temperature (°C) | 14 | 24.5 |
| Conductivity (µS/Cm) | 1223 | 1269 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | 9.4 | 6.1 |
| Alkalinity (mg CaCO3 /L) | 125 | 110 |
| pH | 8.56 | 8.32 |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 1.4 | 16.9 |
| Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L) | 200 | 250 |
| Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L) | 45 | 190 |
| NOx Nitrogen (µg/L) | 18 | 22 |
| Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| Ammonia (µg/L) | 14 | 6 |
| Nitrate (µg/L) | 17 | 22 |
| Nitrite (µg/L) | <1 | <1 |
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window