The development of a standardised means of collecting, analysing and presenting riverine, coastal and estuarine assessments of ecological condition has been identified as a key need for coastal Local Councils who are required to monitor natural resource condition, and water quality and quantity in these systems. Forty-four study sites were selected across the Macleay catchment; 32 freshwater sites and 12 estuarine sites and these were sampled 6 times from April 2015 to February 2016 to contribute to the assessment of the ecological condition of the catchment.

The Macleay River Catchment was divided into four major hydrological units across 22 subcatchments: Tablelands, Macleay River main stem, freshwater tributaries and the estuarine tributaries. The project aimed to:

• Assess the health of coastal catchments using standardised indicators and reporting for estuaries, and freshwater river reaches using hydrology, water quality, riparian vegetation and habitat quality, geomorphic condition and macroinvertebrate assemblages as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health, and
• Contribute scientific information to the development of a report card system for communicating the health of the estuarine and freshwater systems in the Macleay catchment.

The development of a standardised means of collecting, analysing and presenting riverine, coastal and estuarine assessments of ecological condition has been identified as a key need for coastal Local Councils who are required to monitor natural resource condition, and water quality and quantity in these systems. Thirty-one study sites were selected across the Nambucca River and Deep Creek catchments; 18 freshwater sites and 13 estuarine sites and these were sampled 6 times from July 2016 to June 2017 to contribute to the assessment of the ecological condition of the catchment.

The Nambucca Ecohealth program was divided into six major hydrological units across nine subcatchments: Nambucca River (North Arm), tributaries of the Nambucca North Arm, Taylors Arm, tributaries of Taylors Arm, and Warrell Creek in the Nambucca catchment; and Deep Creek, an ICOLL (Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon) to the north of the Nambucca catchment. The project aimed to:

• Assess the health of coastal catchments using standardised indicators and reporting for estuaries, and freshwater river reaches using hydrology, water quality, riparian vegetation and habitat quality, geomorphic condition and macroinvertebrate assemblages as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health, and
• Contribute scientific information to the development of a report card system for communicating the health of the estuarine and freshwater systems in the Nambucca River and Deep Creek catchments.

Context. Understanding fire and inundation impacts on wetland vegetation communities is crucial for effective post-fire wetland management. Aims. We aimed to determine the impact of post-fire inundation on plant community structure and seedling germination and establishment after a large wildfire. We asked two questions, namely (1) did fire, drought or inundation affect plant communities the most; and (2) did fire or inundation affect seedling germination and establishment? Methods. Using a before–after–control–impact (BACI) design, we monitored vegetation changes in water-couch wetland communities before and after a wildfire. Also, soil samples were collected from burnt and unburnt sites and assessed for impacts of fire and post-fire inundation regimes on seed germination and seedling establishment. Key results. Inundation variables had more pronounced and more consistent impacts on vegetation measures than did fire or drought variables. Fire impacts were mainly short-term, with impact thresholds at 72 and 143 days after fire. Low germination levels and zero seedling survival were observed without inundation. Conclusions. Fire was a major but short-term contributor to wetland vegetation change, whereas drought had longer-term impacts, and inundation regimes had the greatest impacts. Implications. Providing a range of inundation conditions post-fire may enhance wetland vegetation recovery and have modifying effects on invasive species.

The development of a standardised means of collecting, analysing and presenting riverine, coastal and estuarine assessments of ecological condition has been identified as a key need for coastal Local Councils who are required to monitor natural resource condition, and water quality and quantity in these systems. Thirty-four study sites were selected across the Port Macquarie region; 15 freshwater sites and 19 estuarine sites and these were sampled 12 times from May 2014 to June 2015 to contribute to the assessment of the ecological condition of the catchment.

The Port Macquarie region comprises three catchments - the Hastings River, Lake Cathie - Lake Innes, and the Camden Haven River. These were divided into 14 subcatchments for reporting: Hastings River, Forbes River, Ellenborough River, Thone River, Pappinbarra River, Mortons Creek, Wilson River, Maria River and Limeburners Creek in the Hastings catchment; Lake Cathie - Lake Innes; and the Camden Haven River, Upsalls Creek, Black Creek and estuarine lagoons Watson Taylors Lake, Queens Lake and Gogleys Lagoon in the Camden Haven catchment. The project aimed to:

• Assess the health of coastal catchments using standardised indicators and reporting for estuaries, and freshwater river reaches using hydrology, water quality, riparian vegetation and habitat quality, geomorphic condition and macroinvertebrate assemblages as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health, and
• Contribute scientific information to the development of a report card system for communicating the health of the estuarine and freshwater systems in the Port Macquarie region.

The Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program (Ecohealth) is a comprehensive estuarine and freshwater monitoring program that reports on the health of our waterways. The Ecohealth program includes a number of physical, chemical and biological indicators to determine the health of waterways. The combination of waterway health indicators that identify short-term (water chemistry), intermediate-term (zooplankton, macroinvertebrates), and long-term responses (fish, geomorphology and riparian vegetation) provides a robust program for quantifying, reporting and communicating waterway health, and prioritising management actions.

The Ecohealth Monitoring Program outlines a framework for the development of a catchment-based aquatic health monitoring program for rivers and estuaries with the aim of providing consistency in monitoring and reporting, and establishing the partnerships required for local and regional dissemination of outcomes. The development and application of specific monitoring frameworks, and standardised data collection, analysis and reporting underpins the Ecohealth program. This standardised approach facilitates an effective reporting mechanism to communicate water quality and resource condition information to the wider public, stakeholders and managers.

Ecohealth enhances the ability of natural resource managers to monitor, measure and report on ecosystem health by establishing a statistically-valid and quality assured sampling regime. The benefits of a standardised, region-wide system include:

The products generated by the Ecohealth program cover high-level scientific technical reports that provide an in-depth presentation and analysis of data collected, as well as Ecohealth Report Cards that aim to clearly disseminate waterway health outcomes and management initiatives to engage with local communities. In addition to communication products, Ecohealth also provides a scientifically robust dataset as the basis for State of Catchment (SoC) and State of Environment (SoE).

Increased need for freshwater for human uses from the mid-1900s has severely impacted rivers and floodplain wetlands so that they are some of the most seriously degraded environments in the world. Research and monitoring in this area to date has focused on understanding 'flow-ecology' relationships, without investigating the mechanisms underlying them. The use of species traits offers a tool for defining mechanistic connections between biotic responses and environmental conditions. We examined nine macroinvertebrate trait categories in both wetlands and channels to determine whether their profiles responded to hydrology in the Gwydir River system in the northern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Trait responses were shown for the wetlands but not the river channels. Twelve traits showed positive relationships with the time the wetlands were connected to their river channels. It is unclear the reason(s) why the river channel invertebrate traits did not respond to hydrology. However, the use of environmental flows in the river systems may be important to other aspects of macroinvertebrate assemblages such as their role in food webs to support higher-order consumers.