Engaging Community Power to Monitor Lokeri/Freshwater Mussel (Velesunio Ambiguus) in the Great Southern Lakes (GSL)
RLCAG have initiated this project and are participating in the citizen science component of the project that will connect scientists, community and First Nations people in gaining a better understanding of an important but historically neglected freshwater species of the region.
The project is being funded through the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre and is led by Dr. Scott Wedderburn, The University of Adelaide.
Freshwater mussels are excellent indicators of the environmental health of river systems where they improve water quality and sediment health and are a food source for other animals. Lokeri (Velesunio Ambiguus) is one of 18 species of freshwater mussels in Australia, and it occurs over most of Eastern Australia including in the Great Southern Lakes (GSL) of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Based on anecdotal information, the Lokeri population of the GSL has not recovered since the Millennium Drought.
This project will garner the interest of landholders, community groups and the Ngarrindjeri community to redress the deficiency in knowledge regarding Lokeri in the GSL.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- Undertake citizen science baseline monitoring, and
- Link age and growth in Lokeri with environmental conditions.
River Lakes & Coorong Action Group Inc. 