vii Contents Foreword v Preface ix Acknowledgements xi List of contributors xii Section 1 Natural history and ecology of the Lake Eyre Basin 1 1 The Lake Eyre Basin – one of the world’s great desert river systems 3 Richard T. Kingsford 2 Water – where, when, how much? Challenges in understanding and managing flow in rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin 19 Justin Costelloe 3 Fish distribution, status and threats in the rivers and springs of the Queensland Lake Eyre Basin 31 Adam Kerezsy 4 Natural flows drive the ‘boom and bust’ ecology of fish in Cooper Creek, an arid-zone floodplain river 43 Angela H. Arthington and Stephen R. Balcombe 5 Turtles of Cooper Creek – life in the slow lane 55 Arthur Georges and Fiorenzo Guarino 6 Developing the desert – potential effects on wildlife 63 Chris Dickman, Aaron Greenville and Glenda Wardle Section 2 Cultural and socio-economic dimensions of the rivers 75 7 Connecting the champions of the Lake Eyre Basin rivers 77 Richard T. Kingsford, Vol Norris and Michelle Rodrigo 8 Looking after the rivers – a view from nearly 50 000 years of experience 95 Scott Gorringe 9 Caring for our sacred waterways – learning from our past 103 Colin Saltmere 10 River sustainability – essential for the livelihoods of landholders 107 Angus Emmott