How healthy river habitats suffer from altered flows.

The article discusses the extinction of aquatic habitat. The Murray-Darling system, with its extensive wetlands, once supported thriving commercial fisheries that harvested prized native species like Murray Cod. The commercial native fishery in New South Wales was closed in 2001 to protect surviving populations. Freshwater fisheries collapse when the society puts a high value on a river's "ecosystem services".When these are neglected in favor of the value of extracted water, decline is inescapable. Water birds and other river fauna are less abundant and species richness has fallen in many wetlands because of fewer breeding opportunities. Murray crayfish, unfortunately, are now locally extinct in the lower Murray reaches in South Australia. INSET: Natural flows are vital for floodplain wetlands.