Characterisation of stygofauna and microbial assemblages in the NT

Characterising groundwater ecosystems of the Beetaloo Sub-basin in the Northern Territory

This project delivered new information about the distribution and abundance of stygofauna, and characterised subterranean groundwater-dependent ecosystems, through a broad spatial pilot-scale survey of water bores in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin, using direct sampling and DNA-based approaches.

This project improved knowledge of stygofauna and subterranean groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Beetaloo Sub-basin and Roper River system, in line with the Final Report of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory (2018).

Stygofauna survey Beetaloo NT

Stygofauna survey Beetaloo NT

Stygofauna survey Beetaloo NT – CSIRO’s Dr Daryl Nielsen and Charles Darwin University’s Dr Stefanie Oberprieler sample groundwater