Caring for Waterhole Creek Campaign

The Caring for Waterhole Creek campaign offers a valuable opportunity to utilize citizen science in order to promote pro-environmental values and collect important water quality data. This campaign is collaboration between the EPA and the WGCMA, and will draw support from local community and NGO’s in order to inform current and future management and regulatory practices regarding Waterhole Creek.

Monitoring Aims:

General
Understand existing environmental conditions of Waterhole Creek in order to inform current and future management practices regarding waterway health and biodiversity.

Specific
• Map the water quality of Waterway Creek throughout its three reaches
• Source-track water quality issues found during monitoring in order to identify the origins of environmental issues affecting Waterhole Creek
• Understand what fish species are present in the Waterhole Creek system
• Understand relative distribution and abundance of Dwarf Galaxias in Waterhole Creek and how this is influenced by seasonal changes in water and habitat availability
• Understand the relative distribution and abundance of Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck, Eastern Great Egret, and Azure Kingfisher throughout the Waterhole Creek watercourse
• Understand how habitat provided by vegetation changes over time and with season, and how this might influence the waterway’s health and faunal community

《守护水洞溪》（Caring for Waterhole Creek）行动提供了宝贵契机，可借助公民科学（citizen science）推广环保理念，并采集关键水质数据。本次行动由美国环境保护署（EPA）与WGCMA联合开展，将依托当地社区与非政府组织（Non-Governmental Organization，简称NGO）的支持，为水洞溪当前及未来的管理与监管工作提供决策依据。

监测目标：
### 总体目标
了解水洞溪现有环境状况，为该水道的健康与生物多样性相关的当前及未来管理实践提供支撑。

### 具体目标
• 绘制水洞溪全三段流域的水质分布
• 溯源监测过程中发现的水质问题，以明确影响水洞溪的环境问题根源
• 查明水洞溪水系中现存的鱼类物种
• 了解水洞溪内矮南乳鱼（Dwarf Galaxias）的相对分布与种群丰度，及其受水域与栖息地可获得性季节变化的影响情况
• 掌握蓝嘴鸭（Blue-billed Duck）、麝鸭（Musk Duck）、东方大白鹭（Eastern Great Egret）以及天蓝翠鸟（Azure Kingfisher）在水洞溪河道内的相对分布与种群丰度
• 了解植被所提供的栖息地如何随时间与季节变化，以及其对该水道健康与动物群落的影响