Factors contributing to a fish kill in the Australian wet/dry tropics

S. A. Townsend, K. T. Boland and T. J. Wrigley
Water research
26, 8, p1039-1044, 1992-08

The hydrological and limnological factors associated with the death of 5000 fish, comprising 18 species, in Donkey Camp Pool on the Katherine River NT after the 1987-88 wet season are discussed. On the evidence presented, the fish kill is primarily related to natural causes associated with low oxygen concentrations in the pool resulting from the displacement of pool water with cooler runoff from the Maude Creek catchments which carried a substantial organic load and had a high oxygen demand. Humic compound toxicity may have also contributed. The event highlights the potential impact of storm runoff on receiving waters in the wet/dry tropics.