Simon Townsend

BNR, PhD

• Research Interests
• Current Projects
• Recent Projects
• Publications
  • Papers
  • Book Chapters
  • Reports

Contact details
Email: simon.townsend@cdu.edu.au

Phone: (08) 8946 7619
Fax: (08) 8946 7455
Office: 31.3.18

Research interests

Simon Townsend is an aquatic scientist who is interested in developing an understanding and knowledge of tropical aquatic ecosystems to underpin their sound management. He has lived in Darwin for most of the last 25 years, employed with the Northern Territory Government. His research has covered the limnology of tropical reservoirs and floodplain lakes, the impact of fire on savanna woodland stream hydrology and water quality, incidence and cause of natural fish kills in tropical Australia, and freshwater algal ecology. In March 2008, Simon joined Charles Darwin University as a research fellow (aquatic ecology) with the TRaCK (Tropical Rivers and Coastal Research) group of the School of Environmental Research.

Current projects

Simon’s research is currently focused on primary production and food webs in tropical rivers, and the ecological significance of river flow as part of the TRaCK program of research.

Recent Projects

Nutrient limitation of benthic algae in the Daly River

Publications

Peer-reviewed papers

Townsend, S. A., Schult, J., Douglas, M. M. and Skinner, S. (2008). Does the Redfield ratio infer nutrient limitation in Spirogyra fluvitalis? Freshwater Biology . 53: 509-520.

Townsend, S. A. (2006). Hydraulic phases, persistent stratification and phytoplankton in a tropical floodplain lake (Mary River, northern Australia). Hydrobiologia 556, 163-179.

Townsend, S. A. and Padovan, A. V. (2005). The seasonal accrual and loss of benthic algae (Spirogyra) in the Daly River, an oligotrophic river in tropical Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 317-327.

Webster, I., Rea, N., Padovan, P., Dostine, P., Townsend, S., and Cook, S., (2005) An analysis of primary production in the Daly River, a relatively unimpacted tropical stream in Northern Australia, Marine and Freshwater Research, 56, 303-316.

Townsend, S. A. and Gell, P. A. (2005). The role of substrate type on benthic diatom assemblages in the Daly and Roper Rivers of the Australian wet/dry tropics. Hydrobiologia 548, 101-115.

Townsend, S. A., Douglas, M. M. and Setterfield, S. (2004). Catchment cover and stream water quality in an Australian tropical savanna: rapid recovery after a change to a less intensive fire regime. Ecological Management & Restoration 5, 136-138.

Townsend, S. A. and Douglas, M. M. (2004). The effect of a wildfire on stream water quality and catchment water yield in a tropical savanna excluded from fire for 10 years (Kakadu National Park, North Australia). Water Research 38, 3051-3058.

Townsend, S. A. and Edwards, C. A. (2003). A fish kill event, hypoxia and other limnological impacts associated with early wet season flow into a lake on the Mary River floodplain, tropical northern Australia. Lakes & Reservoirs: research and management 8, 169-179.

Townsend, S. A. (2002). Seasonal evaporative concentration of an extremely turbid water-body in the semi-arid tropics of Australia. Lakes and Reservoirs: research and management 7, 103-107.

Townsend, S. A. (2001). Perennial domination of phytoplankton by Botryococcus and Peridinium in a discontinuously polymictic reservoir (tropical Australia). Arch. Hydrobiol. 151, 529-548.

Townsend, S. A. and Douglas, M. M. (2000). The effect of three fire regimes on stream water quality, water yield and export coefficients in a tropical savanna (northern Australia). Journal of Hydrology 229, 118-137.

Townsend, S. A. (1999). The seasonal pattern of dissolved oxygen, and hypolimnetic deoxygenation, in two tropical Australian reservoirs. Lakes & Reservoirs: research and management 4, 41-53.

Townsend, S. A. (1999). The seasonal pattern, and inferred phosphorus limitation, of phytoplankton in two tropical Australian reservoirs. Marine and Freshwater Research.

Townsend, S. A. and Luong-van, J. T. (1998). Phytoplankton biomass and composition in Manton River Reservoir, a mesotrophic impoundment in the Australian wet/dry tropics. Internat. Rev. Hydrobiol. 83, 113-120.

Townsend, S. A. (1998). The influence of retention time and wind exposure on stratification and mixing in two tropical Australian reservoirs. Arch. Hydrobiol. 141, 353-371.

Townsend, S. A., Boland, K. T. and Luong-van, J. T. (1997). Wet and dry season heat loss in two tropical Australian reservoirs. Arch. Hydrobiol. 139, 51-68.

Townsend, S. A., Luong-van, J. T. and Boland, K. T. (1996). Retention time as a primary determinant of colour and light attenuation in two tropical Australian reservoirs. Freshwater Biology 36, 57-69.

Townsend, S. A. (1994). The occurrence of natural fish kills, and their causes, in the Darwin-Katherine-Jabiru region of northern Australia. Mitt. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 24, 197-205.

Townsend, S. A., Boland, K. T. and Wrigley, T. J. (1992). Factors contributing to a fish kill in the Australian wet/dry tropics. Water Research 26, 1039-1044.

Book Chapters

McKinnon, A. D., Smit, N., Townsend, S. and Duggan, S. (2006). Darwin Harbour water quality and ecosystem structure in a tropical harbour in the early stages of urban development. In The environment of Asia Pacific harbours (ed. E. Wolanski), pp. 433-460. Dordrecht: Springer.

Douglas, M. M., Townsend, S. A. and Lake, P. S. (2003). Streams. In Fire in Tropical Savannas; the Kapalga experiment (ed. A. N. Andersen, G. D. Cook and R. J. Williams), pp. 59-78. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Townsend, S. A. (1996). Metalimnetic and hypolimnetic deoxygenation in an Australian tropical reservoir of low trophic status. In Perspectives in tropical limnology (ed. F. Schiemer and K. T. Boland), pp. 151 - 160. Amsterdam: SPB Academic Publishing.

Reports

Schult, J., Townsend, S. A., Douglas, M. M., Webster, I. T., Skinner, S. and Casanova, M. (2007). Recommendations for nutrient resource condition targets for the Daly River: Charles Darwin University, Darwin.

Townsend, S., Stewart, G., Gell, P., Bickford, S., Tibby, J., Croome, R., Przybylska, M., Padovan, A. V. and Metcalfe, R. (2002). Periphyton and phytoplankton response to reduced dry season flows in the Daly River. Environmental Flows Project 22963. Department report 10/2003D. N.T. Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, Darwin.