Research interests

• Freshwater Fish Ecology
• Fish passage and migration
• Developing effective techniques for stocking
• Developing innovative methods for fish assessments
• Quantifying and mitigating human impacts on riverine ecosystems
• Floodplain management in the Lower Mekong Basin

Background

Lee Baumgartner is a Freshwater Fish Ecologist based at the Narrandera Fisheries Centre who designs, supervises and undertakes into various aspects of the biology and ecology of freshwater fish in New South Wales.

Lee joined NSW Fisheries in 1997 and took up a scientific role at Narrandera in 1999 investigating innovative fish passage solutions for fish of the Murray-Darling Basin. He manages a suite of research projects which aim to improve the management of freshwater fish communities in NSW. A recent outcome of that research has been an invitation to contribute to resolving similar issues in the Lower Mekong Basin in SE Asia.

His research has been in several broad areas, including fish passage and fish migration, dietary interactions among native fish species, the impact of human disturbance on aquatic ecosystems and the effectiveness of stocking native fish into rivers and impoundments. Lee’s work has also focused on developing innovative methods for assessment (such as the adaptation of sonar technology to studies of migrating fish) and improving existing fish collection techniques.

Lee represents the department on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's Fish Passage Task Force, Barmah-Millewa Technical advisory body and Murray Cod Fishery Management group. He sits on six project steering committees and is a member of the Australian Society for Fish Biology.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. (Biological Science) – Deakin University, 1996 
• B.Sc (Aquatic Science with Honours) – Deakin University, 1997
• PhD Applied Ecology – University of Canberra, 2005

Current projects

• Murray River Fishway Assessment Project
• Quantification of Native Fish in Irrigation Offtakes
• Mortality of native fish during downstream migrations
• Improving freshwater recreational fishery management
• Development of fish passage criteria for fish in the Mekong River
• Assessment of Fish Migration in the Nepean River
• Development of a predatory impact model to optimise stocking rates of Australian Bass
• Improvement of PIT tag technology for fisheries research
• Assessment of Snowy River Bass Re-stocking
  

Recent Publications

Baumgartner LJ, Boys CA, Stuart IG, Zampatti BP. (2010) Evaluating migratory fish behaviour and fishway performance: testing a combined assessment methodology. Australian Journal of Zoology 58: 154-164.

Baumgartner LJ, Reynoldson NK, Cameron L and Stanger J. (2009). Effects of high and low-volume irrigation pumps on riverine fish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 16: 429-437.

Baumgartner LJ, Stuart, IG & Zampatti B. (2008). Using electrofishing to determine diel variation of fish assemblages in a regulated lowland river. Journal of Fish Biology 72: 218-232.

Stuart IG, Baumgartner LJ and Zampatti, BP. (2008). Lock gates improve passage of small-bodied fish and crustaceans in a low-gradient vertical slot fishway. Fisheries Management and Ecology 15: 241-248.

Stuart IG, Zampatti BP and Baumgartner LJ (2008) Can a low gradient vertical-slot fishway provide passage for a lowland river fish assemblage? Marine and Freshwater Research 59 (4): 332-346.

Baumgartner L and Harris J (2007). Passage of non-salmonid fish through a Deelder lock in a large lowland river, Australia. River Research and Applications 23: 1058-1069

Baumgartner LJ, Gilligan DM and Reynoldson N (2006). Mortality of Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) and golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) associated with downstream passage through a low-level weir. Marine and Freshwater Research 57: 187-191.

Baumgartner LJ (2006) An assessment of population estimation techniques to quantify temporal variation in fish accumulations downstream of a low-head weir. Fisheries Management and Ecology 13 (6): 355-364

Baumgartner LJ (2006) Diet and feeding habits of predatory fishes upstream and downstream of a low-level weir. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 879-894.

Professional associations and activities

• Australian Society for Fish Biology
• Fish Passage Task Force
• Barmah-Millewa Technical Advisory Committee
• Murray cod fishery management group
  

Fields of Research

• 060204 Freshwater Ecology
• 070402 Aquatic Ecosystem Studies and Stock Assessment
• 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity
• 050211 Wildlife and Habitat Management
• 050205 Environmental Management 
• 050207 Environmental Rehabilitation (excl. Bioremediation)

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Fishway
• Migration
• Stocking
• Freshwater Ecology
• Fish Biology
• Riverine Ecology
• Human disturbance
• Sonar
• Fisheries Techniques