Resistance, resilience, and recovery
from drought
The popular view of droughts in Australia, and one
which has scientific support, is that they are a
perturbation to which aquatic biota are well adapted
(e.g. Humphries & Baldwin, 2003). Yet such expectations do not logically lead to the conclusion that
drought stricken ecosystems will rapidly recover.
Droughts put aquatic biota under increasing stress as
they represent progressive loss of aquatic habitat,
depletion of food resources and decline of water
quality, with an increased likelihood of biotic