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7.30: Dam threatens ancient lungfish

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A lungfish swims underwater
7.30: Dam threatens ancient lungfish

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  5–6, 7–8


Explore the issues around the construction of the Traveston Dam in Queensland with Professor Jean Joss and former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.

In this 2006 news report they outline arguments for and against the construction of the dam and how it would affect one of the few remaining homes of a 150-million- year-old species, the Australian lungfish ('Neoceradotus forsteri').


Things to think about

  1. 1.Why might Queensland's government propose a large dam on the Mary River in the south-eastern coastal area of the state? How might the dam affect the habitats of the living things, plants and animals in the area?
  2. 2.What reasons are given for how the building of the Traveston Dam would specifically interfere with the life cycle of the Australian lungfish? What engineering mechanism, which Peter Beattie proposes be built into the dam's wall, does he say would allow the lungfish to continue to breed?
  3. 3.What were Professor Jean Joss's main reasons for being opposed to the construction of the Traveston Dam? The Traveston Dam project was opposed strongly by the local community, and by others nationally and internationally. It was abandoned by the Queensland Government in late 2009 after Peter Garrett, then the Australian Government's environment minister, refused to approve it. Why do you think the local community and others opposed the dam project? What role do you think science played in this decision?
  4. 4.Why is the Australian lungfish considered a living fossil? How might having a lung be beneficial to the Australian lungfish's survival? Find out more about this ancient fish species.



Date of broadcast: 22 Jun 2006


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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