Skip to main content

ABC News: Disease threatens fish

Posted 
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
A big fish (cod?) under water
ABC News: Disease threatens fish

SUBJECTS:  Science, Technologies

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


Imagine what would happen if a deadly fish disease found its way into Australia's biggest river system.

Watch this clip to learn more about a disease threatening the ecology of the Murray-Darling River. Scientist, Professor Richard Whittington, explains that the disease could be the final straw for an endangered Australian fish species, the Murray cod. He discusses the use of genetic technology to understand more about the disease.


Things to think about

  1. 1.When a new fish disease enters a waterway it can have a devastating impact. How could a new disease find its way into a waterway? Aside from wild fish in rivers and lakes, what other fish might be affected by a new disease?
  2. 2.In the clip, customs' officers are shown going through bags at an airport. How does this link to the fish disease? Listen to Professor Richard Whittington's reasons for why scientists are so concerned about the disease. Why is the Murray cod at greatest danger?
  3. 3.Describe the impact disease can have on the ecology of waterways? Consider how this impact affects natural fish populations and people.
  4. 4.Research the Murray cod to find out what other factors have led to its population decline. Draw a food web that includes the Murray cod and show the effect if the species became extinct.



Date of broadcast: 9 Apr 2004


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).

Posted