The project aims to determine, what parts of the Murray Darling Basin act as refugia habitats for water dependent species. In this context we consider refugia to be areas where species and communities can persist during low/no flow and then recover, disperse, and recolonise from once flow returns. To achieve our aim, we will first characterise refugia based on existing definitions developed by government management authorities. By synthesising the difference definitions of refugia into a single framework, we hope to account for the natural variation across the basins and capitalize on local knowledge. At the same time, we will map where refugia are under different flow conditions using spatial analysis techniques to link spatial and temporal variation in hydrology to the condition, location, and connectivity of refugia habitat. We will then prioritize refugia for management based on their importance for different taxa and ecological process and based on their specific characteristics, including ecosystem type and infrastructure constraints. The outcomes of this research will help inform environmental water delivery and management for the protection of key refugia for biodiversity as part of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office’s on-ground Monitoring, Evaluation and Research program (Flow-MER).