The River Murray system in Murray Darling Basin (MDB) of Southeast Australia contains vast numbers of shallow floodplain lakes. Some of these lakes are clear while the others are turbid despite their close proximity, and connectivity to the river, and exposure to humans. Our project will devise whether benthic cladocerans in these two contrasting floodplain lakes, show signs of differential timing in water quality through their changes in assemblage and diversity in the past?