Native freshwater species include salamanderfish (Lepidogalaxias salamandroides), freshwater cobbler (Tandanus bostocki), western minnow (Galaxias occidentalis), western mud minnow (Galaxiella munda), black-stripe minnow (Galaxiella nigrostriata), western pygmy perch (Nannoperca vittata), Balston's pygmy perch (Nannatherina balstoni), nightfish (Bostockia porosa), and pouched lamprey (Geotria australis).

[citation needed] Many estuarine fish are found close to the mouth of the river, these include black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus), yellow-eye mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri), Australian herring (Arripis georgianus), and freshwater cobbler (Tandanus bostocki).

[6] Several species have been introduced into the river, including eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), European perch (Perca fluviatilis), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

[1] The river originates in an area of open jarrah-marri forest east of Yornup, between Bridgetown and Manjimup.

The area contains an understorey composed of such species as bull banksia (Banksia grandis), sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana), snottygobble (Persoonia longifolia), prickly moses (Acacia pulchella), zamia palm (Macrozamia reidlei), balga (Xanthorrhoea preissii), and graceful grass tree (Xanthorrhoea gracilis).