Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay by Daryl McPhee

Author:Daryl McPhee
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Csiro Publishing

6

Species of conservation significance in Moreton Bay: the charismatic inhabitants

Introduction

Moreton Bay provides habitat for a range of species of conservation significance. For several of these species, it contains globally significant populations that have persisted despite the long and varied history of human usage patterns within Moreton Bay. The ability of these populations to persist despite the diversity and magnitude of human disturbances is significant, and contrasts with some claims (Pandolfi et al. 2003) regarding the ecological status of Moreton Bay. Species of conservation significance contribute to the intrinsic natural value of the region for the residents, as well as for eco-tourism.

Moreton Bay is one of the five areas in Queensland recognised through the Ramsar convention as a wetland site of international importance. It is listed because:

• it is one of the largest estuarine bays in Australia that is enclosed by a barrier island of vegetated sand dunes. Moreton Bay protects the local area from oceanic swells, providing habitat for wetland development. The site receives and channels the flow from numerous rivers and creeks east of the Great Dividing Range;

• it supports large numbers of the nationally threatened green turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Other nationally threatened species that the site supports are the Oxleyan pygmy perch (Nannoperca oxleyana), honey blue-eye (Pseudomugil mellis), water mouse (Xeromys myoides) and Australian painted snipe (Rostratula australis). The site is ranked among the top 10 habitats in Queensland for dugong (Dugong dugon);

• it supports over 355 species of marine invertebrates, 55 species of algae associated with mangroves, seven species of mangrove and seven species of seagrass. At least 43 species of shorebirds use intertidal habitats in the Bay, including 30 migratory species listed by the International Migratory Bird Conservation Agreements;

• it supports more than 50 000 wintering and staging shorebirds during the non-breeding season;

• it regularly supports more than 1% of the population of the wintering eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and the grey-tailed tattler (Tringa brevipes).

Species of conservation significance include those that are threatened with extinction; this includes ‘vulnerable’, ‘endangered’ and ‘critically endangered’ species. It also includes species that do not meet the criteria that would see them classified in one of the threatened categories, but may be included on international conservation agreements (e.g. the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Agreement)) or are considered to be ‘charismatic’. Threatened species can be listed internationally by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), nationally under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, or under state legislation (Nature Conservation Act 1992 in Queensland). The conservation status of several key marine mammal and marine turtle species is detailed in Table 6.1. This chapter provides an understanding of several species of conservation significance, how they utilise their habitat, trends in populations, and threats.

Table 6.1. Conservation status of selected marine turtle and marine mammal species in Moreton Bay

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