Roots & Shoots Australia Resource Box for Schools: Australia's Amazing Islands by janegoodallau

s d n a l s I g n i z a m A s ’ a i l stra

Volume 1

Stewart McPherson

Publication details and Acknowledgments The Jane Goodall Institute Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we work, live and learn on, and pays its respects to Elders past, present and future. Redfern Natural History Productions www.redfernnaturalhistory.com Australia’s Amazing Islands Volume 1 ISBN 978-1-908787-41-5 Copyright © The Jane Goodall Institute Australia (JGIA) All rights reserved. First printed November, 2021 Reproduction or translation of any part of this book, except for short excerpts used in reviews, without the written permission of the publisher is unlawful. Requests for permission to reproduce parts of this work, or for additional information, should be addressed to the publisher. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this educational resource are factually correct, JGIA does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this educational resource. All links to websites were valid between January 2021 and September 2021. As content on the websites used in this resource book might be updated or moved, hyperlinks may cease to function. Sincere thanks to Jennifer Cunningham of Petaurus Education Group, Abbie Mitchell and James Forbes of the Jane Goodall Institute Australia, and to all co-authors (listed in each chapter) for kindly reviewing, editing and contributing to this work. Particular thanks are also owed to editor Robert Irving and to Carl Davies for designing the layout and maps of this book. Printed on Forest Stewardship Council approved paper.

BACKGROUN

ND PICTURE

Contents Introduction

Australia’s Amazing Islands

Island Biogeography

Norfolk Island

Lord Howe Island

Macquarie Island

Kangaroo Island

Rottnest Island (Wadjemup)

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

112

Christmas Island

122

K’gari (Fraser Island)

140

Conservation and the Future

154

Glossary

158

Roots & Shoots

159

Online Resources

159

Index

160

The Phillip Island hibiscus (Hibiscus insularis).

Ball’s Pyramid lies 20 km southeast of Lord Howe Island.

Special thanks to the Phillips Foundation and the Don Hanson Charitable Foundation For making possible the donation of one copy of this book to each of 4,000 primary schools across Australia to inspire the next generation of conservationists and naturalists.

www.thephillipsfoundation.org.au

www.donhansoncharitablefoundation.org

Introduction

The making of Australia’s landmass stretches back to the formation of Planet Earth (4.5 billion years ago). It is no exaggeration to state that Australia is home to some of the world’s oldest surviving rocks (over 4 billion years old), as well as some of the earliest recognisable fossils (dated to at least 3.48 billion years). During this long formation story, about 550 million years ago, land that now forms part of modern day Australia was connected to other landmasses. About 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic period, this ‘supercontinent’ called Gondwana, comprising what is now South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia and New Zealand, began to break apart. Australia was still connected to India and Antarctica until about 100 million years ago when India and then Antarctica broke away. The part containing Tasmania, Australia and New Guinea gradually moved northwards and then these three also slowly separated. Australia’s climate also changed. 60 million years ago, Australia was considerably wetter than it is today. The opening up of the Southern Ocean, the glaciation of Antarctica and the emergence of the Circumpolar Current then changed rainfall patterns across the southern hemisphere and the Australian continent became much drier. The isolation of Australia and the subsequent climatic changes had enormous impacts on Australian wildlife. Isolation from competing species allowed new species of plants and animals to evolve along unique paths. Additionally, ancient lineages of organisms survived long after they became extinct across much of the rest of the world, one example of this being the egg-laying mammals (monotremes). Today, Australia is home to over 200,000 species of animals, at least 34,000 species of plants and more than 250,000 species of fungi and lichens. But what really makes Australian biodiversity special isn’t just the sheer numbers of species, but the fact that much of this life is endemic to the continent, meaning that it occurs nowhere else on Earth. Around 83% of all species of Australia’s mammals, 89% of its reptiles, 90% of its fishes, 93% of its amphibians, 90% of its insects, and over 85% of its plants are only found in Australia. These levels of endemism are much higher than on most other continents, particularly ones connected to other landmasses (such as Europe).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The location of the eight groups of islands featured in this volume.

Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands K’gari (Fraser Island)

Norfolk Island

Lord Howe Island Rottnest Island Kangaroo Island

Tropical: Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Subtropical: Fraser, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. Temperate: Rottnest and Kangaroo Islands. Sub-Polar: Macquarie Island.

Macquarie Island

Australia’s Amazing Islands

The Australian mainland is surrounded by over 8,000 islands, ranging in size from Tasmania (covering an area of 64,500 km2) to tiny islets and rock stacks. Most of Australia’s islands are located within a few kilometres or less from the coastline although some, most notably Australia’s external territories, are isolated from Australia by hundreds or even thousands of kilometres of ocean. These include Christmas Island, Macquarie Island, and Norfolk Island to name just three. Islands are fascinating places for wildlife as they present habitats that often have radically different ecological dynamics when compared to nearby land masses. The biogeographical isolation of islands by water often means that certain, normally dominant, animal or plant groups may be absent. This often enables other types of animals or plants to flourish and diversify in ways which would not be possible on continental landmasses. Resulting from their isolation, evolutionary processes on islands may speed up and encourage species to diversify (as Charles Darwin discovered on the Galapagos Islands), but they may also preserve ancient species (due to reduced competitive pressure) that may have died out elsewhere in the world. All of the world’s main land-based ecoregions (or biomes) are represented across Australia’s islands. Each of these arises as a result of differences in temperature, rainfall, surface water, geology, soil, seasonality, altitude and many other factors. Each ecoregion harbours countless smaller scale habitats and ecosystems that result from local differences in these factors. Even those islands which lie close to mainland Australia have distinct biogeographies and unique terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and these present yet more niche environments for wildlife to inhabit. Lastly, Australia’s urban landscapes offer man-made habitats for a surprisingly large number of native species, including many animals that are adapting their behaviour to live in our cities and amongst us. This staggering diversity of habitats presents a wide and varied spectrum of environments for wildlife to specialise within. This partly explains the high numbers of species that call Australia home. In this volume, we will explore eight of Australia’s most biodiverse and historically interesting island groups: Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island, Kangaroo Island, Rottnest Island (Wadjemup), Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, and K’gari (Fraser Island). There are countless more stories to tell from Australia’s amazing islands that the author hopes will be shared in future volumes of this book.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Australia’s Islands are treasure troves of unique animals and plants.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The dramatic topography of Lord Howe Island.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Island Biogeography

Co-authored by Ian Hutton and Robert Irving

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of plants and animals across the planet. Organisms and biological communities will vary across geographic gradients. These can include latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area. As islands represent specific, isolated areas bounded by sea water, the biogeography of their wildlife can be of great interest. It all starts with how the island in question has come to be. There are broadly five main types of islands: (1) Fragments of continents that have been separated from land masses by tectonic processes. (2) Volcanoes that erupt under water, forming immense cones of igneous rock, which below sea level can grow to be many kilometres high, with just their tips emerging above the waves. (3) Platforms of coralline limestone that become exposed above sea level, either by the uplift of the Earth’s crust or falling sea levels. These layers of limestone may form isolated outcrops or complex ring-shaped atolls. (4) Barrier islands and other formations of sand, sediment or rocks that accumulate as a result of wave action and underwater currents. (5) Fragments of rock of any type that are separated from a larger landmass (another island or a continent) either by processes of erosion or by sea level rise. Peninsulas with low-lying isthmuses that are intermittently flooded can also be seen as quasiislands and may fall into this category. Many islands have complex geological histories, and some are hybrids of several of the above formation processes.

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY

How Wildlife Reaches Islands One of the fascinating puzzles about islands is how do these often tiny, remote specks in the ocean become populated by myriads of plants and animals? There are a number of possible routes. Gliders on the Air Currents Many plants have seeds or spores so tiny that they can be blown hundreds of kilometres in wind currents; or larger seeds may have a parachute of silky hairs attached, enabling them to float on air currents over long distances. Some of Lord Howe Island’s flowering plants, for example, produce tiny seeds that easily float in the air, such as the mountain rose (Metrosideros nervulosa), the pumpkin tree (Negria rhabdothamnoides), as well as those of 13 orchid species. Some lightweight insects, such as flies, moths, butterflies and bats, can be swept up by strong winds and blown out to sea. If they’re lucky, they’ll fall on an island. Some spiders even weave a parachute of silk for air transport. Ocean Drifters Many island plants travel to islands as seeds that float. These plants produce buoyant seeds perfectly adapted for ocean transport, capable of floating hundreds or even thousands of kilometres over the ocean.

Animals (such as this sulphur-crested cockatoo, Cacatua galerita) and plant seeds may fly, float or be blown to islands around Australia.

However, if they are to survive the rigours of the sea, they must also have a tough seed coat that will resist penetration by salt water, which would destroy the living part of the seed. Perhaps the most familiar example of such a seed would be that of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Some animals such as snails or lizards can hitch a ride on rafts of fallen tree branches or even on mats of floating, interlocking tree roots to reach islands and to colonise them.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Hitch-Hikers Birds will typically be the most numerous animals to be found on islands, simply because they can fly over the ocean. Birds are also amongst the most important agents for dispersal of plants to islands. Many plants produce colourful, fleshy fruits irresistibly attractive to birds to eat. Whilst the fruits are digested in the bird’s gut, the tough seeds survive and are ejected some time later in their droppings. These droppings, also known as guano, are rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, so the seedlings get a head start on what might otherwise be bare rock. Migratory birds may also carry eggs of snails or crustaceans on their feet and so disperse these animal species too. Wading birds are well known for this inadvertent behaviour, as the mud in which they wade gets stuck to their feet and legs. Many islands around Australia serve as regionally important breeding stations for seabirds and marine mammals. Pictured here is a nesting population of sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) on Lord Howe Island.

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY

Unique Worlds of Wildlife All islands undergo an intricate process of colonisation by terrestrial plants and animals. The succession begins with the landing of spores of fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts and ferns that are carried by the wind. Once established, the dead remains of these simple plants often accumulate, and may eventually form soils to support higher plants and land animals. However, not all animals and plants have the same likelihood of dispersing to islands successfully. The geography of isolation sets up intricate and complex filters that sift out certain groups of organisms through selective discrimination. For instance, amphibians rarely succeed in colonising remote islands because of their intolerance of salt water (as they have permeable skin). Also, as large terrestrial mammals are mostly unable to survive for more than a few days without freshwater to drink, they too are unlikely colonists. To a lesser extent, the same may be true of certain land-based reptiles. But, by contrast, many invertebrates, birds and plants (especially flora with spores) are naturally adept at surviving the dispersal process and are represented on all of the world’s islands except the most remote and most polar. Animal or plant groups which are typically dominant on continental land masses are often absent on remote islands. Opportunities therefore arise (in the form of new ecological niches becoming available) for the evolution of plant and animal species in ecosystems that have radically different dynamics from those of continental land masses. As a result of this ‘filtering’ or selective discrimination, islands close to continents often have all groups of animals except amphibians. Islands located a little further offshore often lack amphibians and mammals. Whereas distant oceanic islands often lack amphibians, mammals and reptiles, and may be ruled by invertebrates and birds. Other variables, such as the frequent lack of rivers or lakes on small islands, at latitudes at which freshwater would ordinarily be abundant, can further impact the range of plants and animals that islands support.

The Christmas Island blue crab (Discoplax celeste) occurs nowhere else on Earth.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

As a result of these processes, very different assemblages of wildlife arise on the remote islands of the world. As examples, Christmas Island and Lord Howe Island boast unusually prominent concentrations of invertebrate life (including hundreds of endemic species), whereas Kangaroo Island harbours a profusion of unique mammals. The abundance of each group of organisms has arisen for different reasons. It is humbling to think that all the beautiful structure and diversity of the ecosystems of extremely remote islands has been assembled unknowingly, without ever being seen by human eyes. Equally awesome is the thought that many island ecosystems, some of which are millions of years old, have been snuffed out entirely, perhaps many times, or even cyclically, by inundation during past periods with radically higher global sea levels. As a result of their unique biogeography, many islands act as biodiversity hotspots. Despite representing only a few percent of the world’s land surface, they are home to over 20% of all bird, reptile and plant species on the planet!

Island Evolution Why does life diversify on small, remote islands? Consider the many new species that have evolved just on tiny Phillip Island (see Norfolk Island chapter). Why do we not see the same concentrations of new species evolving uniformly across continents? Remote islands are often described as the engines of evolution and the crucibles in which new life is forged. These descriptions are not exaggerations. Islands have immense evolutionary power. When a plant or an animal travels the vast ocean and ends up on an island, it finds a new environment with new ecosystems, together with existing species with which it must compete. While some of these new arrivals may not survive, others will adapt and thrive. Islands are famous for assisting evolutionary change, and many remote islands have high rates of species endemism - meaning that, due to their ability to adapt and thrive, new species have evolved by taking advantage of their new environments. One of the adaptations often seen on remote islands is that of flightlessness. It takes a lot of energy for an animal to maintain big muscles to power flight. If an animal finds itself in a situation, like on a remote island without predators, where it doesn’t need to fly to escape danger, then over thousands of generations some animals on islands become flightless. Lord Howe Island has an example in the bird world – the woodhen (Hypotaenidia sylvestris). There are also other flightless animals on the island, such as a number of flightless beetles (including Chauliognathus aptera) and the flightless Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis).

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY

Plants can also exhibit changes when arriving on an island, one such change being a loss of defence. Some plant species growing on a continent with grazing mammals develop prickles to prevent them being eaten. Remote islands usually have no grazing native mammals and plants that have arrived with prickles don’t need the defence. So over thousands of generations they may lose their prickles as there is no point putting energy into something not needed. An example of this, also to be seen at Lord Howe Island, is the Lawyer vine (Smilax australis). Species evolution on remote islands can take place at a rate that is tens if not hundreds of times faster than it does in much larger populations on continental land masses. This is because the dynamics of their small populations can allow for the rapid accumulation and exaggeration of certain advantageous traits. On isolated oceanic islands, animal life often evolves in the absence of predators, so the need for protection, whether this be anatomical or behavioural, is diminished. This evolutionary tactic works fine up until the moment when non-native species are introduced into the mix, whether accidentally or purposefully. The highly specialised native animals then become very vulnerable. Tragically, the factors that create ecosystems on remote islands also make these ecosystems highly vulnerable to collapse if more competitive, non-native species are introduced. The story of ancient ecosystems being destroyed, sometimes during a single human lifetime, is one that has been tragically repeated across countless remote islands. Animal and plant colonists that establish themselves on remote islands may find new habitats, new food niches, a lack (or different range) of predators and competitors, different geology, substrates, temperature ranges and rainfall and, perhaps most significantly of all, isolation from the rest of their kind. All of these factors, and many more, encourage the rapid differentiation and speciation of island-dwelling life, and cause successive generations to diverge from their continental forebears. Island evolution can follow strange, dramatic and unpredictable paths as species respond to the unique blend of infinitely complex evolutionary variables that are unique to each island. Island endemic species are often gigantic or miniature in form, and birds and arthropods frequently lose the power of flight as wings become

The flightless Lord Howe woodhen (Hypotaenidia sylvestris).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Christmas Island is famous for an annual migration of red land crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis).

diminutive or are lost altogether. Herbivores may be changed into carnivores out of necessity, and the absence of usually dominant species allows less competitive organisms to fill ecological niches, often in surprising ways, whether this be crabs moving onto the land (as on Christmas Island) or iguanas feeding under water (as in the Galapagos Islands). These varied evolutionary quirks enrich the fauna of an island ecosystem beyond what may originally arise on continental mainlands. The infinite imagination of evolution’s endless attempts to find new designs in order to increase the chances of survival can be seen in the rise of very unusual traits among many island species. Some of these characteristics seem inexplicably random in the context of the wider world, but have specific advantages in delicately balanced and fine-tuned island ecosystems.

A female Christmas Island red crabs carrying her eggs.

Evolution can transform not just the physical shapes of islanddwelling species, but their behaviour too, as a result of the modified island ecosystem dynamics. An example here would be where the lack of large terrestrial predators affords many islanddwelling birds the endearing qualities of tameness and curiosity. Several factors are important in island ecology. Generally, the more geographically isolated islands are from continents, the slower the colonisation process that takes place, and the fewer are the terrestrial species that succeed in establishing there. However, some of the most dramatic examples of the transformation of island-dwelling species arise on the most remote islands, precisely because of their isolation. Isolation in time is just as important as isolation in space. In a very general sense, the longer islands have been isolated, the more opportunities are presented for species to colonise, evolve and thereby become different.

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY

The size of the island is important too: generally, the smaller an island is, the more restricted is the community that can develop. Although all island ecosystems are constrained by the fundamentals of nutrient availability, aridity and temperature, smaller ones quite simply have a narrower range of habitats to offer any plants or animals that make landfall successfully.

Why Islands are Important In addition to harbouring unusually high concentrations of endemic species and (often) unusual assemblages of organisms that may not arise on continents (see previous pages), islands are extremely important for wildlife in other ways. They serve as breeding stations or rest stops for many migrating bird species, particularly in their provision of safe, inaccessible cliffs and rocks and stretches of remote coastline rarely visited by humans. Many species of seabirds breed exclusively or overwhelmingly on islands around Australia, often in their thousands, precisely because mainland predators (such as dingos) are absent. Islands can be equally important to marine life too. The waters of many of Australia’s islands provide safe, shallow refuges for breeding cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), and their sandy beaches offer nesting habitat for sea turtles. In many cases, islands also act as refuges, where formerly widespread species that decline or are lost across mainland Australia can survive. In some cases, populations of species may be entirely wiped out across the mainland (particularly by introduced, non-native predators), but islands may enable the survival of such species as the same threats are absent. In a few cases, the situation is a little more complicated. An example here would be Kangaroo Island, where non-native koalas are thriving and (importantly) free of diseases that afflict mainland populations. In this case, the island serves as an important koala refuge, even though koalas were introduced. Islands are fascinating repositories of genetic information whose present-day biodiversity stands as a record of millions of years of evolution. They often provide ideal, real-life opportunities for studies by scientists, be they ecologists, geographers, geologists, archaeologists or anthropologists. Human communities on islands are often dependent on healthy, well functioning island ecosystems, whether this be for food, industry or for driving tourism. The rich biodiversity that islands exhibit has an inherent value to humankind the world over. As such, islands can be considered to be living museums of natural heritage, often taking millions of years to evolve and form. It is our responsibility to conserve Australia’s amazing islands and ensure we pass on this heritage to the next generation.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) breeds on many of Australia’s tropical islands.

Fragile Paradises As will be seen in the following chapters, it is all too easy to upset the ecological balance of islands. The devastation of island wildlife is a story that has played out many times over recent centuries. Over the last 1,000 years, as humans reached new islands, they often introduced non-native wildlife, including their domesticated livestock (goats, pigs, horses, cattle), game (such as rabbits and deer) and pets (particularly cats and dogs). Other species were inadvertently introduced (such as rats and mice), along with various crops and ornamental plants which have turned out to be pest species. Much of this non-native wildlife inevitably establishes as feral populations, which can rapidly devastate the native wildlife of isolated islands, often poorly adapted to cope with ecological competition. The result, seen time and time again on remote islands, is the rapid extinction of endemic species and profound ecological change (usually wholesale loss of biodiversity). Feral rats, cats, goats and pigs often represent the gravest threats to island wildlife, and much of the work undertaken by conservationists today involves eradicating populations of these non-native animals and remedying the imbalances they cause. Despite the devastation many islands have suffered, countless examples in this book show that it is not too late to help restore the ancient ecosystems of Australia’s amazing islands and save endemic species. That we should try to right the ecological wrongs that our forebears, albeit unintentionally, have inflicted upon these islands is both commendable and essential. The restoration work undertaken on Phillip Island (see Norfolk Island chapter) provides a shining example of what can be achieved.

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY

Norfolk Island is home to the endemic Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 1,748 (2016) Area: 34.6 km2 Main settlement: Kingston (largest town: Burnt Pine) Flag: Triple-banded vertical flag (outer bands green, central band white) with the image of a Norfolk pine in green on the central band Highest elevation: 319 m (Mount Bates)

Norfolk Island

Co-authored by Judith Andersen, Margaret Christian, Daniel Gautschi, Luke Halpin, Robert Irving, Lilli-Unna King, Alexandra Nance and Victoria Sperring

Norfolk Island is an Australian external Territory which lies in the Pacific Ocean, between New Caledonia and New Zealand, about 1,400 km east of the Gold Coast. It is around 9.5 km long by 5.5 km wide, and has an area of about 34.6 km2. The much smaller Phillip Island (approx 1.9 km2) lies 6 km to the south of Norfolk Island and the tiny Nepean Island (approx 10 hectares) lies between Norfolk and Phillip Islands. The climate is subtropical, supporting lush forests that are home to a plethora of plant and animal species that occur nowhere else in the world. Norfolk and Phillip Islands are formed of basalt, the result of a series of volcanic eruptions between 3.1 and 2.3 million years ago. Unlike Norfolk and Phillip Islands, Nepean is not volcanic in origin, but is of Late Pleistocene limestone, formed from wind-blown sand dunes between the last two ice ages. Norfolk Island’s highest point is Mount Bates reaching 319 m, although the nearby Mount Pitt stands nearly as tall at 318 m.

NORFOLK ISLAND

PHILLIP ISLAND 10 km

NORFOLK ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

HUNDRED ACRE RESERVE

Norfolk Island 1 km

BURNT PINE NORFOLK ISLAND AIRPORT

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

SLAUGHTER BAY

KINGSTON

NEPEAN ISLAND 1,000 km

Norfolk Island is home to two main settlements: historic Kingston (the modern administrative centre and a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Burnt Pine (the largest town and the main commercial hub today). Phillip and Nepean Islands are uninhabited.

Polynesian Settlement 700-1,000 years ago, Polynesian voyagers came to Norfolk Island in their ‘waka’ (double-hulled sailing canoes). It is believed that Norfolk was the westernmost point of their travels throughout the Pacific Ocean and that they arrived from the Kermadec Islands. Traces of a Polynesian settlement can still be found at Emily Bay. Stone tools, bone fishing hooks and other artefacts have also been excavated at a number of Polynesian settlement sites. The Polynesians brought many animals and plants with them, including bananas, dogs and the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans). European settlers found remnant groves of banana plants around the sites of Polynesian settlements where they grow to this day. It is unknown when or why the Polynesians left, but by the time Europeans arrived, Norfolk Island was unoccupied. The following centuries were marked by several distinct periods of settlement by Europeans.

British Colonial Settlement: 1788 - 1814 British explorer Captain James Cook was the first European to sight Norfolk Island in 1774, from aboard his ship HMS Resolution. He named it after Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk. In January, 1788, the great French explorer Jean François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse, sighted Norfolk Island but could not land due to rough conditions. He described the island as ‘only a place fit for angels and eagles to reside in’.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Polynesian adzes (cutting tools).

The First Fleet in Sydney Cove, 1788 by John Allcot (National Library of Australia).

The wrecking of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island in 1790 by George Raper.

When the First Fleet arrived on mainland Australia in January 1788 and established the settlement at Sydney Cove, Governor Arthur Phillip ordered Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to lead a party of 7 free men and 15 convicts to take control of Norfolk Island and prepare for its commercial development. The intention was to use the island for the production of timber from the pine trees (for ship’s masts), and linen from native flax plants to supply the colony in Botany Bay. After many trials, these industries were abandoned as neither the pines nor the flax proved to be suitable. However, Norfolk’s rich soil and ideal climate meant that plenty of vegetables and grains could be produced to feed the growing population of settlers at Sydney Cove.

The providence petrel (Pterodroma solandri) is extinct on Norfolk Island but survives on Lord Howe Island.

It was hoped that the island would serve as a source of crops which the growing mainland colony could depend upon. Unfortunately, a few seasons of bad crop yields and the arrival of more and more convicts made clear that the Norfolk settlement was starting to struggle. In 1790, the ship HMS Sirius was wrecked on a reef at Slaughter Bay whilst landing stores. This was nothing short of a disaster. Most of the cargo on board was destroyed and there was little to feed the population (which then also included all of the shipwrecked crew). The settlement resorted to eating a native migratory bird that they called the Providence petrel (Pterodroma solandri), which once nested in abundance on Mt Pitt. Records indicate that over 150,000 petrels were killed to feed the convicts and settlers, and the population of petrels rapidly collapsed. To this day, providence petrels do not nest on Norfolk Island (although small number survive on Phillip Island and over 60,000 nest across the Lord Howe Island Group). Eventually, in 1805, convicts and officers started to leave Norfolk Island, and by 1814 the settlement was completely abandoned. All of the buildings were deliberately destroyed so that no other European powers could easily occupy the island.

NORFOLK ISLAND

British Penal Settlement: 1825 - 1855

The Old Military Barracks in Kingston.

In 1825, a new attempt was made to settle Norfolk Island, although this time, with a very different vision. As penal colonies grew around Australia, Norfolk Island was appropriated to serve as a jail to house the very worst convicts. Most of the people sentenced to serve their time on Norfolk Island were not expected to ever leave. During this time, an extensive penal facility was created, including the construction of large administrative offices, mills, salt houses and cell blocks, most of which are still used today. The convicts made the buildings by mining local sandstone and by making lime for cement out of the ‘calcarenite’ that they cut by hand from the reef, burnt with the wood of native trees.

A view of the penal settlement in 1855 by J. Glen Wilson.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Remains of the Norfolk Island jail.

To serve time on Norfolk was dreaded and many convicts were flogged to death. The island was feared as a ‘hell in paradise’, one of the most strict and cruel of all penal colonies. Eventually the British colonial settlement ended and most of the convicts were sent to Tasmania in 1855. A few settlers and the caretaker stayed on for a while longer to maintain the settlement and to welcome the new inhabitants in 1856, the Pitcairn Islanders.

The Mutiny on HMS Bounty Throughout the British settlement periods, events were unfolding in a remote part of the Pacific that would dramatically shape the future of Norfolk Island. In 1787, the ship HMS Bounty set sail from England bound for Tahiti to collect breadfruit plants and to deliver them to the West Indies in order to feed African slaves there. After spending several months in Tahiti with the local people of Matavai Bay, the British sailors had forged relationships with local women and had become very fond of the idyllic life that Tahiti afforded. When the order was given from Captain William Bligh to depart Tahiti, resentment grew. Although a superb mariner and navigator, Bligh was famously argumentative and aggressive, and discontent with his leadership grew.

The foundations of five cell blocks are visible in Norfolk Island jail.

The situation culminated in a mutiny, in which Fletcher Christian (second in command), along with 24 other willing and unwilling men, set the Captain and the rest of his crew adrift in a longboat, after which the mutineers sailed back to Tahiti to find their sweethearts.

NORFOLK ISLAND

After various visits to different islands and attempts to settle, in 1790, 9 mutineers, 14 Tahitian women and 6 Tahitian men settled on remote, uninhabited, Pitcairn Island, which had been incorrectly mapped and therefore offered the best place to hide from the law (as mutiny was regarded as amongst the worst crimes a sailor could commit, and capture of the mutineers was certain to lead to death by hanging).

HMS Bounty arriving in Tahiti (courtesy of John Hagan/Pitcairn Islands Study Centre).

To prevent passing ships sighting her, HMS Bounty was stripped and burnt. For a short time, the European mutineers, their Polynesian women, and a small number of other Polynesian settlers lived in peace. However, within four years, festering arguments over land and women resulted in all of the Polynesian men, and all but two of the mutineers, being murdered. Of the two surviving mutineers, eventually only one man, John Adams, was left alive on the island. Adams took it upon himself to educate and guide the remaining 9 women, and 19 children in the English ways. Adamstown, the settlement on Pitcairn, bears his name to this day. Despite attempts to track down the mutineers, nothing was known by the outside world of the community on Pitcairn Island until 1808 when an American ship landed to find, much to the crew’s surprise, English-speaking ‘natives’. The Captain met John Adams and eventually word got back to England of the small, isolated community. The elderly John Adams was eventually pardoned. Slowly the population on Pitcairn outgrew the resources which the small island could offer, and upon writing to Queen Victoria, the Pitcairn Islanders were gifted Norfolk Island as their new home. They departed Pitcairn in May, and arrived on Norfolk in June of 1856.

A depiction of the mutiny on HMS Bounty (courtesy of John Hagan/Pitcairn Islands Study Centre).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The burning of HMS Bounty off Pitcairn (courtesy of John Hagan/Pitcairn Islands Study Centre).

Pitcairn Settlement On the 8th June, 1856, 194 men, women and children arrived on Norfolk from Pitcairn on the ship Morayshire. When they arrived they were greeted by the Administrator and taken to Government House as a welcome. The Pitcairn families lived in many of the buildings left over from the British colonial settlement and slowly began to spread out over the island, building homes and establishing farms. Some families though soon got homesick and returned back to Pitcairn Island, so today, the communities on the two islands remain uniquely connected through their shared heritage from the mutiny on HMS Bounty. As the population grew and technology advanced, several industries were established on Norfolk including whaling, bean export, kentia palm seed export (see Lord Howe Island chapter), and lemon and passionfruit pulp export. Industries like whaling brought many American ships to Norfolk Island and a few men decided to make Norfolk their home as well. It is because of this that the island celebrates Thanksgiving Day, traditionally an American holiday. Today, a large proportion of the population on Norfolk Island is directly descended from the Pitcairn Island settlers. The family surnames Adams, Christian, McCoy, Quintal and Young are widespread, and directly descend from mutineers on HMS Bounty.

A view across Pitcairn Island with Adamstown visible.

Each 8th June, Norfolk Islanders celebrate ‘Bounty Day’ to commemorate their ancestors landing all those years ago.

NORFOLK ISLAND

World War II Norfolk Island was a very important base for Australia and New Zealand during the Second World War.

Norfolk Island whalers with a recently caught baleen whale (courtesy of the Norfolk Island Museum).

Between 1940 and 1943, an airstrip was built from gravel, dirt and ‘marsden matting’ (metal sheets that link together). A beautiful row of pines known as ‘Pine Avenue’ was blown up to make way for the airstrip. Only a few pines were spared and are still standing today. The Royal New Zealand Air Force was stationed on Norfolk Island from 1942 to 1946, and they manned a radar unit, an air-sea rescue unit and an aircraft servicing section as well.

Culture of Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island became a key air base during World War II (courtesy of the Norfolk Island Museum).

Reflecting their rich heritage, the people of Norfolk Island have a proud and unique culture passed down and derived from the combination of their Tahitian foremothers and British forefathers. Among the most important aspects of the Norfolk culture are language, weaving and dance. The Norfolk language or Norf’k Laengwij, is a unique combination of Tahitian and old English. It has its roots on Pitcairn Island, where the Pitkern language developed among the mutineers and Polynesian settlers. The families that moved to Norfolk Island brought the language with them, and it has developed further over the 150 years since. Norf’k Laengwij (on Norfolk) and Pitkern (on Pitcairn) have similarities and common words, but are distinct languages. Neither the original British mutineers nor the Tahitian settlers could speak each others’ language, so the need for a language of understanding developed between the two groups.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Over the years many words have been lost, created or their meanings have changed, Below are a few common words and their meanings.

A traditional plaited hat.

Watawieh? = ‘Hello and how are you?’ Yorlyi = ‘all of you’ Aklan = ‘all of us’ Morla = ‘tomorrow’ Naawii = ‘to go swimming’ Poet’gaalik = ‘cheeky thing’ Stidaun = ‘sit down’

Dance techniques have been handed down over generations.

Weaving and plaiting are very common throughout the peoples of the Pacific. Some weaves, such as the common four-plait, can be found throughout the Pacific, while other weaves such as the ‘heritage plait’ are unique to Norf’k Island. The Norf’k Islanders utilise all of the different materials that grow around them for their weaves: some bullrushes (drienflaeks), banana bark (raahulu), cliff flax (m’uu) and corn husk. Mats, baskets and especially hats are often created, from plaiting one long strand of plait and then sewing it together with needle and thread.

Norfolk’s unique dance style.

Another special tradition that was passed down from the islanders’ Tahitian foremothers was the practice of dance. Norfolk has its own style of dancing that is similar to, but different from, the Ori Tahiti and the Hawaiian Hula. Women often dance with their hips and men with their knees, but they all tell stories with their hands and their music. Often the dancing is accompanied by Norf’k drums, ukuleles and singing. Special costumes are created and woven out of fibres and shells for performances.

NORFOLK ISLAND

Plant Life When Captain Cook sighted Norfolk Island in 1774, he was struck by the island’s vegetation, writing: ‘We found the Island uninhabited… the chief produce of the isle is Spruce Pines which grow here in abundance and to a vast size, from two to three feet diameter and upwards... for Masts, Yards etc... We cut down one of the Smallest trees we could find and cut a length of the upper end to make a Topgallant Mast or Yard… Here then is another Isle where Masts for the largest Ships may be had’. The ‘spruce pine’ that Cook described is not a true pine tree, but a species endemic to Norfolk Island. Known today as the Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla), it is a relic from the ancient super-continent Pangea. The fossil record reveals that similar species date back over 200 million years and have changed little over time. How the Norfolk pine reached Norfolk Island is not fully known as the island is only 3 million years old and Pangea began to break up about 175 million years ago (although related species do occur in New Caledonia, New Guinea and Australia). Great stands of Norfolk pine once covered much of the island, forming a dramatic and beautiful sub-tropical rainforest. The wood of Norfolk pines eventually proved to be too brittle for use as ships’ masts or for construction timber, but settlers found other uses for the tree, including collecting the nut-like edible seeds from its spherical cones! Due to its spectacular form and resilience, the Norfolk pine has become a popular ornamental tree across Australia and beyond, and has been planted widely, especially along beach fronts in coastal towns. Endemic Norfolk pines (Araucaria heterophylla).

The cones of Norfolk pines bear edible nut-like seeds.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

As a result of biogeographic isolation, many plants have evolved into new forms across the Norfolk Island Group. Norfolk Island alone is home to 174 species of native plants, of which 51 are endemic, including the Norfolk Island palm (Rhopalostylis baueri) and the smooth tree fern (Cyathea brownii), the tallest tree fern in the world. The endemic climber (Capparis nobilis).

The native two-frond fern (Asplenium dimorphum) is interesting in that it produces two totally different frond structures. One is flat and leafy, and the other is fine and spindly. Sometimes you can even see both forms on the one frond. While not unique to Norfolk Island, the birdcatcher tree (Pisonia brunoniana) is so-called because its sticky fruit can gum birds’ wings together so they can’t fly or look for food. When the birds die, their bodies may serve as fertiliser for the tree’s seedlings. Humans brought non-native plants, starting with bananas that were introduced as crops by the Polynesians about 700 years ago. European settlers introduced dozens of plant species, brought as crops or as ornamental species. Other plants made it on their own, hitching a ride on natural rafts of vegetation or cargo, while others were introduced as garden plants and later escaped.

The bioluminescent mushrooms of green pepe (Mycena cholorophos).

Today, many non-native plant species grow across Norfolk Island and Phillip Island, threatening the survival of the endemic plants. Amongst the most invasive and problematic are African box thorn, European olive, coral berry, Formosan lilies, guava, Hawaiian holly, lantana, lupins and morning glory. See also the Conservation Priorities section on p38. Norfolk Island is home to hundreds of species of fungi (which belong to a grouping of life that is separate to plants). Several species of Norfolk’s fungi are bioluminescent, and glow an eerie shade of green! One species (Mycena cholorophos), produces button shaped mushrooms that glow so brightly that it is possible to read by their light. Mycologists discovered that insects are attracted by the glow, and this helps spread the spores!

NORFOLK ISLAND

Animal Life At least 18 endemic bird taxa were present on Norfolk Island at the end of the 18th century, but sadly, ten of these have become extinct over the last two centuries due to habitat loss and the introduction of non-native predators, such as cats and rats (see Conservation Priorities section). One further native bird came extremely close to extinction. In 1986, there was just one surviving Norfolk Island morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata). Affectionately known as Maimiti, this last owl became known for her lonely calls across the island. Her calls sounded a little bit like she was saying ‘more pork’ which is where the name morepork comes from. She was just 20 cm tall with big, bright, yellow eyes. After conservationists on the island realised that Miamiti was the only one of her kind left, they introduced two male New Zealand moreporks (Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae), a closely related sub-species. Miamiti and one of these introduced moreporks (known as Tintola) had four chicks together. Today, Miamiti’s genetics live on in the 2030 individual moreporks which can be found across Norfolk Island. Conservationists are working hard to protect these owls by improving their habitat and providing them with nesting boxes Among the surviving endemic bird species, the Norfolk Island green parrot (Cyanoramphus cookii) is a brightly coloured species of parrot that is closely related to the kākāriki of New Zealand. Sadly, it experienced a steep population decline, dropping to below 100 surviving birds. Predation and competition from introduced species, as well as loss of breeding habitat have driven the species’ decline. The green parrot is a secondary cavity nester, relying on decayformed cavities in the trunks and root systems of native trees. This makes the species particularly susceptible to the loss of mature trees and competition for hollows from non-native species such as the crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The extinct Norfolk Island owl (Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata).

Green parrots now breed only within the Mt Pitt section of the Norfolk Island National Park. With already reduced breeding opportunities, predation by rats (Rattus rattus and Rattus exulans) and cats (Felis catus) further prevent recruitment to the population. Since the 1980s, local conservationists have worked to support the green parrot population by modifying potential and known natural nesting sites, and constructing artificial nests that prevent access by nest predators. An estimate of up to 92 surviving green parrots was made in 2013, and since then, the population is believed to have grown. The endemic Norfolk Island green parrot (Cyanoramphus cookii).

The endemic Norfolk robin (Petroica multicolor), or robin red-breast as it is known on the island, is so-called because males have a bright red chest and white cap. Similar to the green parrot, it also declined by the 1980s as a result of habitat loss and predation by feral rats and cats. Happily, the population has now increased to around 500 pairs and appears stable. The crisp, whipping calls of the endemic Norfolk golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis xanthoprocta) and the trills and squeaks of the fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa pelzelni) echo across the island’s valleys. The Norfolk gerygone (Gerygone modesta) - called puerty or poety by the locals - is the jazz musician of the forest, and the smallest of the songbirds. The melody of their song rises and falls in a fast-paced rhythm. They are surprisingly loud for their size; an average adult puerty weighs only 6.5 grams (which is just 1.5 grams heavier than a single piece of A4 paper!).

The Norfolk robin (Petroica multicolor).

The slender-billed white-eye (Zosterops tenuirostris) named for its long curved bill, is a social species that loves spending time with family. They forage in flocks of up to 10 individuals and you can often see them perched on thin branches grooming fellow birds in small groups. If you’re lucky enough to find a nest you might even see three adults, instead of the usual two, tending to the eggs and chicks. The Norfolk Island Group is also home to many breeding seabirds. The providence petrel (Pterodroma solandri) was hunted to local extinction on Norfolk Island by the beginning of the 19th century, although it survived on Lord Howe Island and (in small numbers) on Phillip Island.

NORFOLK ISLAND

Other seabirds that occur across the Norfolk Island Group include the black-winged petrel (Pterodroma nigripennis), grey ternlet (Anous albivitta), Kermadec petrel (Pterodroma neglecta), little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis), masked booby (Sula dactylatra), red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda), wedge-tailed shearwater (Ardenna pacifica) and the white-necked petrel (Pterodroma cervicalis). The populations of several of these species are regionally important.

The slender-billed white-eye (Zosterops tenuirostris)

The eggs of the sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus, known locally as the whale bird), were traditionally collected by Norfolk Islanders. The Norfolk Island Group is home to two native reptiles, the Lord Howe Island gecko (Christinus guentheri) and the Lord Howe Island skink (Oligosoma lichenigerum). Both survive on Phillip Island (and Lord Howe Island), but are now believed to be extinct on Norfolk Island due to predation by feral rats.

The elegant red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda).

Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) is native to Norfolk Island, but has declined as a result of non-native predators, especially the black rat (Rattus rattus). The invertebrate fauna of the Norfolk Island Group is still being catalogued and studied, but includes several hundred native species and dozens of endemic taxa. Unique invertebrates include butterflies (for example, the Norfolk swallowtail, Papilio amynthor) and over seventy land snails (making the islands one of Australia’s hotspots of land snail diversity). Several of the unique snails were thought to be extinct but have been rediscovered. Many species of spiders are native (including orb weavers such as the red-horned spider Gasteracantha westringii) and at least two hundred beetle species have been recorded to date. Several species of land crabs occur across the Norfolk Island Group, including the little nipper (Geograpsus grayi) which has a purple carapace and white claws.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The red-horned spider (Gasteracantha westringii) (native, but not endemic) to Norfolk and Phillip Islands

The Phillip Island centipede (Cormocephalus coynei) and a black-winged petrel (Pterodroma nigripennis).

Fascinating findings have recently been published concerning the Phillip Island centipede (Cormocephalus coynei), which may grow to be 30 cm long. This endemic centipede uses powerful venom to incapacitate a variety of prey animals including skinks, geckos and seabird chicks. It has been observed catching and eating the chicks of black-winged petrels (Pterodroma nigripennis) and other seabird species, and estimates suggest that the population of centipedes may consume as many as 3,700 seabird chicks each year as a natural part of their diet. Sadly, many non-native animals have been introduced to Norfolk Island, including feral chickens, which scamper through the vegetation, eating threatened snails, insects and native seeds. Recent surveys have shown that over 100 feral cats roam the island, devastating native wildlife. Control activities of this invasive species continue.

Several species of rodents have also had massive impacts on native wildlife. Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) arrived with the Polynesian settlers and remained ever since. Later, the house mouse (Mus musculus) was accidentally brought to the island by British settlers and black rats (Rattus rattus) arrived during the construction of the island’s airstrip during World War II. These rodents quickly got a taste for native plant seeds, small snails, eggs and chicks of birds, fruiting fungi, and little lizards. While the rodents thrived many native species suffered, and some have even been lost completely to extinction. The island’s passionate conservationists are working to reduce rodent numbers. This means setting traps and bait in key locations to catch and remove the rats and mice. Unfortunately, Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were also accidentally introduced. It is likely that they arrived during the 1990s on a cargo ship and have since spread out into different zones on the island. These ants are very destructive as their diet consists of a lot of meat and other protein-rich foods. Seabird chicks and nesting birds are especially at risk as they sit still for a very long time and can get eaten alive on their nests. The Argentine Ant Eradication Team on Norfolk Island is slowly eradicating the ants through a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) driven programme. A secret weapon is used, Bella the detector dog! She sniffs out the ants so that conservationists can bait their nests and eventually eradicate them. NORFOLK ISLAND

Marine Life At 29 degrees south of the Equator, Norfolk is bathed in warm clear waters with an associated profusion of subtropical marine life. The island is surrounded by coral reefs, with a shallow lagoon on the south side looking out to the islands of Nepean and Phillip. Water temperatures range from 18 °C in the winter to 25 °C in the summer.

A healthy plate coral (Acropora, spp.) reef in Cemetery Bay.

In the shallows, there’s lots to stimulate the senses, including the dazzling colours of corals, the swaying of seaweeds and the ever-present crackling and popping of numerous reef sounds! Being an isolated, small island, the number of hard coral species is limited. Acropora spp. table corals are some of the most impressive, though their size makes them vulnerable to occasional storms. Norfolk also has an array of impressive soft corals. These rely on water pressure within their bodies to enable them to stay upright. Not all seaweeds resemble land plants. Delighting in the common name of sailor’s eyeballs, Valonia ventricosa is a type of green seaweed found throughout the tropics. Its main claim to fame is that it is the largest unicellular organism on the planet, up to 4 cm in diameter! The vertical rock walls are likely to be covered by plate corals, sponges and sea squirts. Mobile invertebrates include the collector sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla), so called because of its habit of camouflaging itself with shells or seaweed fragments. The island’s waters are famed for their fish life. The green moon wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens) is particularly colourful and not at all shy! The vivid colours of the

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A green moon wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens).

multispine damselfish (Neoglyphidodon polyacanthus) are only apparent in the juvenile form, with adults being rather drab by comparison. Sharks are rare except for the occasional Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis). The Norfolk Island Marine Park includes 188,444 km2 of ocean and extends all round the island, from coastal shallows to the dark abyss 5,000 m below the surface. The inner Special Purpose Zone of the Park allows both conservation and sustainable uses to take place.

A collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla).

The peculiar unicellular alga known as sailor’s eyeballs (Valonia ventricosa).

Norfolk Island lies on the Norfolk Ridge, an underwater range of sea mounts which are aligned approximately north-south. The Ridge affects the direction of current flows around the island, causing upwellings which help support large pelagic fishes such as marlin and billfish.

In the waters of Norfolk Island, plate corals (Acropora spp.) may grow to more than 2 m across!

NORFOLK ISLAND

Conservation Priorities To protect Norfolk Island’s unique wildlife, the Norfolk Island National Park was established in 1986, covering approximately 19% of the island. It includes an area of about 4.6 km2 in the north-west of Norfolk, as well as all of Phillip Island (approx 1.9 km2). A further protected area managed by the Norfolk Island Regional Council (NIRC), called the Hundred Acres Reserve, is located on the south-west of Norfolk Island. Beyond the National Park and the Hundred Acre Reserve, most of Norfolk Island has been cleared for pasture or housing, although there are also other smaller reserves managed by NIRC and the Commonwealth. The extensive stands of Norfolk pine forest within the National Park are vital for the survival of many native species, and offer the very last habitat for some of the island’s endemic animals and plants. For example, the critically endangered endemic plant Clematis dubia survives only within the Park, with just 15 individuals recorded in 2003. Numbers of these have increased and are currently being propagated at the Norfolk Island National Park nursery for planting back out into the Park.

White terns (Gygis alba) are vulnerable to introduced predators such as feral cats.

Unfortunately, non-native plants and animals occur extensively across Norfolk Island, but for decades, local conservationists have worked to remove or control many of the most invasive species. The NIRC employs contractors to control woody weeds. An on-going programme for clearing guava thickets and replanting the cleared areas with native species has helped restore tracts of native vegetation. A native plant nursery has also been established, located on Norfolk Island National Park land and is operated by Norfolk Island National Park contractors. The nursery focuses on the propagation of native plants for repopulating the National Park, but stock is also raised and provided to Norfolk Island National Park for replanting Council reserves. Excess native plants are made available to the general public through plant sales. For the past few years, the Norfolk Island Flora & Fauna Society, in partnership with local businesses, has run the ‘Great Annual Lily Hunt’, where money is given to ‘hunters’ for each bunch of non-native Formosan lilies they bring in. This has been a great way for local children to make pocket money and understand the need to control nonnative invasive species!

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Various volunteer groups from mainland Australia have supported several specific weeding projects over the years. Currently, a group called the Norfolk Island Conservation Volunteers (supported by the Norfolk Island Flora & Fauna Society and the Norfolk Island Regional Council) is running a ‘Coral Berry Crusade’, aiming to eliminate the invasive coral berry from the Hundred Acres Reserve. Started in July 2020, the Coral Berry Crusade is already yielding results.

The Norfolk Island palm (Rhopalostylis baueri) is impacted by rodents.

As of July 2021, many native plant species are seen to be returning, including the delicate native herb, Parietaria debilis, which is now the dominant ground cover in the Reserve. The recovery of native vegetation is key to safeguarding the survivial of many of the island’s native animal species (especially invertebrates, some of which, feed exclusively on native plants). The impact of non-native rodents remains among the most pressing conservation priorities. Introduced rats and mice kill native animals (such as bird hatchlings and invertebrates), and also severely impact many native plants by eating their fruit and young seedlings (such as the native palm Rhopalostylis baueri). After a period of decline of many of Norfolk’s native species up to the 1980s, conservation management actions have taken place to control the numbers of rats and feral cats. Many native animal and plant species have since recovered significantly.

The non-native Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans).

The complete eradication of rodents and feral cats would dramatically aid the recovery of native species. Although challenging, similar eradication efforts have been successful on islands of comparable size and ecological make-up.

NORFOLK ISLAND

Regeneration of Phillip Island One of the most important and inspiring conservation projects currently being undertaken is the regeneration of Phillip Island (6 km to the south of Norfolk Island). During the British colonial settlement era, the colonial settlers and penal colony staff introduced pigs, goats and rabbits to Phillip Island for the purpose of hunting and sport. The introduced animals devastated the plant life and caused massive soil erosion. Much of the surface of Phillip Island was completely de-vegetated and most of the top soil was lost. Despite its proximity to Norfolk, four endemic plant species are known to have evolved on Phillip Island alone. Sadly, one of these has since become extinct - the Phillip Island glory pea (Streblorrhiza speciosa). The pigs and goats were removed during the early 20th century, and rabbits were eventually exterminated by 1988. To aid reforestation, seeds of the Norfolk pine were collected and dropped over Phillip Island in the late 1980s by a Royal Australian Airforce C130E Hercules. During the three decades since these efforts took place, plant and animal life is rapidly regenerating. A substantial proportion of the areas which were bare before rabbit eradication are now well vegetated, though often largely by non-native plants. Considering most of the island’s surface was completely devoid of vegetation before rabbit control, the rate of vegetation development and soil formation is remarkable. Burrow-nesting seabirds now have colonies on Phillip Island in areas where soil was completely absent before rabbit eradication, and Norfolk pines are in the process of becoming re-established.

The Phillip Island glory pea (Streblorrhiza speciosa) is an extinct plant that was endemic to Phillip Island.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A total of 68 vascular plant species now occur on Phillip Island, including 37 native species and 31 introduced ones. Of the 3 surviving endemic plants, one of these, the chaffy tree (Achyranthes margaretarum), was discovered after the rabbits were exterminated. Had the non-native animals not been removed, it would have almost certainly become extinct before it was even discovered. It remains critically endangered, with just 22 plants identified during a 2003 study. The endemic shrub Abutilon julianae was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered on Phillip Island as the rabbits were being exterminated. A population of less than 50 plants survives in the wild. The third endemic is Hibiscus insularis, which is also critically endangered. The wild population consisted of just two clumps, although it has now been propagated and planted across Phillip Island and Norfolk Island as well.

The critically endangered Phillip Island hibiscus (Hibiscus insularis).

At least 12 species of seabirds nest on Phillip Island, and over 100 invertebrates have been recorded, including the endemic Phillip Island centipede (Cormocephalus coynei - see page 35) and the endemic Phillip Island snail (Mathewsoconcha phillipii). Proposals are being considered to reintroduce the endangered Norfolk robin (Petroica multicolor) once suitable habitat has regenerated. Phillip Island is a remarkable example of conservation work in action. It shows that with care and determination, ecosystems can be regenerated and unique island-dwelling species can be saved for the future.

Phillip Island, part of the Norfolk Island National Park is located 6 km south of Norfolk Island. Note the patches of exposed substrate and recovering vegetation.

NORFOLK ISLAND

Lord Howe Island. Note Mount Lidgbird (777 m, left) and Mount Gower (875 m, right), two distinctive volcanic mountains that dominate the south of the island (shown here rising into the clouds).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 382 (2016) Area: 14.55 km2 Main settlement: Town Centre Flag: The pre-1801 Union Jack (excluding the red of St George’s Cross) with a yellow centre depicting a kentia palm and the island’s distinctive topography Highest elevation: 875 m (Mount Gower)

Lord Howe Island

Co-authored by Ian Hutton

Lord Howe Island is the largest of a small group of 28 islands located in the Tasman Sea, due east of Port Macquarie and 700 km north-east of Sydney. It is an irregular crescent in shape, approximately 11 km long and 2 km wide. The 27 other smaller islands surrounding Lord Howe include islets and rocks, as well as a cluster of seven uninhabited islands called the Admiralty Group; and Ball’s Pyramid, a steeply eroded, basalt monolith that rises 562 m as the world’s tallest volcanic sea stack. Geo-politically, Lord Howe Island is part of New South Wales as an ‘unincorporated area’ administered by the Lord Howe Island Board. Since its discovery in 1788, the Lord Howe Island Group has been famed for its natural beauty and diverse habitats that include two volcanic mountains, Mount Gower (875 m) and Mount Lidgbird (777 m), the most southerly coral reef in the world, an exquisite turquoise lagoon and white sand beaches. This rich ecological landscape supports 241 species of native vascular plants and 100 species of moss, as well as over 3,000 invertebrates species.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

OLD SETTLEMENT

NED’S BEACH LORDE HOWE IS.

TOWN CENTRE 10 km

LORD HOWE AIRPORT

BALL’S PYRAMID

MOUNT LIDGBIRD ISLAND LOCATION ( )

MOUNT GOWER 1,000 km

Lord Howe Island 1 km

The Lord Howe Island Group is also home to 17 species of landbirds and is recognised as a regionally important breeding site for 14 species of seabirds, with hundreds of thousands of pairs nesting across the islands each year. This impressive biodiversity occurs in a patchwork of habitats and vegetation types, including gnarled mossy cloud forest, a very rare and biodiverse vegetation type that is found on only a few other remote oceanic islands. At least 500 species of endemic animals and plants evolved on the Lord Howe Island Group and occur nowhere else on Earth. Fortunately, around 70% of Lord Howe Island and virtually all of the surrounding smaller isles remain as wilderness.

Seabird colonies on the uninhabited Admiralty Group are of regional importance.

Reflecting these impressive ecological credentials, Lord Howe Island is regarded as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance and is included on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. The surrounding waters are also protected as the Lord Howe Island Marine Park.

Volcanic Origins Lord Howe Island is part of a chain of volcanoes that stretch 1,900 km north-south (called the Lord Howe Seamount Chain). These volcanoes formed as the Australian tectonic plate moved north over a stationary hotspot under the Earth’s crust, resulting in periodic eruptions. Lord Howe Island is all that remains of a large shield volcano that built up from the seafloor 3,000 metres below, approximately 7 million years ago. It was formed by the eruption of repeated lava flows that ran down the slope of the volcano; and as they cooled, the lava flows solidified to form basalt rock.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The dramatic outline of Ball’s Pyramid (with Lord Howe Island visible in the distance).

Over a period of about 10,000 years, layers of basalt stacked on top of each other and formed an island about 30 km in diameter and 1,000 metres high above the ocean surface. This original landmass has undergone significant and complex erosion by wind, rain and sea and, over millions of years, has reduced in size. Lord Howe Island (and nearby islets) are all that survive today, representing just 2.5 percent of the land area that originally formed. A reconstruction of the skeleton of an extinct horned turtle (Meiolania platyceps).

Balls Pyramid, located 23 km to the southeast, comprises the remnants of a different volcano that is slightly younger than Lord Howe Island, but was similarly eroded and diminished over the course of several millions of years.

Coral Sands and Ancient Turtles Most of the low-lying areas of Lord Howe lsland consist of sedimentary rock, known as calcarenite. The grains in the calcarenite rock consist of algal and coral fragments, plus ground up skeletons of other marine creatures, rolled around the lagoon floor by swells and currents. The resulting sand was washed up as beaches, and strong winds blew some sand into dunes up to 40 metres high that were later cemented by rainwater into the calcarenite rock. Many fossils have been found within the calcarenite deposits, including marine and land-snail shells, bird bones and, most importantly, fragments of a large extinct horned turtle. Scientists have recovered bones from the rock to make a complete skeleton of the turtle which is known as Meiolania platyceps. This horned turtle was a large land animal, over a metre long, that lived on the sand dunes around the island that were more extensive when the sea level was lower than it is today. The fossils have been dated at between 10,000 and 130,000 years old. Meiolania platyceps had a distinctive skull that sported many knob-like and horn-like protrusions. Two large sidewards-facing horns would have prevented the animal fully withdrawing its head into its shell. The tail was protected by armored ‘rings’ and had club-like spikes at the end. The species was endemic to Lord Howe Island, but is thought to have gone extinct before human occupation as a result of postglacial sea-level rise. It fed on plants.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

History Until the 18th century, Lord Howe Island was uninhabited and apparently unknown to Polynesian peoples of the South Pacific. The first recorded sighting of the island group was made by the sailors on the First Fleet ship HMS Supply in 1788, who were taking soldiers from Sydney to settle Norfolk Island. For forty years, the island became known as a place for sailors to get water and food (sea turtles, fish and birds). Continuous settlement began in 1834 when three English sailors from New Zealand landed with their Maori wives. Twenty years later, an American whaler, Nathan Chase Thompson, arrived bringing two women and a girl from Kiribati with him. Other families came, some only for a short time, others staying on.

A 1788 map by sailors on HMS Supply.

HMS Supply off Lord Howe Island, 1788.

The original settlement was set up to provide food for whaling ships that were in the Pacific Ocean. With the demise of the whaling industry in the 1860’s, very few ships visited the island. Fortunately for the islanders, the endemic kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) that is common in the lowlands of Lord Howe Island, found its way to London and became the world’s most popular indoor palm from 1865. Demand for seeds exploded, and the community on Lord Howe Island collected and exported two to three million seeds each year. Groves of kentia palms (cultivated for their seeds) were planted and remain around the settlement to this day. Tourism began around 1900 as islanders began taking visitors into their homes, then separate accommodation was built. Initially ships would bring passengers to the island, and in 1947, flying boats began to bring tourists on a three hour flight from Sydney Harbour.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Kentia palm seedlings continue to be grown and exported from Lord Howe Island. However tourism has now grown to become the main industry and source of employment. Today, the local population on Lord Howe Island numbers 382. The settlement is just 4 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide; there are about 130 homes and fifteen tourist lodges (mostly family owned and run). A maximum number of 400 tourists is allowed on the island at any one time. The island has a central school, with three teachers and about 35 students each year. Most high school children go to boarding school in mainland Australia. Food and building supplies, fuel and cars and water tanks are brought to the island by a fortnightly shipping service from Port Macquarie on the coast of New South Wales. Islanders collecting kentia palm seeds.

Horticultural demand for kentia palm seeds exploded in the 19th century and became a major industry on Lord Howe Island into the 20th century.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Plant Life A wide diversity of flowering plants grow across Lord Howe Island, from tiny herbs to tall rainforest trees that stand 20 metres high. Of the 241 species recorded from the island, 105 are endemic, including the redflowered mountain rose (Metrosideros nervulosa).

Flowering mountain rose plants (Metrosideros nervulosa) atop Mount Gower.

Vegetation ranges from grasses and heath to varied forest types across the island, including drier littoral rainforest in the north, wetter montane forest around the southern mountains, and the gnarled mossy cloud forest on the summit of Mount Gower. Most of Lord Howe Island is covered in forest, and around 70% of the island’s total surface consists of relatively pristine vegetation. Of all Lord Howe Island’s vegetation types, the gnarled mossy cloud forest is of particular importance. It is the result of the oceanic winds that sweep over Lord Howe Island from the Tasman Sea. Ladened with humidity, these oceanic air masses condense as they rise, frequently forming a cloud cap over Mount Gower (and nearby Mount Lidgbird). The result is lush, moisture-laden vegetation rich with mosses, ferns, orchids and other flowering plants. Around 90% of the plant species that make up the gnarled mossy cloud forest of Mount Gower’s summit comprise endemic species. Among the many endemic species of the island, the so-called pumpkin tree (Negria rhabdothamnoides) is the world’s largest Gesneriad (a group of mostly small plants that includes African violets). From October to April, it produces orange flowers lined with red dots. Perhaps the most famous of Lord Howe’s plants is the kentia palm, which provided islanders with a key early industry (see History section). It was adored by Queen Victoria. At her request, the palms were grown in elaborate urns at royal stately homes and castles across Britain over the late 19th century, and were even placed around her coffin as she lay in state.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Gnarled mossy cloud forest.

Fruits of the native tree, kava (Macropiper hooglandii).

The exquisite mountain rose (Metrosideros nervulosa) is endemic to Lord Howe Island.

Hotbark (Zygogynum howeanum) is endemic to Lord Howe Island.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Animal Life A total of 238 species of birds have been recorded from Lord Howe Island, including four endemic land birds.

The endemic, flightless Lord Howe woodhen (Hypotaenidia sylvestris).

Sadly, at least nine additional endemic bird taxa occurred on the islands when HMS Supply arrived in 1788, but these have become extinct, such as the Lord Howe Island pigeon. Despite these losses, Lord Howe Island remains one of the most important seabird breeding sites in the Tasman Sea. It is the most southerly breeding place for sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscatus), white terns (Gygis alba), brown noddies (Anous stolidus) and black noddies (Anous minutus). It is also the only breeding location for Providence petrels (Pterodroma solandri), apart from a small number breeding on Phillip Island off Norfolk Island (see p. 23). The endemic Lord Howe Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis tephropleurus).

The extinct Lord Howe Island pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae) was a subspecies of the widespread whitethroated pigeon that was endemic to Lord Howe Island.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Unfortunately, several of the four surviving endemic birds recently appeared to be close to extinction, including the ground-dwelling woodhen (Hypotaenidia sylvestris). This flightless rail forages with its long beak for earthworms, insects and occasionally the eggs of other birds. It was easy prey for islanders and introduced predators (such as feral cats), and by the 1970s the population was less than 30 individuals in the wild. From 1978, determined local conservationists removed feral species (see Conservation Priorities section) and captive reared woodhens have been released back into the wild. Thanks to these efforts, the species has recovered to around 600 adult birds and is considered stable. No large land animals were extant when the island was discovered in 1788. Native land mammals comprised

The providence petrel (Pterodroma solandri).

One of many endemic land snails (Placostylus bivaricosus).

The Lord Howe Island gecko (Christinus guentheri).

LORD HOWE ISLAND

two species of bats: the large forest bat (Vespadelus darlingtoni) and the endemic, but now extinct, Lord Howe long-eared bat (Nyctophilus howensis).

The endemic Lord Howe stag beetle (Lamprima insularis) is the most colourful of the island’s beetle species.

Two terrestrial reptiles are native to the island group: the Lord Howe Island skink (Oligosoma lichenigerum) and the Lord Howe Island gecko (Christinus guentheri). Both survive on Lord Howe Island and several of the smaller, surrounding islets (as well as Phillip Island, see Norfolk Island chapter). Invertebrates are very diverse and show high rates of endemism. Over 80 species of land snails have been listed, the majority occurring only on Lord Howe Island. At least 530 beetle species have also been discovered of which approximately two thirds are endemic, including The flightless endemic beetle (Chauliognathus aptera) is a prime example of adaptation to island ecosystems.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The Lord Howe Island weevil (Orthorrhinus lateralis).

the metallic Lord Howe stag beetle (Lamprima insularis), a weevil (Orthorrhinus lateralis) and a flightless beetle (Chauliognathus aptera). This last is a truly fascinating example of island evolution. Wings pose a major evolutionary disadvantage to most invertebrates living on small, remote islands because strong wings are likely to blow them out to sea (causing death). So many island-dwelling invertebrates that ordinarily possess wings have evolved to become wingless. In the case of Lord Howe Island’s wingless beetle, the wing cases have reduced and the abdomen has extended. Other native invertebrates include the famous Lord Howe stick insect (Dryococelus australis) - see pages 56 & 57, a large, endemic bush cockroach (Panesthia lata) and a river-dwelling freshwater crab (Amarinus lacustris).

The freshwater crab (Amarinus lacustris).

The endemic Lord Howe Island bush cockroach (Panesthia lata).

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Marine Life Lord Howe Island’s marine life is influenced by the ocean currents surrounding it. For much of the year the island comes under the influence of the warm East Australian Current that sweeps down from the Queensland coast, and out into the Tasman Sea, past Lord Howe Island. Surface water temperatures peak in March at about 26 °C. In winter the East Australian Current is north of Lord Howe Island, so cooler temperate currents predominate and the surface water temperature can go down to 17 °C in August. Marine animal larvae are transported in ocean currents, so Lord Howe Island has a mix of temperate and tropical species of marine plants and animals. Tropical marine life predominates, and the island boasts the world’s most southerly coral reefs, with a great diversity of creatures living in and on the reef. There are over 500 fish species, around 70 echinoderm species (starfish, urchins and their cousins), hundreds of mollusc species (snails, slugs and bivalves) plus many species of crustaceans, worms and other invertebrates.

Diverse coral communities flourish in the shallows around Lord Howe Island.

Lord Howe Island is home to the world’s most southerly coral reefs.

Native fish include the double header wrasse (Coris bulbifrons), the colourful three-striped butterflyfish (Amphichaetodon howensis) and the McCulloch’s clownfish (Amphiprion mccullochi). With the small human footprint of just 382 residents and a cap of 400 visitors, the marine environment at Lord Howe Island remains relatively pristine. In many parts of the island, diverse and extensive coral reefs occur unusually close to beaches. In some cases, lying

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

as little as 10 m from the shore, in shallow, crystal clear water (for example off Ned’s Beach).

The double header wrasse (Coris bulbifrons).

Snorkeling opens up a bright multi-coloured world of corals and reef fishes, many of which are so tame they will swim right up to you. Kingfish at Ned’s Beach are famous for forming dense shoals around tourists that feed them fish pellets by hand. As tourism has grown to become the most important industry on the island, the rich marine life has become a treasured asset. SCUBA operators take diving enthusiasts out to the key diving locations. The community is rightly proud of the diverse marine life that abounds and support for the conservation of the local reefs runs deep.

The McCulloch’s clownfish (Amphiprion mccullochi).

LORD HOWE ISLAND

The three-striped butterflyfish (Amphichaetodon howensis) .

Lord Howe Island stick insect Dryococelus australis

The Lord Howe Island stick insect is a black, wingless insect which grows up to 15 cm in length. Owing to its size and shape, it was nick-named the ‘tree lobster’, but as a stick insect (phasmid), it is not closely related to lobsters or crabs. The species was once very common on Lord Howe Island and was used as bait for fishing. Unfortunately, a supply ship (SS Makambo) ran aground in 1918 and introduced black rats to Lord Howe Island. The rats soon decimated the population of Lord Howe stick insects and after 1920, the species was thought to be extinct. In 1964, a team of climbers visiting Ball’s Pyramid (23 kilometres south-east of Lord Howe Island) discovered a dead Lord Howe Island stick insect. A few further dead specimens were subsequently found by other teams of climbers, but no living insects were located. Then, in 2001, Australian scientists David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile hypothesised that the scant vegetation growing on the rocky sides of Ball’s Pyramid could be sufficient to support a small population of the insects. With two assistants, Priddel and Carlile scaled 120 m up the side of Ball’s Pyramid, searching for the stick insects. During their ascent, they only saw crickets, but as they descended, they discovered large insect

The barren cliffsides of Ball’s Pyramid served as a refuge for the Lord Howe Island stick insect.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The spectacular Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis).

droppings under a single Melaleuca shrub growing in a crevice approximately 100 metres above the shoreline. They realised that they would need to return after dark, when the insects were active, to have the best chance of finding living specimens. With local ranger Dean Hiscox, Carlile scrambled back up the cliff with a torch and discovered a population of 24 Lord Howe stick insects living beneath the Melaleuca shrub. The species was soon called ‘the rarest insect in the world’! In 2003, a return expedition collected two breeding pairs which, despite initial difficulties, established a successful breeding population in captivity. Thousands of Lord Howe stick insects have now been reared in captivity and distributed to zoos across the world to form a back up ex-situ population. A programme is currently underway to reintroduce the species back into the wild on Lord Howe Island where it once occurred.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Conservation Priorities Even before settlement of Lord Howe Island, humans impacted the environment of the island. Sailors came ashore in search of food and shot two native bird species into extinction. Today, although the majority of Lord Howe Island remains covered with (near-pristine) vegetation, sadly the native wildlife of the island is still adversely impacted by human activities. Marine plastic waste is one of the most pressing conservation issues facing Lord Howe Island. Each year, at least 360 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally, with much of this entering the environment; of this, an estimated 14 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the ocean each year. The floating plastic can be mistaken for food by turtles and seabirds. One of Lord Howe Island’s seabirds, the flesh footed shearwater, has been severely impacted. When the parents of this bird forage for food they mistakenly pick up plastic which they feed to their chicks. A study undertaken on Lord Howe Island revealed that each year 80 percent of shearwater chicks have some plastic in their stomach. If they are fed too much plastic, they cannot take in enough food to develop properly and many die. We can all help cut down on this plastic waste by refusing singleuse plastic such as straws, cups, bags and food containers. When buying something, look for an alternative product not made from plastic; or take part in a beach clean-up. Like the rest of Australia and the world, the impacts of global warming are a threat to island ecosystems. Already some impacts

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Note the plastic items that fill this bird skeleton.

Bleached coral

are being seen. In nearshore marine habitats, we have seen the impact of coral bleaching during the summer of 2018/19. This is when the individual coral polyps within a coral colony become so stressed by the heat that they expel the algae from their tissues and the coral colony turns white as a result. Three of the island’s hottest and driest summers, from 2016 to 2019, caused the death of many plant species across the island. Of particular concern has been at the summit of Mount Gower. The gnarled mossy cloud forest on the summit relies on cloud cover during the summer months to provide moisture and shade for the plants growing there. The hot dry summers from 2016 to 2019, with less cloud cover on the summits, impacted many plant species there. Predictions for continued global warming indicate cloud levels could rise still further. Studies on some islands have shown that when the ocean surface warms, the food for seabirds moves deeper and thus out of reach, and this could have severe consequences for many seabird colonies too. As with many of Australia’s islands, invasive, non-native species have caused the extinction of many endemic species. Prior to settlement, passing ships called into Lord Howe Island in search of food, and sailors deliberately released pigs and goats ashore in the hope that populations would establish to provide food for future sailors. When settlers arrived in 1834, they also brought cats to the island; these had a big impact on the birds and reptiles. Mice reached the island as early as 1860; and rats came ashore at Ned’s Beach in 1918 from the wrecked steamship Makambo. The rats and mice ate a variety of plant fruits and seeds, as well as bird eggs and chicks. The rats caused the extinction of five landbirds within just ten years of arrival. The mice and rats also preyed upon invertebrates, including the large endemic bush cockroach (Panathesia lata) and the Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis). Fortunately, these survived on rat-free offshore islets such as Blackburn Island and Ball’s Pyramid respectively.

The invasive bleating tree frog (Litoria dentata).

Masked owls were introduced in the 1920s to reduce rat numbers which were devastating the kentia palm industry. However, these introduced owls also preyed upon native birds including woodhens, and many seabird species.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Even with much recent conservation attention and World Heritage Listing in 1982, new animals still arrived on the island. Around 1995 a small species of bleating frog (Littoria dentata) and a small rainbow skink (Lampropholis delicata) appeared on the island – probably stowaways on a cargo ship. Similarly, the island’s native plants evolved in harmony with fellow plant species, so that competition from each other, and from the native insects present, kept them in check. New plants that were brought to the island however, did not come with the insect pests that kept them in check in their native country, and so some thrived and became weeds on the island, displacing native species. In the 1970s, environmental surveys identified the damage being done to the island’s flora and fauna through introduced animals and plants. Of particular danger was the possible extinction of the endemic flightless bird, the woodhen. Once thriving all over the island, this bird had been reduced to about 30 individuals surviving only on the mountain summits.

Spraying non-native weeds on cliffsides.

The helicopter dropping rodent poison bait to eradicate rodents.

So in 1978, intensive conservation efforts began to save the island’s unique ecosystem, including the woodhen. Islanders shot 180 wild pigs in the mountains; rangers trapped about eighty feral cats, domestic cats were banned and ownership of dogs was tightly controlled. A captive breeding programme on the island raised and released 93 woodhens over a three year period. The woodhens in the wild quickly began breeding, and after five years, the population had risen to 250 individuals.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

As a result of removing these feral pests, all bird life has dramatically increased. Black noddy and little shearwater seabirds came back to breed by 1990, and all other seabird species have increased in number and have re-colonised former breeding areas across the islands. In 1999 a team of New Zealand hunters were employed to remove 384 wild goats, and the success of this programme has enabled native vegetation to recover. In 2002, the Lord Howe Island Board investigated the feasibility of removing rodents from the island. After 17 years planning, the Rodent Eradication Plan was carried out in 2019. Woodhen numbers have since climbed to over 600, and there has been amazing recovery in plant, bird and invertebrate numbers. From about 2000, the community and government have been working to eradicate weed species. Planning, mapping and weed strategies have been made, and are being implemented with 90 percent of weeds now removed. This effort involves paid workers on the ground, Friends of Lord Howe Island volunteers that visit to assist, and helicopters to ferry workers into remote areas, and also to spray weeds on cliffs. Funding needs to continue to keep the effort up to remove every last single weed. If not, they will fruit and spread again to return to be the major problem they once were – a waste of money and effort. Biosecurity needs to be tightened to ensure that rats, and any other invasive species, are kept off the island. This is a challenge, as the island relies upon a ship to bring food and supplies; and aircraft to bring people and freight. The rodent eradication effort aims restore the natural balance of wildlife on Lord Howe Island.

LORD HOWE ISLAND

Numbers of brown noddies (Anous stolidus) have rebounded dramatically since the eradication of rodents.

Macquarie Island is home to millions of seabirds including vast colonies of royal penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli), shown here.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: (20-40 temporary personnel) Area: 128 km2 Capital: Not permanently inhabited Flag: flag of Australia Highest elevation: 410 m

Macquarie Island

Co-authored by Robert Irving

Macquarie Island, 34 km long by 5 km wide and oriented north to south, lies in the Southern Ocean some 1,500 km to the south-east of Tasmania, almost midway between the southern tip of Tasmania and the Anderson Peninsula on the coast of Antarctica. It is a remote, windswept island of steep escarpments, lakes and bogs, providing an example of wild, natural beauty. It is often buffeted by very strong westerly winds and stormy seas, preventing all but the hardiest of plants from surviving. Whilst the island has no permanent human residents (the only ones there are visiting scientists at the Australian Antarctic Research ANARE STATION Station), it is a haven for wildlife, supporting fur Macquarie seals, elephant seals and approximately four million Island SANDY BAY 1 km breeding seabirds, most of which are penguins. BAUER BAY Macquarie Island consists of an exposed (above sea level) portion of the Macquarie Ridge, where the Australian tectonic Plate meets the Pacific Plate. It is the only place on Earth where rocks from the Earth’s mantle (typically 6 km below the seabed) are exposed above sea level. Consequently, it is of great interest to geologists and, partly for this reason, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

GREEN GORGE

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

MOUNT HAMILTON

LUSITANIA BAY

1,000 km

History The island was discovered in 1810 by a sealing brig out of Sydney named the Perseverance. The Captain, Frederick Hasselborough, named the island after the newly installed Governor of New South Wales, Colonel Lachlan Macquarie. When Hasselborough first landed, it is thought that Macquarie Island was home to as many as 400,000 fur seals. Hasselborough intended to keep the island’s location a secret but other sealing gangs soon found out. The sealing gangs killed tens of thousands of fur seals each year for their oil and valuable fur pelts. In the first 18 months after the island’s discovery, at least 120,000 seal skins were taken. By 1821, the fur seal population had been decimated and commercial hunting was no longer profitable. The sealers then focused on hunting elephant seals for their oil-rich blubber. It is thought that as many as 110,000 elephant seals originally occurred on the island, but by the mid-1840s, the population had been reduced by 70%. Penguins were also targeted, although their oil was not as valuable as that of the seals. King penguins were taken first, followed by Royal penguins. Each bird produced about half a litre of oil. Fortunately for the beleaguered seal and penguin populations, demand for their oil diminished and the hunting operations on the island closed down. In 1890, ownership of Macquarie Island was transfered from New South Wales to the Tasmanian Government. In 1933, the authorities declared the island a wildlife sanctuary and in 1978, it was formally named Macquarie Island Nature Reserve and it became a World Heritage Area in 1997. Fortunately, the wildlife populations have recovered and today, over 80,000 elephant seals and 3.5 million seabirds visit Macquarie Island each year to breed and moult. In 1999, the waters to the east and south of the island were declared a Marine Park, covering 162,000 km2 of the Southern Ocean.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Map from the Australian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914

The wreck of The Gratitude, 1911, by Frank Hurley.

Remains of machinery used to extract oil from seals and penguins over the 19th century.

The first scientific base on Macquarie Island was established in 1911, primarily acting as a relay station for radio messages sent between the Antarctic and Hobart. It also served to record meteorological data, but it was closed down after just four years. It wasn’t until 1948 that the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) established a permanent base on the island known as the Macquarie Island Station, at the foot of Wireless Hill at the northern end of the island.

A winch near the site of an abandoned sealing station on Macquarie Island.

Today, visiting scientists carry out various projects to study the numbers and behaviour of seals and seabirds as well as geosciences, meteorology and human impacts on the environment. The station receives 2-3 supply ship visits a year, with 10-20 scientists living on the island at any one time. Part of the modern research facility on Macquarie Island.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Plant Life Given the strong winds that continually batter the island, it is no surprise to find there are no trees or shrubs on Macquarie. Of the very few plant species that are able to survive the conditions, all are herbaceous. 45 vascular plant species have been recorded on the island of which four are endemic: the cushion plant (Azorella macquariensis), the tufted grass (Puccinellia macquariensis), and two orchids (Nematoceras dienemum and Nematoceras sulcatum). Mosses make up an important component of the flora, with 79 species recorded. One in particular, the hummockforming (Ditrichum strictum), is particularly dominant on higher ground. There are also various species of ferns, lichens and liverworts present.

A female southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) amongst tussac grass (Poa foliosa).

Megaherbs are a distinctive and unique feature of sub-Antarctic islands. Two megaherbs grow on Macquarie Island: the Macquarie Island cabbage (Stilbocarpa polaris), and the sage-green rosette herb (Pleurophyllum hookeri). The cabbage grows to about 1 m in height and is edible, being used by early explorers and sealers as a scurvy preventative. Both of these plants were grazed upon by introduced black rats and rabbits (before their removal in 2011) which threatened their existence. Tall tussac grasslands, dominated by the tussac grass (Poa foliosa) and extensive swathes of cabbage plants, are restricted to the island’s steep east-facing coastal slopes. Short tussac grass tends to dominate the higher plateau, mixed with a mosaic of alpine plants,

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Tussac grass foliage.

areas of bare rocky slopes and boggy mires. The tussac hummocks provide shelter from the cold blasts of wind which are almost a constant on the island, and are used by seals and albatrosses in particular as sheltered spots for caring for their young.

Foliage of the Macquarie Island cabbage (Stilbocarpa polaris).

The Macquarie Island cabbage is an example of rare sub-polar mega herb flora.

The Macquarie cushion (Azorella macquariensis) is a perennial, cushion-forming herb. Individuals form cushion-like mats that may vary in size from a few centimetres to several metres across and up to 60 cm in height. It is regarded as a keystone species of Macquarie’s feldstone habitat, which covers about half of the island on the wind-exposed plateau, 200-400 m above sea level. However, in the past decade, the plant has suffered extensive die-back (due to unknown causes) and is now regarded as endangered. The Macquarie cushion (Azorella macquariensis).

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Animal Life Macquarie is home to a staggering array of wildlife, almost all of it associated with the sea. It is home to nearly four million seabirds, and provides nesting habitat for four species of penguins (royal (Eudyptes schlegeli), king (Aptenodytes patagonicus), gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and southern rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome), at least nine petrel species and four threatened albatross species. In addition, the island’s beaches are used by two species of fur seal and by southern elephant seals, together numbering 100,000 individuals, to give birth to their pups. Macquarie’s animal life is concentrated on and around its coastline. The attraction of the island for all of these seabirds and mammals is primarily because the island remains free from sea ice the whole year round, thereby allowing relatively easy access to feeding grounds during the periods when these seabirds and mammals are confined to the island, either because of breeding or of moulting. Between November and April, Macquarie Island is a key breeding site for Subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella). For the Subantarctic fur seal, it is their only significant breeding centre in the region. Long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) also occur on Macquarie Island but do not breed there. Macquarie Island is a regionally important breeding station for millions of marine mammals and seabirds.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

About 10% of the world’s southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), or approximately 80,000 individuals, breed on Macquarie. The enormous males, who can weigh up to 4 tonnes, will spend up to three months on land without feeding, living off their blubber reserves. They vie to see who will be ‘beach master’, the largest individual able to fight off other males and claim the best females for his harem. Breeding takes place on the island from September to November, and they moult their hair and skin between January and April.

An adult male Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella).

Elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) are so-called because the adult males of the species have a large, inflatable nose reminiscent of an elephant’s trunk.

When in the water, these elephant seals can dive to over 1,500 m deep and can hold their breath for up to two hours! Although they appear to be rather awkward on land, they are very agile in the water. They cruise the whole Southern Ocean and can swim huge distances. Two fighting male southern elephant seals.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Royal penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli) breed only on Macquarie Island.

Macquarie is famed for royal penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli), as this is the only place in the world where they breed. They gather in huge numbers at a handful of breeding sites around the island, the largest of which is at Hurd Point where 500,000 pairs congregate. King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) also form large colonies (about 100,000 pairs occur on the island), laying their eggs between November and April. Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) and Southern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) have much smaller breeding colonies on the island. So how do returning adults manage to find their young? The young chick produces a call which is unique to it, so the parent birds can tell where to head. But starting from the other side of the colony this must be quite a challenge!

Royal penguins nest on beaches or on bare areas on slopes covered with vegetation.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Royal penguins bond and locate each other via trumpeting calls.

Part of a vast colony of king penguins on Macquarie Island.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Adult king penguins and their fluffy chicks.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Royal penguins nesting together.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

There are a total of 70 bird species which have been recorded from Macquarie, the vast majority being seabirds. Seven species of petrel breed on the island (with a further four that visit), the largest and most aggressive being the northern and southern giant petrels (Macronectes halli and M. giganteus). With their wingspan of over 2 m, these are big birds and they let others know they are the boss. As well as eating krill and squid when at sea, these petrels will feed on carrion and other seabirds back on the beach, including penguin chicks.

The southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus).

Skuas also have a reputation for bullying. Two species breed on Macquarie - the brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus) and the south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki). The second of these in particular is well known for attacking other birds in flight, forcing them to cough up their hard-won fish, so the skua gets an easy free meal. The southern giant petrel is among the top predators on Macquarie Island and preys on many bird species.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) has the largest wingspan of all birds alive today at over 3 m!

Albatrosses include the largest flying birds in the world, the wingspan of some exceeding 3 m. There are four species which breed on Macquarie: grey-headed (Thalassarche chrysostoma), black-browed (Thalassarche melanophris), light-mantled (Phoebetria palpebrata) and wandering (Diomedea exulans). These mighty birds glide across the Southern Ocean and may cover up to 120,000 km in a single year. In 2017, researchers attached GPS trackers to black-browed albatrosses during the breeding season. They found that parents shared incubating duties and, when off duty, they foraged within 200 km of the island. Like the Royal penguin, the Macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens) is another bird that is endemic to the island group. These birds are gregarious and form small colonies. The Macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens) breeds only on Macquarie Island, and the nearby Bishop and Clerk Islets.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Marine Life Macquarie Island lies close to the border between the Antarctic and the Cold Temperate zones, and shares its marine life with both biogeographic regions. Whilst the majority of species are typical of these regions, about 4% are specific to the Subantarctic zone and about 11% to Macquarie Island alone.

Macquarie Island’s waters are home to kelp forests.

The island itself is ringed by a relatively narrow area of shallow water before it drops away quickly into water over 4000 m deep. The west coast is more exposed to wind and waves than the relatively sheltered east coast. Year-round water temperatures are between 4-7 degrees Celsius, matched by very similar air temperatures. The shallows are dominated by thick stands of the Antarctic bull kelp (Durvillea antarctica) whose fronds are often seen on the surface at low tide. The kelp grows to several metres in length and forms such a thick belt that it actually flattens out the swell that passes through it. Even seals and penguins have difficulty reaching the open sea. For obvious reasons, killer whales patrol this belt to catch the stragglers.

The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis).

Another kelp species, the giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), is present in slightly deeper water. This species is one of the fastest-growing organisms on Earth, capable of putting on 60 cm a day and growing to 45 m in length within a year! The forests formed by the mass of floating fronds forms an important habitat, protecting many juvenile fishes though exploited by their predators.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Further offshore, animals dominate the seabed. Grazing forms such as molluscs, starfish and sea cucumbers meander over rock surfaces, which are typically covered by sessile animals such as sea squirts, hydroids, bryozoans and sponges. The three most common inshore fish species are the small spiny plunderfish (Harpagifer georgianus), the pigfish (Zanclorhychus spinifer) and the magellanic rock cod (Paranotothenia magellanica). Macquarie is the only island where Subantarctic, Antarctic and long-nosed fur seals are found together (see Animal Life section). In addition to these species and elephant seals, leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) and New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) are also occasional visitors. Of the cetaceans found in the island’s waters, orcas (Orcinus orca) are seasonal visitors, most often seen between October and December. They are top predators and will prey on southern elephant seals, fur seals and penguins, sometimes ‘playing’ with their prey before consuming it. Other commonly recorded cetacean species include long-finned pilot whales, southern right whales and sperm whales. Several species of rare beaked whales have also been identified from strandings at the island.

Orcas (Orcinus orca) are seasonal visitors to the waters of Macquarie Island.

Orcas hunt penguins and seals around Macquarie Island.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Conservation Priorities Once a pristine Subantarctic island, the arrival of man on Macquarie’s shores in the early 1800s led to the decimation and extinction of several of its native inhabitants. Whether the result of mass culls of fur seals and penguins, or from the accidental or purposeful introduction of rats, mice, cats and rabbits, the island has certainly seen its fair share of conservation problems.

A female southern elephant seal.

House mice and black rats were introduced via supplies that came ashore from visiting ships. With none of their natural predators present on the island, they flourished. This led to the sealers introducing cats to the island in an attempt to keep the rodent numbers in check. However, the cats found seabird chicks to be easier prey than the rodents, leading to an annual loss of 60,000 seabirds. By 1985, there were an estimated 2,500 feral cats on the Macquarie Island, which devastated the native seabirds. Macquarie Island is home to a fragile ecosystem.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The world’s entire royal penguin population breeds on Macquarie Island and surrounding islets and depends upon the island group remaining free of terrestrial non-native predators.

Further introductions came in about 1870 when rabbits and a species of New Zealand flightless rail (wekas) were brought to the island to breed for food. These introductions, in addition to the non-native rodents, led to the extinction of the Macquarie Island rail (Gallirallus philippensis macquariensis) and the Macquarie parakeet (Cyanoramphus erythrotis). By 1978, rabbit numbers were estimated to have reached a peak of 150,000. They had a devastating impact on the palatable vegetation (particularly native megaherb species and tussac grass). The rabbits contributing to large areas of slope disturbance and increased landslips. In 1985, a programme to cull the cats began and was completed by 2000. A subsequent cull of the mice, rats and rabbits followed and by 2014 the island was declared free of these non-native species.

The populations of seabirds and seals of Macquarie Island are recovering.

MACQUARIE ISLAND

Kangaroo Island’s spectacular coast.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 4,702 (2016) Area: 4,405 km2 Largest town: Kingscote Flag: flag of Australia Highest elevation: 307 m (Prospect Hill)

Kangaroo Island

Co-authored by Robert Irving and Jason Turl

Lying 112 km south-west of Adelaide, Australia’s third largest island is 13.5 km from the closest part of the mainland at Fleurieu Peninsula. It received its current name in 1802 by the British explorer Matthew Flinders, on account of the large number of grey kangaroos which inhabited the island at the time. However, it has been known for much longer as Karta Pintingga (meaning ‘island of the dead’) by the local Kaurna people. The island is 145 km long on an east-west axis and 54 km at its widest, with a coastline of 540 km. The highest point (307 m) is on top of Prospect Hill, within the Flinders Chase National FLINDERS CHASE Park at the western end of the island. NATIONAL PARK Kangaroo Island Largely as a result of the island avoiding the impact of introduced non-native mammals, a unique array of both fauna and flora is present, with many species found nowhere else in the world living naturally. The island is referred to by some as ‘a little Noah’s Ark’.

Kangaroo Island enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate: winters are typically warm and wet and summers hot and dry. Temperatures range between 13-16 °C in winter and 20-25 °C in summer.

KANGAROO ISLAND

10 km

LATHAMI CONSERVATION PARK

SEAL BAY CONSERVATION PARK

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

CAPE GANTHEAUME CONSERVATION PARK

KINGSCOTE

PENNESHAW BAUDIN CONSERVATION PARK

1,000 km

History Kangaroo Island was separated from continental Australia about 10,000 years ago following the last glacial period. Although a small Aboriginal group remained stranded on the island, they disappeared between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago.

Grain being loaded from horsedrawn wagons to the ketch Free Selector.

Quite what happened to those original occupants remains a mystery. Archaeological investigations of cave shelters on the coast and alongside inland waterways have revealed numerous artefacts, middens (piles of discarded shells and bones) and sites where stone tools were made. The island was uninhabited in March 1802 when Europeans arrived, in the shape of the British explorer Matthew Flinders, who was just 28 years old at the time. Desperately hungry, Flinders and his crew of 94 found abundant kangaroos, which they hunted for meat, and so named the island ‘Kangaroo Island’. They consumed 31 kangaroos over three days! Within months of Flinders arriving and departing the island, a Frenchman, Captain Nicolas Baudin, arrived. He mapped much of the island and named many of the features along its rugged south and west coastlines, accounting for the interesting mix of the island’s English and French place names.

Salt railway on Kangaroo Island.

Over the next 40 years, the island was visited by American sealers (after the pelts of fur seals), settling in what became known as American River, together with whalers, escaped convicts, ship deserters and farmers. Between them, they established a handful of settlements but they almost managed to hunt to extinction the island’s seals and kangaroos. In 1836, the South Australian Company set up a trading post on the island, dealing in many commodities including land, seal pelts, whaling products, timber, salt and grain.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Following a number of shipwrecks around Kangaroo’s coastline, its first lighthouse at Cape Willoughby started operating in 1852 with a second at Cape Borda in 1859.

The spectacular Admiral’s Arch.

The island’s geology dates back to the Cambrian Period (541-483 million years ago) when the first of its marinederived sedimentary rocks were laid down. Further sedimentation and weathering over the ensuing millennia, together with an overall lowering of sea levels, has resulted in the topography we see today. The island is home to some spectacular geological features. Of particular note are the weathered granite boulders at Remarkable Rocks; and the Admiral’s Arch cave, both within the Flinders Chase National Park.

The weather-worn, granitic Remarkable Rocks.

Some of the Remarkable Rocks are hollow.

KANGAROO ISLAND

Plant Life Many unique plants evolved on Kangaroo Island giving rise to a wide diversity of vegetation types, including Eucalyptus forest, mallee, grass tree scrub, heathland and herbland, to name but a few.

Fringe-lily (Thysanotus juncifolius).

The sheer number of endemic plants is remarkable. Unique plants include: big-headed riceflower (Pimelea macrostegia), Kangaroo Island bertya (Bertya rotundifolia), Kangaroo Island conesticks (Petrophile multisecta), Kangaroo Island daisy (Achnophora tatei), Kangaroo Island narrow leaf mallee (Eucalyptus cneorifolia), Kangaroo Island phebalium (Leionema equestre), Kangaroo Island silver bush (Adenanthos macropodianus), leafless pink-bells (Tetratheca halmaturina), pink eyes (Tetratheca insularis), Rogers grevillea (Grevillea lavandulacea ssp. rogersii), round-leaf correa (Correa backhouseana var. orbicularis), small flowered olearia (Olearia microdisca) and yellow bush-pea (Pultenaea villifera var. glabrescens). Several carnivorous plants are native to Kangaroo Island including sundews (such as Drosera whittakeri), which trap insects by way of sticky, glue-laden leaves; and bladderworts (for example Utricularia dichotoma), which produce tiny underground suction traps to capture minute subterranean prey. Much of Kangaroo Island is covered with Eucalyptus forest, although more than 20% of the island (around 900 km2) burnt in bushfires during December 2007; and in excess of 2,100 km2 (more than 52% of the island) burnt in January 2020. Although low intensity fires are part of the regenerative cycle of vegetation on Kangaroo Island, the large scale intense burning that has recently taken place has been catastrophic for plant and animal life. Although highly adapted to bushfire activity and capable of living for hundreds of years, many native grass trees (Xanthorrhoea semiplana ssp. tateana) perished as a result of the intensity of the fires. Efforts are underway to regenerate the burnt areas, and control other threats, such as invasive plant species and non-native animals (such as feral pigs) - see Conservation Priorities section.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Pin-cushion hakea (Hakea laurina).

The sticky leaves of the carnivorous sundew (Drosera whittakeri).

A unique subspecies, Kangaroo Island grass trees (Xanthorrhoea semiplana ssp. tateana).

The flowers of the silver banksia (Banksia marginata).

KANGAROO ISLAND

Animal Life

The endemic sooty kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus).

Since the arrival of humans, the composition of animal life on Kangaroo Island has altered significantly, especially since European settlement of the island. Hunting, habitat loss and the appearance of invasive, non-native species have all had major impacts. Sadly, the broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops) and the Kangaroo Island emu or dwarf emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae baudinianus), have both been wiped out. Fortunately, foxes and rabbits (which have devastated much of the mainland’s native wildlife) never reached the island and strict measures are in place to ensure they never do. Maintaining these efforts is critical for the future of the island’s native animals and plants. Over the past two decades, feral goats and deer have been removed, although efforts continue to control remaining feral species (see Conservation Priorities section).

The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus).

Despite the calamities of the past, Kangaroo Island is home to a treasure trove of animal life. Eighteen native mammals are found on the island, of which eight are marsupials, with one species, the Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni), being endemic. The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) is also classified as being endangered. The island’s largest marsupial is a sub-species of the western grey kangaroo, aptly named the sooty kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus). They are shorter and stockier than their mainland cousins, with a thicker,

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Kangaroo Island’s endemic subspecies of echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus).

chocolate brown coat, darker markings around the eyes and a light patch on the chest. The island’s sooty kangaroo population now numbers in excess of 65,000. Separation from the mainland has led to the island’s shortbeaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus) to evolve into a sub-species. It has more spines, which are longer, thinner and paler in colour than those of its mainland cousin. Like the platypus, the echidna is an egglaying mammal, known as a monotreme. Koalas are not native to Kangaroo Island. In the 1920s, 18 koalas from French Island in Victoria were brought to the island to ensure the species’ survival, as hunting (for the fur trade) had decimated their numbers in the southeast of South Australia.

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) were severely impacted by the 2020 bushfires.

The koalas thrived on the island, so much so that by the mid-1990s their over-browsing was having a detrimental effect on the native vegetation, particularly on the manna gum trees (Eucalyptus viminalis) on which they feed. Consequently, a management programme was introduced to limit their numbers which involved sterilising individuals rather than culling them. They were allowed to remain on the island, partly because the population has remained free of diseases that have afflicted koalas on the mainland (such as Chlamydia), and partly because of their appeal to tourists. By 2020, their numbers had stabilised at about 48,000. However, many were killed in the severe bushfires which have ravaged much of the island during recent years. Fortunately, at least 8,500 koalas survived the fires and will form the core of a more sustainable population.

KANGAROO ISLAND

Over 260 species of birds have been recorded on Kangaroo Island, including 17 endemic sub-species that have diverged from their mainland counterparts and occur nowhere else on Earth.

The little pygmy possum (Cercartetus lepidus) is the world’s smallest possum. Sadly, over 90% of its habitat was recently destroyed and it was feared that the species had been extirpated.

Several of Kangaroo Island’s native birds show adaptations to island life, such as the Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae), which can drink brackish or salty water, enabling it to remain on offshore islands (where freshwater might be scarce) all year round. Sadly, the island’s dwarf emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae baudinianus), a sub-species of the larger mainland emu, became extinct around 1827 after the arrival of Europeans. As a distributor of seeds, the emu played an important role in the regeneration of vegetation. The long-term impact of its disappearance remains to be seen. The Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) is highly adapted to surviving on islands, and has the ability to drink salty or brackish water to survive on offshore islands all year round.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The superb fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) is one of Kangaroo Island’s most colourful native birds.

Another sub-species that is endemic to the island is the glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus). The ‘glossy’ (as it is locally known) is particularly vulnerable. They feed almost exclusively on the seeds of the drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata), and nest in hollows in large old-age Eucalyptus species. Furthermore, they have a slow reproductive cycle and lay just one egg per pair per year, with the chick taking four months to fledge.

The glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus).

In 1995 the population of glossies was down to just 158 individuals. By means of habitat restoration and minimising the predators of their chicks (particularly brushtail possums), their numbers have been steadily, if rather slowly, increasing. It was feared the bushfires in 2020 could have wiped them out, but their numbers post-fire were 454 individuals. So the strenuous efforts to save this endangered species appear to be paying off. A little penguin (Eudyptula minor).

The little penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known as the fairy penguin (or the blue penguin in New Zealand), is the world’s smallest species of penguin. It grows to just 33 cm tall. It’s found at various sites along Australia’s southern coastline (a famous colony is present on Phillip Island, south of Melbourne), as well as all around the New Zealand coast. At Kangaroo Island, there were once many colonies of these penguins scattered around the coast, but several of these have since disappeared and others are in decline. The reasons for this decline are unclear. In 2011 a study was initiated on the island so their numbers could be monitored. As yet, despite efforts being made to help them, there are few signs of their numbers increasing.

KANGAROO ISLAND

Two species of snake occur on Kangaroo Island: the highly venomous tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) and the pygmy copperhead (Austrelaps labialis).

A tiger snake (Notechis scutatus).

The tiger snakes are unusual in that most (but not all) lack the usual tiger stripes, instead being a uniform brown or black, sometimes with a red belly. It is thought their larger size and darker colouration allow them to absorb and retain heat better than their mainland counterparts. Rosenberg’s monitor (Varanus rosenbergi) is a large, fastmoving lizard that occurs throughout southern Australia. Typically reaching 1.5 m in length, those on Kangaroo Island are distinctly larger than mainland individuals, as well as being darker in colour. Like the tiger snakes, this adaptation is probably to aid greater heat absorption. They feed on birds, reptiles, mammals, eggs and carrion. The four-toed earless skink (Hemiergis peronii).

Rosenberg’s monitor (Varanus rosenbergi).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Kangaroo Island is an important refuge for the green carpenter bee (Xylocopa aerata). Vulnerable to wildfires, this important pollinator of many native flowering plants is extinct across much of its native range but survives in New South Wales and on Kangaroo Island. The recent wildfires are known to have destroyed not only the habitat of the green carpenter bees, but many of its food sources and nesting materials. It is uncertain how the bees (and many other animals) have faired following the wildfires which swept the island during the summers of 2007, 2020 and 2021. The green carpenter bee (Xylocopa aerata).

In order to bolster its numbers, a project involving local volunteers on the island is currently underway to provide the bee with extra nesting material.

A young sooty kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) rescued after the 2020 bushfires.

The blue ringtail damselfly is a common sight across Kangaroo Island (Austrolestes annulosus).

KANGAROO ISLAND

Marine Life More than 40 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded from the waters around Kangaroo Island, as well as over 1,000 species of fishes and marine invertebrates.

The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea).

The waters of the island are famed for leafy seadragons (Phycodurus eques), which have long leaf-like protrusions that help it blend in with seaweed and kelp. Another master of camouflage is the Australian giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama), the world’s largest cuttlefish species. It grows up to 50 cm long and can weigh over 10 kg. It uses cells known as chromatophores to change colour in an instant. Kangaroo Island is a key breeding station for colonies of endangered Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea). This rare pinniped can dive over 200 m in search of prey (such as crustaceans and squid) and swims kilometres out to sea in search of food, often for days on end!

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques).

The Australian giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Conservation Priorities The scale and intensity of wildfire activity across Kangaroo Island during the last two decades has been catastrophic for native wildlife (see Plant Life section). The fires, initiated by lightening strikes on tinder dry vegetation and then spread by hot ashes in the wind, have been devastating for much of the island’s wildlife. It was feared that many native plants and animals were extirpated from the island, notably the endemic sub-species of the glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus), the unique Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni) and the rare little pygmy possum (Cercartetus lepidus).

Burned forest on Kangaroo Island.

Fortunately, all native species are thought to have survived, although populations of many are severely diminished. Revegetation efforts are currently underway in many parts of the island. Dozens of non-native invasive plants have been introduced to Kangaroo Island, including African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum), blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), gorse (Ulex europaeus) and others. Projects are underway to monitor and eradicate many of these. Feral animals include cats (Felis catus), ferrets (Mustela furo), peacocks (Pavo cristatus) and pigs (Sus domesticus). Fallow deer (Dama dama) and feral goats (Capra hircus) have already been successfully eradicated. Ongoing efforts are focused on removing feral pigs (which uproot native vegetation whilst foraging). Baiting stations and aerial culls (using thermal imaging) are used to reduce the numbers of pigs.

Areas of Kangaroo Island in red burnt during the 2019–20 bushfire season.

Government and non-governmental organisations are in the process of planning efforts to control and remove feral cats, to protect critical areas on the island that harbour endangered species.

KANGAROO ISLAND

The diverse habitats of Rottnest Island (Wadjemup).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 334 (2016) Area: 19 km2 Main settlement: Thompson Bay Flag: flag of Australia Highest elevation: 46 m (Wadjemup Lighthouse) Whadjuk Noongar Country

Rottnest Island (Wadjemup)

Co-authored by Robert Irving

Rottnest Island (also known by its Aboriginal name of Wadjemup) lies 18 km off the city of Perth on the south-western coastline of Western Australia. The low-lying island is 4.5 km at its widest, 11 km at its longest and has a coastline of 24 km. Its highest point is just 45 m above sea level. It has a permanent population of about 300 people, but as many as 500,000 tourists visit the island each year. It enjoys a warm climate, with hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Nearby lies the little islet of Dyer Island, home to sea lions. The island was named by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh in 1696, who called it ‘t Eylandt ‘t Rottenest’ (‘Rats’ Nest Island’) after the native quokkas, which the Dutch regarded as resembling giant rats. In reality, rodents and quokkas are not closely related at all. Early visitors reported much of the island to be heavily wooded, but that is no longer the case. Efforts are underway to restore the native vegetation of the island (see Conservation section) Geologically, most of the island is of Tamala limestone, formed from coastal, wind-blown sand dunes that built up when sea level was 130 m lower than it is today.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

Rottnest Island

WEST END

1 km

MARY COVE

PINK LAKE

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

GEORDIE BAY

THOMPSON BAY

DYER ISLAND

KINGSTOWN BARRACKS

1,000 km

History A range of artifacts found at archaeological sites (dated to between 6,500 and 30,000 years old) confirm the long term residency of Indigenous people on the island. This cultural connection with the island still exists for the Whadjuk Noongar people. Their name for the island, Wadjemup, means ‘place across the water where the spirits are’.

Natural salt lakes on Rottnest Island.

During the 17th century, Europeans began exploring Australia’s western coastline, led by the Dutch. The first description of the island dates from 1658, but it was considered unsuitable for settlement due to a lack of freshwater. It wasn’t until the 1830s that two families moved to the island to farm the land, collecting rainwater from the roofs of their buildings. Besides hay, an important and profitable export back to the mainland was that of salt, harvested from the shallow salt lakes found at the eastern end of the island. In 1838 the colonial government established a prison on Wadjemup for Aboriginal people from all across Western Australia, who were forcibly removed from their own Country. The prison operated until 1931. While a small number of inmates managed to escape (and row their way to the mainland), the majority succumbed to a life of harsh punishment. As many as 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned there during the lifetime of the establishment. Many died from outbreaks of influenza which seemed to affect the island. As a result of this, Aboriginal people have a complex and, at times, difficult connection to Wadjemup. Many people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, believe it is a place of cultural genocide, the deliberate removal of leaders and warriors.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Settler Robert Thomson harvested salt and exported it to the mainland.

At least 373 prisoners are buried in an area referred to as the Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground. In 2020, the Wadjemup Project was announced which will focus on how best to commemorate the Aboriginal men and boys buried on the island. Whadjuk Noongar people will lead the consultation process with the Aboriginal people across the state. Rottnest Island is surrounded by shallow reefs, particularly off its east coast, making passage past it, into or out of the port of Fremantle, decidedly tricky. As a means of minimising the risk of shipwreck, the island’s first lighthouse was completed in 1849 on top of Wadjemup Hill, the highest point on the island at 45 m above sea level.

Bathurst Lighthouse.

A World War II BL 9.2 inch Mk X gun at Oliver Hill.

The lighthouse itself was 20 m tall. It was replaced by a second and taller (38 m) lighthouse on the same site in 1896. Following the tragic loss of two ships on the island’s reefs during a storm in July 1899, a further lighthouse was built at Bathurst Point on the north-east side of the island. During the First World War, the island was used as an internment camp, mostly for suspected German and Austrian ‘enemy aliens’. It served a similar purpose during the Second World War, when up to 120 Italians were housed in a camp near the airstrip. At the start of the Second World War, as a means of helping to defend the port of Fremantle, the major base for the Allies in the Indian Ocean, the island received four gun emplacements. Two 9.2 inch guns were installed near the middle of the island at Oliver Hill and two 6 inch guns were installed at Bickley Point on the island’s east coast. A light railway was built from the jetty at Kingsdown Barracks on Thomson Bay to transport materials and munitions to the guns. A number of concrete bunkers and lookout points were built around the island at about the same time.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

At the end of the war, the guns and infrastructure were decommissioned and part of the railway removed. The 9.2 inch battery however was saved from disposal because the high cost of removing and shipping the guns to the mainland exceeded their value as scrap metal. During the 1990s, the gun emplacements and the railway were extensively reconstructed, and both now form important tourist attractions.

Plant Life Rottnest Island has far fewer species of native plants compared to parts of the adjacent mainland, with around 140 species recorded. This relatively low diversity results from the island’s nutrient-poor soils, as well as periodic drought, high levels of salt and extreme climatic conditions (heat and wind). These factors whittle down the number of plant species that can survive. Much of Rottnest Island was once wooded but most of the trees were cleared by European settlers over the last two centuries to make way for farming, and also as a result of firewood collection and bushfire activity. Rottnest is home to woodland tree species, including Rottnest Island pine (Callitris preissii), the Rottnest Island teatree (Melaleuca lanceolata) and Acacia rostellifera.

The endemic Rottnest Island pine (Callitris preissii).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Ambitious efforts are underway to revegetate the island and conserve native plant species (see Conservation Priorities section). Today, Rottnest Island is a patchwork of trees, scrubland, open herbland and heath. Three native woodland tree species are widespread; the endemic Rottnest Island pine (Callitris preissii), the Rottnest Island teatree (Melaleuca lanceolata) and the summer-scented wattle (Acacia rostellifera). Around the coasts of the island, native dune flora includes beach spinifex (Spinifex longifolius) and wild rosemary (Olearia axillaris). These provide important habitats for reptiles. Blue lace flower (Trachymene coerulea).

Rottnest Island teatree (Melaleuca lanceolata).

Native to Rottnest Island, the blue lace flower (Trachymene coerulea) has become a widely grown ornamental and is now grown across the world.

Grey Cottonhead (Conostylis candicans calcicola).

ROTTNEST ISLAND

Animal Life

The quokka (Setonix brachyurus).

Rottnest’s most famous resident is the endearing macropod marsupial, the quokka (Setonix brachyurus), which is responsible (in rather a circuitous way) for the island’s name. Its own name, quokka, was given to it by the Nyungar Aborigines of south-western Australia. It also goes by the name of the short-tailed scrub wallaby. About the size of a domestic cat, the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal, spending most of the time during the day sleeping in the shade under bushes. Once widespread throughout much of south-western Australia, the arrival of foxes and feral cats on the mainland, together with habitat loss, has decimated quokka populations there. On the island, by contrast, their numbers have now

Dutch explorers named Rottnest Island after misidentifying quokkas as rats. In reality, quokkas (as marsupials) are only very distantly related to rodents.

100

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A quokka joey.

grown to about 12,000, putting pressure on their favoured foods - the Rottnest Island tea tree and Rottnest Island pine seedlings. Snakes are the quokka’s only predators on the island. As with other marsupials, such as the kangaroo, wallaby, wallaroo and potoroo, female quokkas suckle their young in a pouch. They give birth in late summer, after a gestation period of twenty-seven days, and the young joey remains in the pouch until August or September, and is then suckled for a further two months. The quokka reaches maturity at about one-and-a-half to two years of age, and lives to be ten years old. Quokkas have little fear of humans and will often approach people closely. However, there have been instances of quokkas biting people, especially children.

Banded stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus).

Rottnest Island is classed as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International due to it harbouring 200-300 breeding pairs of fairy terns (Sternula nereis), as well as about 20,000 non-breeding banded stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus). The island also boasts substantial numbers of red-necked stints (Calidris ruficollis) and wedge-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica). Some of the more common birds at Rottnest however have done so well that they are now regarded as pest species. Plans are now in place to limit the numbers of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), Australian ravens (Corvus coronoides), galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) and rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus). The rock parrot (Neophema petrophila), is another of Rottnest’s specialities. Only found around Australia’s

ROTTNEST ISLAND

101

southern coasts, it favours rocky islands and coastal dunes, feeding on grass seeds and succulent plants.

A fairy tern (Sternula nereis) feeding its chick.

Up to six pairs of eastern osprey (Pandion cristatus) nest at Rottnest each year, with as many as 20 birds being present on the island during the breeding season. These eagle-like birds are primarily fish feeders - their sight is especially adapted to be able to detect fish under water. They build their massive nests out of twigs and branches, usually in old eucalypt trees but if these are not available, then from the ground up. Sadly more plastic and other man-made items are being used in their construction these days. Returning to the same nest year-on-year, one nest at Salmon Point on the island is estimated to be 70 years old. These mighty birds are known in the local Nyungar language as ‘yoondoordo’. A juvenile eastern osprey (Pandion cristatus).

102

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

An eastern osprey nest on Rottnest Island.

Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus).

The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is found throughout Australia, wherever there is water! It’s for this reason it likes Rottnest’s lakes. The huge bill, the largest in the bird world at up to 50 cm long, is used to scoop up fish under water. However, they may also feed on crustaceans (such as yabbies or shrimps), reptiles or amphibians. Several tern species may be seen at Rottnest. The most common is the crested tern (Thalassius bergii) whose main nesting colonies are at Lake Baghdad and Lake Herschell. They are particularly noisy birds, not even quietening down at night! An elegant bird in flight, their tufted black crests are more apparent when on land. They feed on fish which they catch by plunge diving. Fairy terns feed in a similar way.

Crested terns (Thalasseus bergii).

ROTTNEST ISLAND

103

Over 60% of Rottnest is covered by scrub heath, providing a key habitat for Rottnest’s reptiles. 17 species of lizard have been recorded here including two geckoes, two legless lizards and 13 skinks.

The blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua rugosa konowi).

Rottnest has an endemic subspecies of the bluetongued skink (Tiliqua rugosa konowi). If threatened, it displays its tongue to scare potential predators. The blue-tongued skink is also known as the bobtail (because of its stumpy tail which is thought to confuse predators as it resembles its head) and the shingleback (because of its large overlapping scales). The dugite (Pseudonaja affinis exilis), a highly venomous snake, is also native to Rottnest Island. It typically grows to about 1.5 m long and may be

The highly venomous dugite (Pseudonaja affinis exilis).

104

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A basking King’s skink (Egernia kingii).

brown, green or grey in colour. Its venom is one of the most lethal in the world, but fortunately dugites are shy and very rarely bite people except in self defence. The dark-coloured King’s skink (Egernia kingii) may be seen basking in the sun, but it has a mean turn of speed when disturbed. Native to coastal regions of southwestern Australia, it is quite common on Rottnest. Similar to other skinks, it has the ability to detach its tail if it’s caught by a predator, with a new one growing in its place. Three species of amphibian occur on Rottnest: the moaning frog (Heleioporus eyrei), the slender tree frog (Litoria adelaidensis) and the squelching froglet (Crinia insignifera). March/April is frog breeding season, during which the distinctive chorus of croaks of each species can be heard.

The King’s skink can regrow its tail.

Moaning frog (Heleioporus eyrei).

ROTTNEST ISLAND

105

Marine Life The variety of underwater habitats around Rottnest, together with its mix of temperate and tropical waters, means that there is much greater diversity of marine life here than occurs along the adjacent mainland coast. The Rottnest Island Marine Reserve helps protect this marine diversity for future generations to enjoy. Consequently, it is popular with both visiting divers and snorkellers.

The nearshore waters around Rottnest Island support at least 25 species of corals.

The waters of Rottnest Island are home to diverse hard corals, including several species more usually associated with warmer waters. This is because of the influence of the southward-flowing Leeuwin Current which hugs the coast of Western Australia and brings warm water (and coral larvae) from the tropics. As many as 25 species have been recorded from the nearshore waters around the island, 11 of which are massive corals belonging to the Faviidae family. Other species delight in common names such as the cauliflower (Pocillopora damicornis), the doughnut (Scolymia australis) and the lesser knob coral (Cyphastrea serailia). Crustaceans include the blue manna crab (Portunus armatus), a favourite food for Western Australians, and the western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus), a commercially valuable species targeted by fishermen. It’s usually the fishes which catch most of the attention though. 436 species have been recorded from the island’s waters, their overall diversity bolstered by 157 (36%) tropical species brought to the island as larvae by the Leeuwin Current. Interestingly, a recent study has shown the proportion of tropical species to be increasing at Rottnest, a possible indication of climate change shifts.

106

The southward-flowing Leeuwin Current carries coral larvae to Rottnest Island from the tropics.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A shoal of bigscale bullseye (Pempheris multiradiata).

The largest number of the island’s nearshore fishes (56 species) belong to the wrasse family (Labridae) and 23 shark species have been recorded too. Parker Point, Little Salmon Bay and Salmon Bay are particularly good places around the island to see both corals and fishes. Shoals of bigscale bullseye (Pempheris multiradiata) are occasionally seen out in the open, but they usually hide away in caves during the day. One of the largest of reef fishes is the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus), which grows up to 2.7 m long though is rarely seen, as most have been fished out. Brightly coloured sea slugs (also known as nudibranchs) may be seen moving slowly over the reef, their colours warning potential predators of their unpleasant taste.

Chromodoris westraliensis is a very colourful species of sea slug.

A pair of giant groupers (Epinephelus lanceolatus).

ROTTNEST ISLAND

107

Extensive seagrass meadows occur in many of the island’s shallow, sandy bays. The meadows, made up of nine species of seagrass, provide shelter and sanctuary for many marine species, including juvenile fishes. They also help stabilise the sandy seabed and dissipate the force of breaking waves.

A seagrass meadow.

Another underwater habitat that Rottnest is famous for are its caves. Some of these have multiple entrances, allowing light to penetrate deep into the recesses. Several fish species choose to hide away in these caves during daylight hours, only venturing out at night to feed. A popular dive site known as Crystal Palace is found off Dyer Island, to the south-east of Rottnest. The site consists of an extensive cave system in relatively shallow depths (8-18 m), ideal for exploring and for finding unexpected treasures.

Rottest is famed for underwater caverns.

108

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

An underwater cavern at Marcone Reef off Rottnest Island.

Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) and long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) feed around Rottnest Island.

Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) can be spotted around Rottnest, especially on the shores of Dyer Island. Long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) may also be seen, especially at Cathedral Rocks in the south-west of the island. The seal population is not a breeding colony though, consisting solely of young males. Perth Canyon, approximately 22 km west of Rottnest Island, is one of the main habitats for blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) to be seen in Australian waters. Also, from September to November, the annual migration of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) passes by. Pods of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) may also regularly be seen frolicking in the waters near the island.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus).

The southern blue devil (Paraplesiops meleagris).

ROTTNEST ISLAND

109

Pink Lakes

Algae turn lakes on Rottnest Island strawberry-milkshake pink.

Australia boasts some of the best examples of pink lakes in the world, with a few being found on Rottnest. These strange, shallow salty lakes occur when water evaporates during the summer months, increasing the salinity to a point where most organisms are unable to survive. However, providing temperature and nutrient levels are right, two organisms may thrive in the saline conditions: these are a bacterium (Halobacterium cutirubrum) and an alga (Dunaliella salina). As their populations explode due to lack of competition and predators, the red carotenoid pigments secreted by the algae turn the lake waters strawberry-milkshake pink! By the end of the summer, once rainfall increases and the salinity of the lake water falls again, the pink colour usually disappears as the ecosystem normalises. In some pink lakes, the alga responsible for the pink hue is farmed commercially for its pink pigment (betacarotene), which is used as a food additive and as a natural colourant.

Brine shrimps thrive in Rottnest Island’s pink lakes.

Brine shrimps, which thrive in very salty water, provide an important food source for many birds found on Rottnest, such as the red-necked avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae), curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides), crested tern (Thalasseus bergii) and many other species. There are usually large numbers of caddis flies (Symphitoneuria wheeleri) around the muddy fringes of these saline lakes. They develop from a maggot stage which feeds in the warm shallows.

110

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Conservation Priorities Over the past twenty years, great strides have been made to redress the balance of the island’s ecosystem as part of a woodland restoration and coastal revegetation programme. Thousands of seedlings of two native tree species, the Rottnest Island pine (Callitris preissii) and the Rottnest Island teatree (Melaleuca lanceolata), have been planted across the island. These plants are propagated at the Rottnest Island Nursery, with an army of volunteers assisting the replantation work. Tree-planting is not just a matter of placing a sapling in the ground, but often involves the constructing of fences around newly planted areas to keep out quokkas and clearing the ground around each new sapling to diminish competing vegetation. It is hoped that over coming decades, extensive tracks of native woodland will regrow. A large scale coastal dune revegetation project has also been launched to stabalise and recover delicate coastal dune habitats. Other conservation activities include the collection of seeds of native plants, the propagation of seedlings at the Rottnest Island Nursery and the control of non-native weeds. The conservation team also undertakes regular beach clean-ups that involve collecting litter and plastic pollution that washed up on the island’s shores, as well as dune rehabilitation work and projects to monitor native fauna. Revegetation efforts underway on Rottnest Island.

ROTTNEST ISLAND

111

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consists of two atolls made up of 27 beautiful coral islands.

112

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 544 (2016) Area: 14.2 km2 Largest settlement: Bantam (Home Island) Flag: green with a palm tree on a yellow disc (representing the islands’ tropical flora), a yellow crescent moon in the centre and a yellow Southern Cross constellation Highest elevation: 5 m

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Co-authored by Robert Irving

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are located in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Sri Lanka. They lie roughly 1,000 km south west of Sumatra. The territory consists of two flat, low-lying atolls (North Keeling and South Keeling) which comprise 27 coral islands. North Keeling (also known as Pulu Keeling) consists of a single island and is uninhabited. The remaining isles lie 24 km to the south and make up the South Keeling Islands. Of these, only two are in inhabited, Home Island (424 people) and West Island (120 people). Most of the population consists of Cocos Malays, who speak a dialect of Malay as their first language. The island group has long been known by two names, but these have been rearranged over time. From 1622 they were the Cocos Islands; from 1703 they became the Keeling Islands; from 1805 the Cocos-Keeling Islands; and later in the 19th century the KeelingCocos Islands. They are now the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or in local Malay Pulu Kokos (Keeling). The climate is tropical, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with moderate rainfall. Tropical cyclones may occur in the early months of the year. COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

NORTH KEELING (PULU KEELING)

Cocos (Keeling) Islands 1 km

SOUTH KEELING ISLANDS

HORSBURGH ISLAND DIRECTION ISLAND

HOME ISLAND

10 km

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

WEST ISLAND

SOUTH ISLAND

1,000 km

113

The atolls of Pulu Keeling (formerly known as North Keeling Island) and South Keeling Islands are 24 km apart. Each has formed on top of two large seamounts, part of a range of undersea mountains that includes Christmas Island too.

The wrecked German raider Emden after her 1914 encounter with HMAS Sydney.

The water depth between the two atolls is just 700-800 m, but beyond each the seabed falls away to 5,000 m depth. These islands were the only atolls visited by Charles Darwin in 1836 when heading back to England aboard HMS Beagle, after which he developed his theory of atoll formation. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are home to coconut forests and coastal vegetation. The diversity of habitats and species is low due to the isolated location of the islands. No mammals or amphibians are native to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and it is thought that the reptiles that are present may also have been accidentally introduced by humans.

History The islands were first encountered by Europeans in 1609, when Captain William Keeling of the East India Company came across them. No claim was made of them and they remained uninhabited for a further 217 years, until they took the fancy of a Scottish merchant seaman Captain John Clunies-Ross. He sailed back to the UK with the intention of returning with his family to settle on South Keeling Island.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive in April 1954.

When he landed with his family two years later (in 1827), he found an English adventurer, Alexander Hare, had already established himself on the island, together with a harem of 40 Malay women. A feud ensued between the two, resulting in Hare departing the island but leaving behind the women. Clunies-Ross and his sailors then persuaded the women to work for him on his copra/coconut

114

A 1977 two rupee coin with John Clunies Ross bust.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The endemic Cocos screw pine (Pandanus tectorius var. cocosensis).

plantations, paying them in a currency known as the Cocos rupee. He managed to mint this currency on the island, and it could only be spent in his general store. For 150 years, from 1827 until 1978, the Clunies-Ross family ran the islands as their own private fiefdom. The islands became part of the British Empire from 18571955, and were then sold in 1978 by the Clunies-Ross family to the Commonwealth of Australia. During World War II, an airstrip was built by British RAF personnel on West Island. This airstrip is still in use today. There is now a small but growing tourist industry, focused on water-based or nature activities.

Plant Life Low-lying and remote atolls typically exhibit floras with low diversity and low endemism. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are no exception to this general rule. Of the 61 plant species that have been recorded, there’s just one endemic sub-species, the Cocos screw palm (Pandanus tectorius cocosensis). The native vegetation of the two atolls mostly consists of sea-dispersed shoreline plants of the Indo-Pacific region. Thirty-two native species are present within the Pulu Keeling National Park (which encompasses the whole of Pulu Keeling); this island also has seven species not found on the South Keeling Islands. The reason for this is that the habitats of the southern islands have been modified in the past for coconut plantations.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

115

Animal Life

Red-footed booby (Sula sula).

As with the flora, the terrestrial fauna of the islands is impoverished, due to the small land area, the lack of varied habitats and the islands’ isolation from large land masses. Of the two main atolls, the native fauna of South Keeling has suffered from human occupation and the introduction of the invasive black rat (Rattus rattus) and of the house mouse (Mus musculus), both of which are absent from Pulu Keeling. The fauna dependent on marine resources, by contrast, is much richer, particularly at Pulu Keeling. Not only is this island a National Park (designated in 1995) but it is also a Ramsar site (since 1996), reflecting its international conservation importance. By far the most numerous seabird on Pulu Keeling, the red-footed booby (Sula sula) has an estimated population of around 30,000 breeding pairs, making it one of the most important colonies of red-footed boobies in the world. Both great (Fregata minor) and lesser (Fregata ariel) frigatebirds occur on Pulu Keeling in large numbers. The population of the latter is the second largest within greater Australia and in the Indian Ocean. The males of both species possess impressive red gular sacs, distended during the breeding season to impress females. The Cocos buff-banded rail (Gallirallus phillipensis andrewsi) is significant as being the only endemic bird in the island group. It is common on Pulu Keeling and occurs in all habitats. This largely terrestrial bird is around 15 20 cm long. It frequently forages along the lagoon shore,

116

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The great frigatebird (Fregata minor).

The Cocos buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi) is an endangered sub-species unique to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

eating small crustaceans, insects, worms and seeds. The population on Pulu Keeling is around 800 individuals (2014), with the sub-species being listed as endangered. Successful translocation efforts have reintroduced the Cocos buff-banded rail to islands across the archipelago (see Conservation Priorities section). Terrestrial reptiles include three geckos and a blind-snake, all of which may have been inadvertently transported to the islands by humans. These are the mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris), four-clawed gecko (Gehyra mutilata) and the house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) and one blind snake (Typhlops braminus). In the past, the European rabbit and two species of Asian deer were introduced, but these did not survive for long.

The brown land crab (Cardisoma carnifex) is one of several land crabs native to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) is common in the Pulu Keeling National Park. It is not known for certain if this species is native or introduced. Note its excellent camouflage.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

117

Marine Life The location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands has led to a unique mix of marine species from both the Pacific and Indian Oceans being present. That said, the isolation of the islands means the diversity of their marine faunas is impoverished. Whilst the fish and invertebrate faunas are abundant, there are few endemic species present.

The Cocos-Keeling angelfish (Centropyge colini) is endemic to the waters of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island.

Reef-building corals of the southern atoll in particular are of interest to marine biologists because of the atoll’s geographic isolation. Many common and widespread Indo-Pacific species have not been recorded from Cocos (Keeling) and are almost certainly absent. In total, 99 species of reef corals have been recorded and of these, all but 12 are species shared with Western Australia. Over 520 species of fish have been recorded from the islands. There is no endemism within the Cocos (Keeling) fish fauna, although one angelfish (Centropyge joculator) is known only from Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Island. Another, the Cocos-Keeling angelfish (Centropyge colini), was first described from the islands in 1974, but has since been found at several sites throughout the Indo-Pacific. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands lie within the distribution zones of both Indian and Pacific Ocean fish species. One consequence of this is the surprising number of hybrid fish that occur, where two different, though similar, species manage to breed. Both hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles are frequently seen within the lagoons of both atolls, with green turtles nesting on sandy beaches at Pulu Keeling.

118

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nest on the beaches of North Keeling Island.

The islands are also visited by olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). The only species of sea snake recorded from the southern atoll is the yellow-bellied sea-snake (Pelamis platurus), one of the most widely distributed sea snake species. The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) are frequently seen at both atolls, with larger whales occasionally being spotted further offshore. One of South Keeling’s most appealing residents is a lone male dugong (Dugong dugon), affectionately known as Kat, which has made a home of the seagrass beds in the outer lagoon of South Keeling. Cabbage patch coral (Turbinaria spp.).

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

119

Conservation Priorities As with many oceanic islands, the fragile ecosystem of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands has been impacted greatly by human settlement.

A white tern (Gygis alba).

Sadly, many of the South Keeling Islands have had much of their native vegetation removed to make way for coconut plantations, and several nonnative species have been introduced, including feral cats (Felis catus), black rats (Rattus rattus) and yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes). Feral cats devastate native bird populations by preying on adult birds and chicks, especially flightless species, such as the Cocos buff-banded rail. A feral cat control program has been running on the West and Home Islands since 2000, and the number of feral cats has been considerably reduced, although some feral cats still remain. Efforts to remove the cats continue. Black rats also adversely impact native wildlife by eating seeds and invertebrates, and killing seabird chicks. In 2020, black rats were removed from Pulu Blan, an uninhabited islet within the South Keeling atoll. This benefited the native seabird communities and also enabled the introduction of endangered blue-tailed skinks (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) from Christmas Island. The skinks have established and serve as an important back up population for that species (see Christmas Island chapter).

White tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus).

Biosecurity protocols are now in place to prevent visitors from accidentally bringing in further non-native species. Uninhabited Pulu Keeling (also known as North Keeling) has been largely spared the impacts that most other islands in the group have suffered, although its seabird colonies were subject to regular hunting expeditions by Cocos Islanders until the establishment of the Pulu Keeling National Park in 1995. Today, the park is one of Australia’s smallest reserves but nevertheless, it is a place of international significance. It is recognised as an Important Bird Area because it supports over 1% of the global populations of red-footed boobies (Sula sula), lesser frigatebirds (Fregata ariel) and common noddies (Anous stolidus). The red-footed booby colony is possibly the largest in the world and the population of lesser frigatebirds is Australia’s second largest.

120

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The overwhelming majority of the surviving population of Cocos buff-banded rails occur on Pulu Keeling. Efforts have been made to translocate these birds back to islands where their population had diminished. In April 2013, 39 rails were reintroduced to Horsburgh Island, and by June 2015, their number had increased to 121 and continues to rise! Unfortunately, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are impacted by pollution that originates from countries across the IndoPacific region. By some estimates, up to 14 million tonnes of plastic debris are discarded into the world’s oceans annually. Some of this plastic waste (such as bottles) washes up on the shores of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and becomes deadly traps for many native species. Strawberry hermit crabs (Coenobita perlatus), which scurry across the beaches of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, are especially prone to becoming trapped in empty plastic bottles, particularly ones lodged in the sand at such an angle that the crabs cannot climb up the smooth inside surfaces. Within a few days, trapped crabs die from dehydration or heat from sun exposure. The dead carrion attracts other hermit crabs, and in some cases, a single bottle can result in dozens of deaths. Teams of conservationists and volunteers regularly collect plastic waste from the beaches of the islands, although the inflow of plastic waste is never ending.

Strawberry hermit crabs (Coenobita perlatus) scavenge food on the beaches of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands but are susceptible to becoming trapped in plastic litter that constantly washes ashore.

In May 2021, the Australian Government announced the creation of a new marine park around the whole of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Together with the marine park around Christmas Island, a total of 740,000 km2 of ocean is permanently protected from fishing fleets. It is hoped this will safeguard the region’s marine biodiversity for the future.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

121

A view of Christmas Island from the North East.

122

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 1,843 (2016) Area: 135 km2 Main settlement: Flying Fish Cove Flag: blue and green background, split diagonally (representing sea and land). The Southern Cross constellation, the shape of the island on a yellow disc and a depiction in yellow of the endemic golden bosun bird Highest elevation: 361 m (Murray Hill)

Christmas Island

Co-authored by Robert Irving

Christmas Island is an Australian external territory located 1,550 km north-west of Australia in the Indian Ocean, 350 km south of Java. (Note that Christmas Island should not be confused with the atoll of Kiritimati in the Pacific Ocean, which also used to be known as Christmas Island). The island, with a maximum length of 17 km and a maximum width of 19 km, is the flat top of an underwater volcano, rising 4,200 m from the seabed. The 138.9 km long coastline is largely of steep 20 m high cliffs, although there are a handful of sandy bays too. Much of the island is covered with dense rainforest and lush coastal scrub. The island’s rich biodiversity has led some to refer to it as ‘the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’. The climate is of tropical monsoon, the wet season being between November and June, with a dry season between July and October. Temperatures range from 23°C (in August) to 29°C (March/April). Several languages are in use including English, Malay and various Chinese dialects.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

NORTH WEST POINT

Christmas Island 1 km

EGERIA POINT

FLYING FISH COVE

NORTH EAST POINT

CHRISTMAS ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

ISLAND LOCATION ( )

1,000 km

SOUTH POINT

123

History

A naval gun installed during World War II.

The island was named by Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company, whose vessel Royal Mary passed close to the island on 25th December 1643. The first known landing was in 1688, when the British ship Cygnet reached the island’s west coast. The explorer William Dampier was on board and recorded how the crew returned with coconut crabs to eat. It is believed the island was uninhabited at the time and remained so for a further two centuries. In 1887, another British ship HMS Egeria visited the island for ten days, during which time a large number of animal and plant specimens were collected. Amongst these were samples of the island’s soils and rocks. Later analysis of these samples found many to be rich in phosphate, a much sought-after soil fertiliser. The discovery of commercial quantities of phosphate led to the British annexing the island in 1888 and a Christmas Island Phosphate Company was established in 1897. Twelve years later, the first shipment of phosphate was exported from the island. Most of the hard work required to extract the phosphate was carried out by migrant Chinese, Malay and Sikh labourers.

Flying Fish Cove (the main settlement).

During the Second World war, the Japanese occupied the island, from March 1942 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. They had planned to continue phosphate mining, but in the end little was exported to mainland Japan. On October 1st 1958, sovereignty of the island was passed to Australia. From the late 1980s the island became a destination for asylum seekers. An Immigration Centre was completed in 2008 to house them. New Australian legislation was then brought in which meant that asylum seekers could no longer apply for refugee status.

124

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

As the island remained unoccupied until the late 19th century, much of the island’s native flora and fauna was allowed to flourish. However, by the 1970s, there were rising concerns about the damage being done to the island’s wildlife by the phosphate mining operations. As a consequence, the island’s first national park in the southwest of the island was set up in 1980 and since then a further two areas have been added to it, amounting to approximately 85 km2 or 63% of the island’s total land area.

The jungle waterfall of Hughs Dale.

The Christmas Island National Park extends 50 m offshore and protects rainforests, wetlands, freshwater mangroves and crucial habitats for numerous rare and endemic species. In 2018, an application to expand phosphate mining activities on the island was turned down by the Australian Government due to environmental concerns. As a result, the island’s future is now seen to lie in a more diversified economy, with much greater emphasis on tourism. The island’s geology results from a series of eruptions of the volcano at the island’s core. Several geological uplifts have occurred over about 10 million years. At each stage, coral reefs built up over the basalt rock, creating a limestone cap over the island that remains today. There are few watercourses on the island, but one which flows year-round is at Hugh’s Dale. Here, in the heart of the rainforest, an impressive waterfall cascades over mossy rocks.

The Grotto.

The island also boasts significant underground cave systems, due to the gradual erosion of the limestone. Some spectacular features have formed as a result, one such being The Grotto, an atmospheric cave with a pool large enough to swim in.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

125

Plant Life Christmas Island is home to 237 native species of plants, of which half occur nowhere else in Australia and 17 are endemic. Unfortunately, more than 230 species of non-native plants have been introduced by humans. About 80 of these are categorised as noxious weeds. These invasive plant species are impacting the unique ecosystem of the island. Christmas Island is home to four main types of vegetation: Primary rainforest, which consists of tall trees, often rich with ferns, orchids and young palms. The rainforest’s canopy is around 40 m in height and is the preferred nesting habitat for the endemic Abbott’s booby (Papasula abbotti). Semi-deciduous, marginal rainforest, which arises in areas of shallow soil, such as slopes and coastal terraces. This vegetation type comprises smaller trees (15-30 m tall) as well as thicker patches of young palms. Land crabs (including the millions of red crabs) feed on plants and leaf litter, leaving the forest floor relatively bare.

The beautiful pigeon orchid (Dendrobium crumenatum).

Scrub forest, which consists of deciduous trees, scrambling scrub and vines. This vegetation type mostly occurs on steep slopes and inland cliffs where soils are very thin. The fourth main type of vegetation consists of open herbland, which comprises pockets of herbaceous plants, sedges and grasses, mostly along coastal cliffs exposed to salt spray. There are no coastal mangroves but unusually, a population of estuarine mangrove trees (Bruguiera gymnorhiza and B. sexangula) is found inland at 50 m above sea level at Hosnies Spring. This stand is 120,000 years old and originated at a time when the sea level was higher relative to the island’s surface.

126

A single pigeon orchid flower (Dendrobium crumenatum).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The endemic Christmas Island waxvine (Hoya aldrichii).

Christmas Island is home to diverse tropical forests that include many species of fig tress.

Bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus).

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

127

Animal Life

The golden bosun (Phaethon lepturus fulvus) is an endemic subspecies of the white-tailed tropicbird that has a unique golden wash to its plumage.

Due to its isolated location, there are no large mammals native to Christmas Island. In the absence of large predators, seabirds and invertebrates dominate the ecosystem of the island, with tens of thousands of seabirds nesting on the island each year. The island boasts over 100 breeding, visiting or vagrant bird species, ten of which have evolved on the island and become endemic. These endemics include the Christmas frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi), the Christmas imperial pigeon (Ducula whartoni) and the Christmas Island hawk-owl (Ninox natalis). Abbott’s booby (Papasula abbottsi), another endemic, nests only on Christmas Island and its diminishing numbers were one of the main reasons for establishing the island’s National Park. The species is still in a perilous position with only about 1,500 breeding pairs remaining. Abbott’s boobies can only take off from the tops of trees; if they fall to the ground, there is a high chance that they will starve to death. Six terrestrial reptiles are native: the blue-tailed skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae), the forest skink (Emoia nativitatis), the giant gecko (Crytodactylus sadlieri), the Lister’s gecko (Lepidodactylus listeri), the pink blind snake (Typholops exoceti) and the coastal skink (Emoia atrocostata). All of these are endemic except the coastal skink, which also occurs on other oceanic islands. All of the island’s native land reptiles have declined dramatically as a result of introduced, non-native

128

Abbott’s booby (Papasula abbotti) breeds only on Christmas Island.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A pair of Lister’s geckos (Lepidodactylus listeri).

species (especially other non-native introduced reptiles, rodents and giant centipedes). Sadly, the forest skink is now extinct. The last known captive individual died in 2014. Lister’s gecko and the blue-tailed skink are thought to be extinct in the wild, largely due to predation by non-native predators. Fortunately, both are being conserved through a captive breeding programme (see Conservation Priorities section). The giant gecko survives in the wild across the island, although it is feared that its population may be in decline. The coastal skink has not been seen on Christmas Island since 2009, but occurs on many other islands across Indo-Pacific. The pink blind snake is a rarely observed species because it lives predominately underground (as a fossorial species). It was last encountered in the 2009 and its status remains unknown.

The extinct Maclear’s rat (Rattus macleari) was endemic to Christmas Island.

It is feared that two native mammals may be extinct; the Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura) and the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi). The endemic Christmas Island flying fox (Pteropus natalis) survives, but the population is perilously low with possibly fewer than 1,000 individuals left. Two species of rat have also become extinct on the island: Maclear’s rat (Rattus macleari) and the bulldog rat (Rattus nativitatus). The accidental introduction of black rats (Rattus rattus) during the late 19th century brought diseases to the island which wiped out the native rat species. Interestingly, Maclear’s rat is thought to have preyed upon land crabs, thereby once keeping the crab population lower than what it is today. Christmas Island is also home to a wide range of invertebrates, the most conspicuous of which are land crabs.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

129

Red Crabs of Christmas Island Of all the island’s 35 species of land crab, the Christmas Island red crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis) are the most famous because of their spectacular annual migrations. These crabs are found only on Christmas Island and the neighbouring Cocos (Keeling) Islands, another Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. The carapace of the crab is up to 11 cm across, with males being slightly larger than females. Females though have a broader abdomen than males. The vast majority are bright red in colour, but a few may be more orangey or darker red. They spend almost all of lives on the rainforest floor, consuming fallen leaves, fruits and seedlings during the day and hiding in burrows at night. They have few natural predators on the island, the main one being the coconut crab. Like all land crabs, the adult crabs breathe air using gills hidden under the carapace. However, these gills must be kept moist. The crabs aren’t totally terrestrial - they still need to return to the ocean to breed. Unlike their wholly marine crab cousins, if they are submerged under water for any length of time, they’ll drown. Estimates of the population of red crabs on Christmas Island are made by counting how many crabs there are in 100 m2 and then by multiplying by the total area of habitat. In the late 20th century, the population was estimated to be 120 million red crabs, but the introduction of yellow crazy ants is thought to have reduced that number by as much as 30% (see Conservation Priorities). Interestingly, the current number of red crabs is thought to be larger than it was before

human settlement as a result of the extinction of Maclear’s rat (see page 129).

As the crabs undertake their migration from the central forests of the island to the coasts, they cross roads and gardens on their way. Roads in the main migration corridors are closed to prevent road kill. But it’s impossible to close all of the roads on the island as the mega-migration can take several days to complete. So conservationists have had to be very creative. An adult female red crab.

130

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A red crab munching on leaf litter.

Red Crab Migration Once a year, approximately 30 million adult red crabs on Christmas Island undertake a spectacular migration to release their eggs into the ocean. This migration is one of the greatest invertebrate migrations on Earth.

The males mate with the females along the migration route. The females then march to the sea, carrying masses of tiny brown eggs in their abdominal brood pouches. When they finally reach the ocean, the females cling to rocks and release their eggs into the water.

For most of the year, the red crabs live in the island’s forests, feeding on vegetation, leaf litter, fruit and carrion. Triggered by climatic stimuli (humidity, rainfall) and perhaps the lunar cycle, the crabs begin their migration during the wet season. They begin marching to the coast.

Literally billions and billions of eggs are released each year. The eggs hatch in sea water, then countless tiny baby land crabs wash back ashore a few weeks later! The baby crabs are called megalops, and are miniature versions of adult crabs!

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

The migrating red crabs form a living carpet of red! They eat leaf litter and any carrion they can find along the way (including cannibalizing dead red crabs). They can march more than one kilometre a day. Nothing stops them: they climb right over rocks and even down sheer cliffsides!

The megalops are so numerous that they cover rocks and roads, and can pile up in drifts! They march inland and live in the interior of the island where they eat leaf litter. Over several years, they grow to become adults, before migrating to the ocean to breed.

131

Many millions of red crabs migrate across Christmas Island each year.

A crab bridge.

To prevent road kill, barriers channel the red crabs to crossing points.

132

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Barriers are erected along the roads to ‘channel’ the crabs safely and ‘crab subways’ enable them to pass under the roads avoiding traffic. The island even has a specially-built crab bridge (with a special mesh surface which the crabs can grip!) When the megalops (baby crabs) return, it’s a completely different challenge. Literally billions of tiny crabs cover the ground, and everyone has to be really careful to avoid stepping on them. Islanders brush the megalops from their porches or use leaf blowers to carefully move them off of the roads. Interestingly, the population of red crabs is believed to be higher today than it was prior to European settlement. This is because of the extinction of the endemic Maclear’s rat (Rattus macleari), which preyed on the crabs in large numbers. Megalops (baby red crabs).

Countless millions of megalops (baby red crabs) climb ashore on Christmas Island each year.

A moving carpet of baby red crabs!

A leaf blower is used to clear the baby crabs to reduce road kill.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

133

Other Land Crabs Although the red crabs are world famous, Christmas Island is also home to many other species of land, shore, intertidal and cave-dwelling crabs, as well as at least 160 species of marine crabs!

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) has variable colouration.

The biggest land crab of all is the coconut crab (Birgus latro), also known as the robber crab. It can weigh over 4 kg and has a leg span of up to 1 m! It is the largest terrestrial arthropod alive today. A relative of hermit crabs, each individual may live for many decades (perhaps 50 years or more). The coconut crab occurs across much of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, though in the past it has been hunted for its meat and has been wiped out across much of its

A coconut crab eating a red crab.

134

The author demonstrating the size of coconut crabs - the biggest terrestrial arthropod alive today!

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

The Christmas Island blue crab (Discoplax celeste) occurs nowhere else on Earth.

natural range. Christmas Island represents a key refuge and boasts the largest surviving population. Coconut crabs have powerful claws to break open coconuts (hence their English name)! They eat fruits, seeds, nuts and carrion but also actively hunt red crabs. Each population exhibits slightly different colouration. The coconut crabs on Christmas Island vary, but have beautiful blue, purple, orange or reddish exoskeletons. The endemic Christmas Island blue crab (Discoplax celeste) is also common across the island. It has a sky blue carapace and large white claws. It favours wet habitats, often with little nipper crabs (Geograpsus grayi). Several species of terrestrial hermit crab are common close to island’s beaches. The most widespread species is the strawberry hermit crab (Coenobita perlatus).

A little nipper crab (Geograpsus grayi).

A strawberry hermit crab (Coenobita perlatus).

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

135

Marine Life Christmas Island is surrounded by warm, clear waters and a narrow tropical reef which plunges into the abyss just offshore. Upwelling currents allow for a proliferation of corals and reef fishes.

A shoal of whitecheek surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigricans).

A total of 88 species of reef-forming coral have been identified from the shallow waters surrounding the island. The most abundant octocoral on the reefs is the blue coral (Heliopora coerulea). The shallow reefs around the island are home to more than 650 species of fishes. Butterflyfishes, angelfishes, surgeonfishes and wrasses are all well represented. The majority of species occur elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, with just three species that are endemic to Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Interestingly, the island is reputed to have more hybrid fishes (where two similar species interbreed) than anywhere else in the world. At least 11 different hybrids have been recorded, often the result of interbreeding between species from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Several species of oceanic sharks and tuna abound in the waters offshore, together with whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), which visit between November and April. Both green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles may be seen around the island throughout the year. Two of the island’s beaches, Dolly and Greta, are used as egg-laying sites by the green turtles which, unusually, may lay all year round.

136

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A shoal of raccoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula).

A dozen species of cetaceans have been recorded from Christmas Island’s waters. These include the biggest whale of them all, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), and the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Oceanic dolphins are represented by killer whales (Orcinus orca), shortfinned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), well known for their spectacular acrobatic leaps. In May 2021, the Australian government announced the creation of a huge new Marine Park around Christmas Island. Together with a new Marine Park around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the two will protect an area that’s twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The main purposes of the Parks will be to ensure deep-water commercial fishing boats are excluded and that scientific discovery and education are given priority.

A pair of mating green turtles (Chelonia mydas) followed by two hopeful males.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

137

Conservation Priorities Despite its remote location, Christmas Island has succumbed to quite a number of non-native species being introduced, almost all arriving accidentally. One of the most worrying of these has been the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes). Yellow crazy ants have a reputation as being one of the worst invasive species of all. Their place of origin is unknown but they have spread throughout many of the world’s tropical and sub-tropical regions. They are very aggressive and out-compete many insects for food.

The introduced yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) severely impacts Christmas Island’s native wildlife.

The ants were accidentally introduced to the island during the first half of the 20th century. A lack of natural predators has led to them forming super-colonies which support billions of individual ants. Crazy ants defend themselves by spraying formic acid, one of nature’s most powerful acids. Formic acid can kill land crabs, including the island’s precious red crabs. It’s estimated that since the late 1990s, the ants have killed tens of millions of land crabs. This is having devastating knock-on effects on the whole island’s ecosystem. Poisonous bait is used to kill off the ants but in an attempt to solve the problem across Christmas Island, Parks Australia are trying biological controls involving a species of micro-wasp (Tachardiaephagus somervillei). The micro-wasp larvae eat non-native scale insects, which produce honeydew, the main food of the yellow crazy ants. It’s still early days in seeing how effective this control agent will be, but it’s hoped a good outcome will ensue.

138

Non-native giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) impacted Christmas Island’s geckos and skinks.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Other pest species that are certainly not welcome on the island include the predatory giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) and the Asian wolf snake (Lycodon capucinus). These two species wiped out the forest skink and coastal skink and threaten Lister’s gecko and the blue-tailed skink (see page 128). Just in the nick of time, populations of both Lister’s gecko and blue-tailed skink have been brought back from almost certain extinction by means of a dedicated captive breeding programme. 43 geckos and 66 skinks were taken from the wild in 2010 and housed in specially-made herpetaria. The endemic blue-tailed skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae).

The programme, run by Parks Australia and Taronga Zoo in Sydney, has now successfully bred thousands of geckos and skinks, leading to releases in protected enclosures on the island. Sadly, these releases have not worked out as well as was hoped, so in 2019, blue-tailed skinks were translocated to a predator-free island, Pulu Blan, in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands group, to provide a ‘backup’ population and are thriving in their new home. If it is possible to eradicate the giant centipede and the wolf snake, it is hoped that populations of Lister’s geckos and the blue-tailed skinks may be rebuilt on Christmas Island.

Part of the captive breeding programme saving Christmas Island’s rarest reptiles from extinction.

Other introduced reptiles to Christmas Island include: the Asian house gecko (Gehyra mutilata), the barking house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus), the grass skink (Lygosoma bowringii) and the flowerpot blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus).

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

139

K’gari (Fraser Island) is the world’s largest sand island.

140

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Population: 182 (2016) Area: 1,840 km2 Main Settlement: Eurong Flag: flag of Australia Highest elevation: 244 m (Mt Bowaraddy) Butchulla Country

K’gari (Fraser Island)

Co-authored by Robert Irving

K’gari (Fraser Island) lies a short distance off the coast of south-east Queensland, approximately 250 km north of Brisbane. It is 123 km long, about 22 km wide and is surrounded by several smaller islands. It is the world’s largest sand island - the amount of sand has been estimated at 113 cubic kilometres! The island was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992 in recognition of its outstanding natural features. These include long, uninterrupted white sand beaches, together with striking sand cliffs, ancient dunes, majestic tall rainforests and numerous freshwater lakes. The astonishing amount of marine-derived sand which makes up the island has been accumulating for over two million years on top of volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment. The sand is carried on strong northward-flowing offshore currents and, once deposited, it is blown inland by onshore winds, resulting in sand dunes that run parallel to the coast. Further episodic bouts of strong winds have blown the sand from the dunes further inland, smothering the forest floor.

FRASER ISLAND

ORCHID BEACH

Fraser Island 10 km

GREAT SANDY NATIONAL PARK

CATHEDRAL BEACH HAPPY VALLEY

KINGFISHER BAY ISLAND LOCATION ( )

EURONG

1,000 km

141

Experiencing a tropical climate, K’gari (Fraser Island) is home to eucalyptus woodland, tropical rainforests, mangrove forests, peaty wetlands, coastal heathlands and sand dunes. Over 100 freshwater lakes are scattered across the island, many rich in tanins, causing their waters to appear orangey brown. Besides being a World Heritage Site, K’gari (Fraser Island) is also included within the Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve; the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar site; the Great Sandy Marine Park; and the Great Sandy National Park.

History Archaeological evidence suggests Aboriginal people have lived in the Great Sandy area for at least 5,000 years and possibly much longer. Butchulla people inhabited K’gari (which means ‘paradise’) and the adjacent mainland, living a self-sufficient way of life intimately connected with the seasons and land.

McKenzie’s Tramway Locomotive, c. 1920.

The wreck of the S.S. Maheno, beached in 1935.

According to Butchulla culture, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island – K’gari (Fraser Island). Butchulla life was disrupted soon after the arrival of Europeans in the 1840s. They were dispossessed of land and their hunting, and plant gathering were restricted. The European settlers also brought diseases, alcohol and opium with them. Today the Butchulla people continue to walk the cultural pathway of their ancestors. K’gari (Fraser Island) remains a special place in Butchulla culture, and the lakes of the island are an integral part of their dreaming.

142

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Butterfly Lake, K’gari (Fraser Island).

The island received its English name after Captain James Frazer and his wife Eliza were shipwrecked in 1836. James soon died but Eliza lived with the Butchulla people. After six weeks Eliza reached the mainland and moved to England. She made a living retelling her story, with greater embellishments each time it was told. Her sensational account made a mark, as did her name. Logging by the settlers began in 1863 and targeted native trees including Queensland kauri (Agathis robusta), blackbutt trees (Eucalyptus pilularis) and satinay (Syncarpia hillii). Known as Fraser Island through the 20th century, the island was renamed K’gari (Fraser Island) in 2017. The move was celebrated Butchulla Elders and representatives of the community.

Part of K’gari (Fraser Island)’s 75 Mile Beach, the longest in Queensland.

The waters of many of K’gari (Fraser Island)’s freshwater lakes are rich with tannin and are reddish-brown in colour.

FRASER ISLAND

143

Plant Life

L Despite having sandy soils that are low in nutrients, K’gari (Fraser Island) is dominated by diverse tropical rainforests rich in hardwood trees, including species that were targeted by the early logging industry (see History section).

Conservationists have only recently fully appreciated the longevity of many of the native tree species. For example, specimens of satinay (Syncarpia hillii) have been found that are estimated to be over 1,000 years old! It will probably take many centuries for the logged forests of K’gari to fully recover. Within the island’s ancient forests, at least 865 species of native plants have so far been recorded, including dense undergrowth comprising bungalow palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), and the rare and ancient king fern (Angiopteris evecta), which has the longest fronds of all ferns worldwide . Coastal areas are dominated by dunes that are home to salt-tolerant plants such as goats foot vine (Ipomoea pescaprae) and beach spinifex (Spinifex longifolius). Interestingly, the dune age increases from east to west across K’gari, resulting in different stages of succession along the island’s length. The southwest coast of K’gari is home to mangrove forests. Elsewhere, the island’s many lakes are surrounded by concentric zones of vegetation that progress from aquatic rushes to pioneer shrubs to rainforest. The scarcity of nutrients in K’gari’s substrate drives many plants towards high levels of specialisation. Carnivorous plants are widespread, including the spoon-leaved sundew (Drosera spatulata) which captures insects by its sticky leaves. Preying on insects enables the sundew to gain nutrients unavailable to other plants, and so it can grow in pure sand where few others can survive. Similarly, the strangler fig (Ficus destruens) grows around trees, kills them by constriction, then benefits from the release of nutrients from the rotting host! Levels of plant endemism are low, and sadly, at least one such species (Persoonia prostrata) has become extinct. This shrub had a very localised distribution and was known only from the north of the island. Unfortunately, a non-native leafhopper (Jamella australiae) was accidentally introduced from Queensland and this has devastated native screw palms (Pandanus tectorius). Trials of the release of tiny parasitic wasps (Aphanomerus pusillus) are being undertaken. The wasps prey on the leafhoppers’ eggs and it is hoped they may establish and save the surviving stands of screw palms.

144

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A fruiting crew palm (Pandanus tectorius).

Spoon-leaved sundew (Drosera spatulata).

A strangler fig (Ficus destruens) envelops a tree.

The sticky leaves of the spoon-leaved sundew.

FRASER ISLAND

145

Animal Life

White faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae).

K’gari (Fraser Island) is well known for its wildlife, especially for its native birds, reptiles and mammals. There are few endemic species present, as the island is not sufficiently separated from the mainland to allow for speciation to take place. Over 350 species of birds have been recorded, including Australian pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus), brown thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla) and the white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster). The island’s many ponds attract several species of waders, including the white-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) which is found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats. It feeds on fishes, frogs, small reptiles and insects. A carpet python (Morelia spilota variegata).

146

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

A sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps).

It is believed that dingos have lived in Australia for thousands of years.

The carpet python (Morelia spilota variegata) is one of 21 species of snake present on K’gari (Fraser Island). It is non-venomous, killing its prey by constriction. Its diet includes different birds and mammals, especially brushtailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Other reptiles include the endemic Fraser Island sand skink (Coggeria naufragus), the Fraser Island short-neck turtle (Emydura macquarii nigra) and the lace monitor (Varanus varius) which grows to 2 m long. There are also five species of gecko, five dragon lizards, 21 species of skink and at least 17 species of frogs. K’gari (Fraser Island) is known for its population of dingoes (Canis dingo), which can be divided into 25-30 dingo packs. These packs consist of 3-12 dingoes each.

Dingos (Canis dingo), which the Butchulla people know as wongari.

FRASER ISLAND

147

As the dingoes on K’gari (Fraser Island) have not crossbred with domestic or feral dogs, they are considered a pure strain and consequently of conservation significance. Unlike domestic dogs, dingoes have only one litter of 3-4 pups a year, usually around August/September. They feed on bandicoots and other small mammals and, unlike domestic dogs, are not traditionally scavengers. This is why visitors are discouraged from feeding them, as this will affect their natural, wild, hunting behaviour. The island is considered one of the best places to see these animals in the wild. In all, 47 species of mammal have been recorded from K’gari (Fraser Island), including the rarely seen short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor). K’gari (Fraser Island) lacks quite a few mammals and birds that are common on mainland Australia: for instance, there are no kangaroos, no koalas, no wombats and no emus on the island. A lace monitor (Varanus varius).

148

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Blue soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus).

K’gari (Fraser Island) is famed for its blue soldier crabs (Mictyris longicarpus). These crabs have a near-spherical powder blue carapace that is about 25 mm in diameter. Blue soldier crabs consume organic detritus amongst sand grains. They feed by raising scoops of sand to their mouthparts. The crab sifts out edible organic material and discards the inedible sand as round pellets. The crabs ‘graze’ the sand at low tide, often leaving lines of pellets as they feed. As the tide falls, the crabs emerge from their burrows and often march in large numbers to places where the sand is richest in organic detritus. These large masses of crabs inspired their common name. As the tide comes in, the army of crabs stops feeding and marches back up the beach to dig burrows and wait for the next low tide.

An ‘army’ of blue soldier crabs.

FRASER ISLAND

149

Marine Life Mangrove trees line the estuaries along much of the western shoreline of K’gari. The shelter of the roots and the decomposing leaf litter make mangroves ideal nurseries and feeding grounds for many marine species. K’gari is also known as a place where six species of marine turtle may be seen (though nesting is only undertaken by green turtles and loggerhead turtles), and as many as 12 species of sea snakes, including the spine-tailed sea snake (Aipysurus eydouxii) and the spectacled sea snake (Hydrophis kingii). Most sea snake species are venomous and all have flattened tails to help them swim. Stingrays (Dasyatis brevicaudata), dugongs (Dugong dugon), tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) and grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) all occur around K’gari.

The ornate rainbowfish (Rhadinocentrus ornatus), one of many freshwater fish native to K’gari (Fraser Island). This species is so-called for its iridescent scales.

An olive sea snake (Aipysurus laevis).

150

A smooth stingray (Dasyatis brevicaudata).

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

K’gari (Fraser Island) is one of the best places to see humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) which migrate along Australia’s east coast, between August and October. Once endangered, their numbers have continued to increase since the cessation of whaling. Having spent 2-3 months at a safe breeding site, new-born calves will be accompanied by the parents to Antarctic feeding grounds, a distance of up to 10,000 km. Daily whale watch trips are conducted from K’gari (Fraser Island) to see these magnificent creatures playing in the calm island waters. Minke whales (Balaeoptera acutorostrata) can also be seen off the island, either singularly or in small groups. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) can also be seen in the island waters.

Migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

FRASER ISLAND

151

Conservation Priorities Over the years, K’gari (Fraser Island) has withstood the impacts of many activities that have been detrimental to the island’s habitats and wildlife, including sand mining, logging and the introduction of non-native species. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, in partnership with the Butchulla Rangers, are working hard to safeguard the future of K’gari (Fraser Island), Butchulla Country and the mainland. It is widely accepted that in recent years, the frequency and duration of wildfires have increased across much of Australia, and large scale fires have burnt much of the island’s forests too. Although many native plants require low-intensity fire activity for their seeds to germinate, it is feared that the recent high-intensity wildfires have killed countless trees On this satellite image, and severely damaged the island’s seedbank. red areas indicate the Many non-native animals and plants have been introduced, including horses which were released by settlers in the 19th century.

By the 1980s it was thought about 200 horses roamed free on the island and during the 1990s a translocation programme to the mainland was initiated, as it was found they were having a detrimental impact on the native vegetation. In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency aimed to remove the last few horses to the mainland, but recently, camera traps have revealed that there are still a handful remaining. Another concern has been that of the island’s population of dingoes. Dingoes were once common on K’gari (Fraser Island), but their numbers are now decreasing. The island dingoes are reputedly some of the last remaining ‘pure’ dingoes in Eastern Australia and to prevent cross-breeding, dogs are not allowed on the island. Genetic studies undertaken in 2004 showed K’gari’s dingoes to be ‘pure’, despite earlier studies of dingo skulls from the island which implied crossbreeding with domestic dogs had taken place.

152

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

forests across K’gari (Fraser Island) that burnt during the 2019–20 bushfire season.

K’gari is an important home for the eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus), which is one of Australia’s rarest birds. There are thought to be only about 4,000 remaining, in isolated populations scattered across Queensland and New South Wales. The K’gari (Fraser Island) population has been tricky to assess, as the birds have excellent camouflage. Unfortunately, some decades ago, the non-native cane toad (Rhinella marina) arrived on K’gari (Fraser Island) on flood debris washed down the Mary River.

The eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus).

Introduced to Queensland in 1935 to control the sugar cane beetle, cane toads have devastated native fauna. They possess poison glands behind their head. The poison is deadly to most Australian predators. The appearance of cane toads on K’gari (Fraser Island) marked a dramatic reduction in snake numbers, particularly of death adders (Acanthophis antarcticus). A new eradication programme at Waddy Point uses the cane toads’ venom introduced to ponds to attract their tadpoles which can then be trapped. Foxes occur on the adjacent mainland, but so far, K’gari has escaped their devastating impact. If they were to establish on the island, many native birds, rodents and reptiles would be at great risk.

The invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina).

Sadly, myrtle rust, an introduced disease, threatens many native plant species. The Butchulla Rangers, together with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, are undertaking a monitoring programme at sites across the island with the hope of controlling outbreaks.

FRASER ISLAND

153

Conservation and the Future Humanity has exerted a dramatic and often devastating impact on the natural world over the last 200 years. Much of the damage that we have caused results from our growing global population, and the expansion of our industrial activities. But conservation is not about doom and gloom. It is not about what we have lost, but what we still have. There is still hope to save the biodiversity of our world. Time and time again, species and entire ecosystems have been brought back from the brink of extinction and saved, providing action is taken before it is too late. But in order to save the natural world, we first have to understand the impacts which we are causing:

Habitat loss: the process of destruction, fragmentation or degradation of natural environments as a result of any human activity (including agriculture, commercial development, construction of buildings etc). Habitat loss is possibly the greatest threat to the natural world. Deforestation: the cutting down or thinning of forests, to clear land of trees and make it available to humans for other uses. Entire ecosystems can be lost in this way. Hunting: the killing of wild animals for food or sport. Poaching: the targeted collection of wild organisms to sell or trade (often illegally). Introduction of diseases: the spreading of pathogens that cause harm to species or entire ecosystems.

Deforestation threatens forest habitats worldwide.

154

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Pollution continues worldwide.

Plastic waste is among the most serious threats to wildlife worldwide.

Plastic waste breaks down into pieces and ‘micro plastic’ particles.

Introduction of non-native species: the transfer of organisms into habitats where they do not naturally occur. In some cases, this can bring catastrophic consequences for native species and ecosystems. Climate change: the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that add to the insulation of the atmosphere, and may contribute to the warming of the global climate. Roadkill: the killing of wildlife by traffic on roads. This may slowly grind down the population of a specific animal. Pollution: the release of man-made waste (often in the form of chemical substances) into natural environments. May poison ecosystems and kill species. Plastics pollution: a form of the above involving plastic objects which may be non-biodegradable. Macro and micro plastics may build up at a site in vast quantities. Eutrophication: the artificial enrichment of an aquatic habitat with nutrients causing excessive growth of plant life and the depletion of dissolved oxygen.

Pesticide and herbicide runoff: the contamination of an ecosystem (often a waterbody) with made-made pesticides and herbicides which also impact non-target species. Ocean acidification: the reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2). Ocean temperature change: small but gradual increases in the ocean’s temperature as a result of climate change. Although the above list may seem grave, none of the above impacts are beyond our power to resolve. The future of the world is within our hands. If we care enough and act now, we can save the biodiversity of our planet. Each of us can make a difference. We all can contribute to conserving the wildlife that evolved on Planet Earth over hundreds of millions of years. It is not too late to create a brighter future.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

155

Photographic Credits The author would like to thank all photographers who have contributed to this book, as credited below. SS = Shutterstock. Special thanks to Robert Irving and Abbie Mitchell for reviewing and editing this book, and also Carl Davies for creating artwork. Sincere thanks also to all of the following individuals who kindly reviewed and edited chapters of this work: Judith Andersen, Kerrie Bennison, Chris Bray, Noel Carmichael, Tanya Detto, Trish Flores, Rebecca Gabbitus, Daniel Gautschi, Nigel Greenup, Arvid Hogstrom, Ian Hutton, Jahna Luke, Alexandra Nance, Lisa Preston, Susan Prior, Mark Sawa, Karenn Singer, Chris Smyth, Victoria Sperring, Andrew Turbett and Jason Turl. Front Cover: Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum, Don Mammoser/ SS, apiguide/SS, Stewart McPherson; 1 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum, Don Mammoser/SS, apiguide /SS, Stewart McPherson; 2 tororo reaction/SS, John Tann CC BY 2.0; Agami Photo Agency/ SS, Oliver Foerstner/SS, Ashley Whitworth/SS; 3 tororo reaction/SS, Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum, Donna Racheal/SS, Guillermo Guerao Serra/SS, Stewart McPherson, Dominic Jeanmaire/SS, Soy Sauce/SS; 4 Ashley Whitworth/SS; 5 Hamish Dow/SS; 6 Zorro Stock Images/SS; 7 Anton Shahrai/SS; 8 designium/SS; 9 designium/SS; 10 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 11 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 12 Glanzpunkt/SS; 13 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 14 Stewart McPherson; 15 Stewart McPherson; 16 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 17 skyfall4/SS, Sascha Caballero/ SS; 18 Stewart McPherson; 19 Thep Krit/SS; 20 Chris Andrews Fern Bay/SS; 21 Puwadol Jaturawutthichai/SS, Carl Davies; 22 Judith Andersen/Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area Collection, Norfolk Island Museums, National Library of Australia; 23 National Library of Australia, Toby Hudson CC BY-SA 2.5 au; 24 Steve Daggar/CC BY 3.0, Norfolk Island Museums; 25 Steve Daggar/CC BY 3.0, Stewart McPherson; 26 John Hagan/Pitcairn Islands Study Centre; 27 John Hagan/Pitcairn Islands Study Centre, Stewart McPherson; 28 Norfolk Island Museums; 29 Lilli King; 30 Sean Xu/SS, Tamara Kulikova/SS; 31 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum, Judith Andersen; 32 Henrik Gronvold (1858–1940); 33 Daniel Gautschi, Imogen Warren/SS;

156

34 Luke Halpin, Michael Leslie/SS; 35 Luke Halpin; 36 Susan Prior www.norfolkislandreef.com.au/www.norfolkislandtime.com; 37 Susan Prior www.norfolkislandreef.com.au/www.norfolkislandtime.com; 38 Ashley Whitworth/SS; 39 Kahuroa/Wikipedia, Forest & Kim Starr/ CC BY 3.0 us; 40 John Lindley (editor) (1799-1865) - Edwards’s Botanical Register or Ornamental Flower - Garden and Shrubbery (Page / Plate 51); 41 Soy Sauce/SS, Chris Andrews Fern Bay/SS; 42 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 43 Carl Davies; 44 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 45 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 46 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 47 Ian Hutton/ Lord Howe Island Museum; 48 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 49 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 50 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 51 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 52 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 53 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 54 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 55 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 56 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 57 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 58 Ian Hutton/ Lord Howe Island Museum; 59 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 60 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 61 Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum; 62 BMJ/SS; 63 Carl Davies; 64 Royal Geographical Society, Frank Hurley; 65 Janelle Lugge/SS, Agami Photo Agency/ SS, 644637283/SS; 66 Agami Photo Agency/SS; 67 Jane McLoughlin/ SS, ENVIROSENSE/SS, Nick Fitzgerald/ CC BY-SA 4.0; 68 Janelle Lugge/SS; 69 nwdph/SS, JeremyRichards/SS; 70 Charles Bergman/SS, Agami Photo Agency/SS; 71 ENVIROSENSE/SS; 72 Janelle Lugge/SS; 73 Danita Delimont/SS; 74 Agami Photo Agency/SS; 75 Agami Photo Agency/SS; 76 Janelle Lugge/SS, wildestanimal/SS; 77 Tory Kallman/ SS, Stephen Lew/SS; 78 Janelle Lugge/SS, Dale Lorna Jacobsen/SS; 79 Agami Photo Agency/SS, Charles Bergman/SS; 80 Greg Brave/ SS; 81 Carl Davies; 82 South Australian State Library; 83 Manon van Os/SS, demamiel62/SS, DinoPh/SS; 84 Poyt448, JJ Harrison/CC BYSA 3.0; 85 Donna Racheal/SS, Stewart McPherson, David Dennis/SS; 86 Andrea Izzotti/SS, John O’Neill (jjron); 87 Lukas_Vejrik/SS, John O’Neill (jjron); 88 Steve Lovegrove/SS, Ken Griffiths/SS, Paleokastritsa/ SS; 89 Paleokastritsa/SS, Jordan Tan/SS; 90 Uwe Bergwitz/SS, Ken Griffiths/SS, Darryl Leach/SS; 91 Louise Docker/ CC BY 2.0, James Trezise/SS, Andrea Izzotti/SS; 92 Jason Turl, Jun Zhang/SS, Aquarius Traveller/SS; 93 Stev02/SS, NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) - Data captured from https:// worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov; 94 S1monH/SS; 95 Carl Davies; 96 HollyLuna/SS, Goglio Michele/SS; 97 Marty R Hall/SS, Lpm43792/ CC BY-SA 3.0; 98 Achaparn/SS, Peripitus/ CC BY-SA 3.0; 99 faithie/SS, Melburnian/ CC BY 3.0; 100 Damian Lugowski/SS, Ashley Whitworth/ SS; 101 EA Given/SS, Luke Shelley/SS; 102 Jason Escalona/SS, Marty R Hall/SS, Steve Todd/SS; 103 Ryan Yee/SS, Curioso.Photography/ SS, Drew Davies; 104 Isabelle van Mierlo/SS, Marty R Hall/SS;

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

105 Ken & Nyetta berichard/CC BY 2.0, Drew Davies/SS, Dean Bradshaw/CC BY-SA 2.0; 106 Ian Geraint Jones/SS, Ian D M Robertson/SS; 107 Ian Geraint Jones/SS, Sahara Frost/SS, NPDstock/SS; 108 Hamizan Yusof/SS, Ian Geraint Jones/SS; 109 trabantos/SS, vkilikov/SS, Ian Geraint Jones/SS; 110 Michael Hillman/SS, totajla/SS; 111 totajla/SS; 112 alybaba/SS; 113 Carl Davies; 114 Seaman Barrett, National Library of Australia, Yaroslaff/SS; 115 Trish Flores/Pulu Keeling National Park; 116 Andy Wilcock/SS, Don Mammoser/SS; 117 Trish Flores/Pulu Keeling National Park, Dmitrii Kash/SS, Peter Yeeles/SS; 118 Trish Flores/Pulu Keeling National Park; 119 Trish Flores/Pulu Keeling National Park; 120 18042011/SS; 121 MandsNZ/SS; 122 Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography.com; 123 Carl Davies; 124 Stewart McPherson, Jason Turl; 125 Stewart McPherson; 126 Luthfishabi/SS; 127 Jason Turl, John Tann/ CC BY 2.0, clextuna/SS; 128 Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography.com, Christina Lipka/CC BY-SA 4.0; 129 Jason Turl, Joseph Smit - Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1887; 130 skyfall4/SS, Stewart McPherson; 131 skyfall4/ SS, Stewart McPherson, Sascha Caballero/SS; 132 Lisa Preston/ Indian Ocean Experiences - www.indianoceanexperiences.com.au, Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography.com; 133 Chris Bray www. ChrisBrayPhotography.com; 134 Jason Turl, Stewart McPherson; 135 TravellingFatman/SS, Stewart McPherson, Oliver Foerstner/SS; 136 Sascha Caballero/SS; 137 Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography. com, Jason Turl; 138 Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography.com, Stewart McPherson; 139 Chris Bray www.ChrisBrayPhotography. com; 140 zstock/SS; 141 Chris Davies; 142 John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Troy Wegman/SS; 143 binbeter/SS, Freedom To Seek/SS, Juergen_Wallstabe/SS; 144 Darren Tierney/ SS, Me-and-Idea/SS; 145 Darren Tierney/SS, Torsten Pursche/SS, Sylvie Lebchek/SS, Nakhi Pharawet/SS; 146 Trudy Abdurhman/SS, Katarina Christenson/SS, apiguide/SS; 147 Alizada Studios/SS, Dominic Jeanmaire/SS; 148 Juergen_Wallstabe/SS; 149 LiquidGhoul edited by User:Brian0918/CC BY-SA 3.0, Enot Poluskuns/SS; 150 Dirk Godlinski/ CC BY-SA 3.0, DNC40/SS, Alizada Studios/ SS; 151 Jason Cassidy/SS; 152 Intrepix, contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2020/SS; 153 PotMart186/CC BY-SA 4.0, Katarina Christenson/SS; 154 Tarcisio Schnaider/SS, electra/SS; 155 RugliG/SS, DisobeyArt/SS; 156 Greg Brave/SS; 157 Brad Wilson; 158 Sergey Uryadnikov/SS; 159 Jane Goodall Institute, Roots & Shoots; 160 Stewart McPherson. Back Cover: S1monH/SS, Ashley Whitworth/SS, skyfall4/SS, Soy Sauce/SS, Agami Photo Agency/SS, Susan Prior, Ashley Whitworth/SS, Ian Hutton/Lord Howe Island Museum.

About the Author Stewart McPherson is a British naturalist, author and film-maker. He spent ten years climbing 300 mountains across the world to study and photograph carnivorous plants to write a series of 30 books. Along the way, he codiscovered and co-named 35 new species/varieties including some of the largest carnivorous pitcher plants ever discovered. Between 2012 and 2015, Stewart and a camera team travelled to all of the UK Overseas Territories to film the Britain’s Treasure Islands documentary series for BBC and SBS. The accompanying book was distributed widely, and sponsored copies were donated to 5,350 schools and 2,000 libraries. In 2019, Stewart worked closely with the Don Hanson Charitable Foundation to create and donate boxes of educational resources to 10,000 schools across the UK to inspire students’ learning and passion for conservation. In 2020, he worked with the Jane Goodall Institute Australia and the Don Hanson Charitable Foundation to send boxes of resources to 4,000 Australian schools and 20,000 schools across the UK. He worked with the same organisations in 2021 to send further resource boxes to 4,000 Australian schools and 8,000 schools across the UK. www.stewartmcpherson.com

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

157

Glossary Aquatic: (plant or animal) residing in a water habitat. Carnivore: an animal that mainly or exclusively eats meat. Endemic: (plant or animal) restricted to a certain place. The extent of ‘the place’ in question may range from an isolated lake to an area of forest or other ecosystem, a whole island, several islands within a biogeographical group, or a bigger geographical region, such as the Caribbean. Epiphytic: any plant that grows on another plant. Extant: still existing (not destroyed or lost). An extant species is living (opposite to extinct). Extinction: the termination of a kind of organism, usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species. Habitat: the type of natural environment in which a particular species of organism lives. A species’ habitat consists of places where the species can find food, shelter, protection and mates for reproduction. Herbivore: an animal that mainly or exclusively eats plants. Indigenous: (of a plant or animal) originating or occurring naturally in a particular place. Lithophyte: any plant that grows on or lives attached to rocks, also occasionally known as epilithic. Marine mammals: aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They

158

include animals such as seals, whales, dolphins, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. Metamorphosis: metamorphosis is a change of form and structure undergone by an animal from embryo to adult stage, as in insects and amphibians. Native: (plant or animal) originating or occurring naturally in a particular place. Non-native: (plant or animal) a species originating from elsewhere, introduced into an ecosystem either by accident or on purpose. May also be referred to in some circumstances as an ‘alien’ species. Pelagic: (marine life or birds) relating to the open sea. Predator: an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals. Prey: an animal hunted or caught by another for food. Sea birds: (also known as seabirds and marine birds): birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. Species: a taxonomic unit of classification that defines a group of organisms that have one or more unifying characteristics separating them from any other group. Classically, a species was defined as populations of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. Terrestrial: (plant or animal) residing on land.

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Roots & Shoots Roots & Shoots aims to nurture members with the skills to be compassionate leaders, empowered to take action stemming from knowledge and understanding of environmental and humanitarian issues. Become part of a global community of like-minded people who are creating a better world for Animals, People and the Environment (or APE for short)! People, like you, can provide solutions to issues they care about in their very own communities. With over 7,000 Roots & Shoots groups in over 65 countries, together we can make a world of difference!

Visit www.rootsandshoots.org.au to find out more.

Dr Jane Goodall (right) is the founder of Roots & Shoots

Online Resources Roots & Shoots has created an exciting range of online resources to complement this book, including lesson plans, activities, collections of photographs and a series of educational lecture videos. Discover more of the wildlife from Australia’s Amazing Islands, and explore some of the key conservation stories in detail! You can access all of these online resources completely free via the Roots & Shoots website. Use the following QR code or web link to take you there right now!

www.rootsandshoots.org.au/islands

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

159

Abbott’s boobies 128 Admiral’s arch 83 Albatrosses 74 Alexander Hare 114 Australian pelicans 103 Australian sealions 92, 109 Ball’s Pyramid 44, 56 Banded stilts 101 Bandicoots 86 Biogeography 11-19 Bird’s nest ferns 127 Blue crabs 134 Blue soldier crabs 149 Blue-tailed skinks 139 Blue-tongued skink 104 Bobtail skinks 104 Cabbage corals 119 Cane toads 153 Cape Barren geese 88 Centipedes 35, 138 Charles Darwin 114 Christmas Island 7, 122-139 Coconut crabs 134 Cocos (Keeling) 7, 112-121 Cocos screw pines 115 Conservation 154-155 Corals 36, 54, 106 Crab bridge 132 Crab migration 130-131

160

Crested terns Cushion plants Cuttlefish Dancers Dingos Dugites Dwarf emus Echindas Elephant seals Fairy terns Flightless beetles Flying Fish Cove Fraser Island Frigatebirds Fringe-lilies Fur seals Giant groupers Golden bosuns Green pepes Green turtles Hermit crabs HMS Beagle HMS Bounty HMS Sirius HMS Supply Hugh’s Dale Island evolution John Clunies-Ross K’gari

Index

103 67 92 29 147 104 88 87 68-69 102 52 124 7, 116 84 64 107 128 31 118, 137 121 114 26-28 23 46 125 15 114 7, 140-153

Kangaroo Island 7, 80-93 Kentia palms 47 King penguins 70 King’s skinks 105 Kingston 24 Koalas 87 Little nipper crabs 135 Little penguins 89 Lord Howe Island 7, 42-61 Maclear’s rats 129 Macquarie Island 7, 62-79 Megalops 133 Miamiti 32 Moaning frogs 105 Monitor lizards 90, 148 Mount Gower 43, 48 Mount Lidgbird 43 Naval guns 124 Norfolk Island 7, 20-41 Norfolk parrots 33 Norfolk pines 30 Norfolk robins 33 Penguins 70-73, 89 Phasmids 56 Phillip Island 41 Pigeon orchids 126 Pink lakes 110 Pitcairn island 26-28 Queen Elizabeth II 114

AUSTRALIA’S AMAZING ISLANDS

Quokkas Red crabs Redfooted boobies Revegetation Rottnest Island Rottnest pines Royal penguins Rupees Sea snakes Seadragons Seagrass Sealers Shingleback skinks Snails Sooty kangaroos Stick insects Sugar gliders Sundews Superb fairywrens Tiger snakes Tropicbirds Tussac grass Weaving Whales Whaling White terns Wildfires William Keeling Yellow crazy ants

95, 100 130-135 116 111 7, 94-111 98 70 114 150 92 108 64 104 51 86 56 146 145 88 90 34, 120 66 29 76, 151 28 38, 120 93, 152 114 138