0.9%
28.7%
CORAL BLEACHING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
KEY
70.4%
CENTRAL SECTOR
SOUTHERN SECTOR
NORTHERN SECTOR
CORAL BLEACHING OCCURS WHEN CORALS UNDERGO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, SUCH AS POLLUTION, TEMPERATURE CHANGE, OR LOW TIDES. THE ALGAE THAT GIVES CORALS THEIR COLOR, ZOOXANTHELLAE, WILL FLEE THE STRUCTURED TISSUES, LEAVING THE CORAL WITH LACK OF FOOD. EVENTUALLY, THE CORAL TURNS WHITE, BECOMES HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASE AND OTHER OUTSIDE THREATS, AND DIES.
AQUATIC ACTIVITIES SUCH AS FISHING, SCUBA DIVING, AND BOATING ALL GENERATE POTENTIAL THREATS AND CREATE THREATS AGAINST THE NATURAL PROCESSES OF THE REGION THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF PLASTIC PARTICLES AND OIL POLLUTION IN THE SENSITIVE AND HIGHLY DIVERSE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
SPECIES DOCUMENTED
V.
BETWEEN 500,000 AND 600,000 SPECIES OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS CURRENTLY INHABIT THE CONTINENT OF AUSTRALIA, BUT ONLY ABOUT 25% HAVE BEEN FORMALLY DOCUMENTED. MOST VERTEBRATEANIMALS AND FLOWERING PLANTS HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED, AND THE REMAINING ARE MAINLY SMALL INSECTS, FUNGI, AND MICRO-ORGANISMS.
TOURISM AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF 2008 - 2018 MEASUREMENTS OF VISITORS GREAT MARINE PARK 21,050,000 CAIRNS PLANNING AREA 9,420,000 CAIRNS + COOKTOWN 9,104,500 TOWNSVILLE + WHITSUNDAY 10,040,000 WHITSUNDAY 9,375,000 LOCATION OF TOURIST CITIES ALONG COASTLINE IN 1935, 102 CANE TOADS WERE RELEASED IN NORTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA TO HELP CONTROL A SPECIES OF BEETLE. THE TOADS PROVED TO BE INVASIVE, MULTIPLYING TO 4 MILLION BY 1938 AND A SHOCKING 200 MILLION TODAY. THEY ARE KNOWN FOR DESTROYING BIODIVERSITY AND POISONING HUMANS AND THEIR PETS. THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS THE SPRAWL OF THE CANE TOAD FROM 1940 - 2018. 1940 INITIAL THREAT KEY 2018 SPRAWL THE THREAT OF THE CANE TOAD 12,000,000 HUMAN INFLUENCE CREATES ISSUES IN BIODIVERSITY BY HABITAT FRAGMENTATION, USE OF RESOURCES, AND CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE, SPECIFICALLY IN RELEASE OF GREENHOUSE GASES. THESE GRAPHS SHOW THE RISE IN POPULATION AND THE RISE IN CO2 EMISSIONS IN AUSTRALIA FROM 1960 TO 2015. 16,000,000 18,000,000 19,000,000 20,000,000 22,000,000 24,000,000 1960 18 17 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 23,000,000 21,000,000 17,000,000 HUMAN INFLUENCE CO2 EMISSIONS IN METRIC TONS PER CAPITA KEY POPULATION IN MILLIONS
ESTIMATED TO EXIST 15K 0K 10K 5K 20K 25K 30K 35K 40K 45K 50K 55K 60K 65K MAMMALS, BIRDS, REPTILES AND FROGS FISH OTHER TERRESTRIAL INVERTEBRATES FLOWERING PLANTS FUNGI MICRO-ORGANISMS INSECTS
NATALIE
GUTERMAN
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE THREATS TO
ACTIONS MADE TO PROTECT BIODIVESITY IN AUSTRALIA | FERNANDEZ | LAND 4360 | FALL 2019
IS A REGION RICH IN BIODIVERSITY BUT THREATHENED BY A HIGH RISK OF DEGREDATION AND INTERFERENCE. THE MAP BELOW EXAMINES THE FIFTEEN BIODIVERSITY HOTSOPTS RECOGNIZED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVENMENT. EACH REPRESENTS THE POPULATION SIZE AND LOCATION OF PHYTOPLANKTON PHYTOPLANKTON IS A KEYSTONE SPECIES FOR MANY ANIMALS IN HIGHER TROPHIC LEVELS, INCLUDING OTHER PLANKTON AND MANY ENDEMIC SPECIES. THIS GRAPH SHOWS WHERE PHYTOPLANKTON ARE PLENTIFUL IN COMPARISON TO AUSTRALIA’S HOTSPOTS, WHERE THE AREAS ARE VERY BIODIVERSE, YET ARE THREATENED. EACH REPRESENTS THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT AVON WHEATBELT GERALDTON TO SHARK BAY CARNARVON BORDER MOUNT LOFTY & KANGAROO ISLAND BORDER RANGES DESERT UPLANDS TASMANIA MIDLANDS NORTH KIMBERLEY MOUNT LESUEUR BRUSSELTON AGUSTA FITZGERALD RIVER CAPETHORPE BRIGALOW NORTH & SOUTH VICTORIAN VOLCANIC PLAIN SOUTH EAST VICTORIA HAMERSLEY-PILBARA BIODIVERSITY
AND
MINOR, EMMA HITE, MACKENZIE TOBIN, MICHAEL HANS, ANDREW
BIODIVERSITY DOWN UNDER
AND
A HOTSPOT
HOTSPOTS
PHYTOPLANKTON POPULATION
