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Badger Island
Badger Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated low-lying granite and limestone island, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island is private property and is extensively grazed by livestock and macropods. It contains a homestead, jetty and airstrip. It is also part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area. Besides Badger Island, other islands that comprise the Badger Group include the Goose, Inner Little Goose, Little Badger, Little Goose, Mount Chappell, and Beagle islands, and the North West Mount Chappell Islet. Flora and fauna Introduced plants, grazing and burning have had a heavy impact on the original vegetation, of which there are remnant communities of '' Poa'' and ''Stipa'' species at the western end of the island, as well as patches of ''Melaleuca'' and ''Casuarina'' scrub. Recorded breedin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway between the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, and is also the only maritime route into the economically prominent Port Phillip Bay. Formed 8,000 years ago by rising sea levels at the end of the last glacial period, the strait was named after English explorer and physician George Bass (1771-1803) by History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonists. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of Bass Strait as follows: :''On the west.'' The eastern limit of the Great Australian Bight [being a line from Cape Otway, Australia, to King Island (Tasmania), King Island and thence to Cape Grim, the northwest extreme of Tasmania]. :''On the east.' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterbird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabirds that inhabit marine environments. Some water birds (e.g. wading birds) are more terrestrial while others (e.g. waterfowls) are more aquatic, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, beaks, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water. The term ''aquatic bird'' is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some piscivorous birds of prey, such as ospreys and sea eagles, hunt aquatic prey but do not stay in water for long and lives predominantly over dry land, and are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wader
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, forage for food crawling or burrowing in the mud and sand, usually small arthropods such as aquatic insects or crustaceans. The term "wader" is used in Europe, while "shorebird" is used in North America, where "wader" may be used instead to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons. There are about 210 species of wader, most of which live in wetland or coastal environments. Many species of Arctic and temperate regions are strongly migratory, but tropical birds are often resident, or move only in response to rainfall patterns. Some of the Arctic species, such as the little stint, are amongst the longest distance migrants, spending the non-breeding season in the southern hemisphere. Many of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely. Seabirds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casuarina
''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has since been split into four genera (see: Casuarinaceae).Flora of Australia''Casuarina''/ref> They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to tall. The slender, green to grey-green twigs bearing minute scale-leaves in whorls of 5–20. The apetalous flowers are produced in small catkin-like inflorescences. Most species are dioecious, but a few are monoecious. The fruit is a woody, oval structure superficially resembling a conifer cone, made up of numerous carpels, each containing a single seed with a small wing. The generic name is derived from the Malay word for the cassowary, ''kasuari'', alluding to the similarities between the bird's feathers and the plant's foliage, though the tree is called ''ru'' in Modern Malay. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size from small shrubs that rarely grow to more than high, to trees up to . Their flowers generally occur in groups, forming a "head" or "spike" resembling a brush used for cleaning bottles, containing up to 80 individual flowers. Melaleucas are an important food source for nectarivorous insects, birds, and mammals. Many are popular garden plants, either for their attractive flowers or as dense screens and a few have economic value for producing fencing and oils such as "tea tree" oil. Most melaleucas are endemic to Australia, with a few also occurring in Malesia. Seven are endemic to New Caledonia, and one is found only on (Australia's) Lord Howe Island. Melaleucas are found in a wide variety of habitats. Many are adapted for life in swamp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stipa
''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species formerly assigned to ''Stipa'', which have since been reclassified into new genera. Many species are important forage crops. Several species such as ''Stipa brachytricha'', ''S. arundinacea'', ''S. splendens'', ''S. calamagrostis'', ''S. gigantea'' and ''S. pulchra'' are used as ornamental plants. One former species, esparto grass (''Macrochloa tenacissima''), is used for crafts and extensively in paper making. It is a coarse grass with inrolled leaves and a panicle patterned inflorescence. Ecology Species of the genus ''Stipa'' can occur in grasslands or in savanna habitats. Certain specific prairie plant associations are dominated by grasses of the genus ''Stipa'', which genus often lends its name to the terminology of some prairie types ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North West Mount Chappell Islet
The North West Mount Chappell Islet, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated mainly granite islet, in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island is located within a conservation area and is part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area. Fauna Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are little penguin, Pacific gull, silver gull, sooty oystercatcher, black-faced cormorant and Caspian tern.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. See also * List of islands of Tasmania Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. The other islands have a combined area of , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beagle Island
The Beagle Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated low, flat granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island is contained within a nature reserve and is part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area. The island was named after by Captain John Lort Stokes, who surveyed the area in 1840. Fauna Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, Pacific gull, silver gull, sooty oystercatcher, black-faced cormorant and Caspian tern.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. See also * List of islands of Tasmania Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Chappell Island
The Mount Chappell Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated granite island with a distinctive central hill, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island was originally named ''Mount Chappelle'' by Matthew Flinders for his wife's maiden name. The island is private property, used for grazing sheep and Cape Barren geese, and is a classic example of natural habitat degradation caused by human activities. The island forms part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area. Fauna The island's habitats have been severely modified by slashing, ploughing, grazing and burning. Short-tailed shearwaters breed there. Little penguins used to breed in large numbers but have since ceased to do so. Apart from sheep, mammals introduced deliberately or inadvertently are the house mouse, a species of rat and feral cats. Reptiles pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Goose Island
The Little Goose Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated flat, round granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island is contained within a nature reserve and is part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area. Fauna Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, Pacific gull, sooty oystercatcher and black-faced cormorant. The metallic skink is present.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. See also * List of islands of Tasmania Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. The ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
